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Saturday, June 08, 2002
I miss HATE!
Peter Bagge's Hate! was one of the best, vicious and funniest comics during its run. I still miss it, and settle for his annual (which is mainly most of his web-comics collected). Here is one of his latest.
Friday, June 07, 2002
Homeland Security
Now that Bush has gone and announced that Homeland Security will be a cabinet position, and have some actual authority, the question turns to whither Tom Ridge. Ridge, I noted before, has been screwed by Bush. Given a job without power. Some apparently wouldn't mind seeing him gone. Others, think he has to go, because he has been rendered a joke. This was a guy, who GW was considering as a running mate, now reduced to "damaged goods." I, honestly, don't know if he's any good for the job or not, because, he's had nothing to do. He's had no power.
I will say this, he isn't going anywhere. Politically, Bush owes him now. Ridge got used and abused, and he has no cache with the Republican Party. He's a moderate, pro-choice Republican -- so he's in one of the few positions in the Administration that won't upset the anti-abortion crowd. His only chance to save any semblance of a political career is to hang on to this job. You can say that politics shouldn't enter into something like this, but then you can say that about a lot of issues.
Recycled Cell Phone Idiocy
CNN.com has a story on discarded cell phones and potential environmental hazards. Take a look at it, and then take a look at this story from the previous month. Note the primary source of both pieces Inform, an environmental research group. [ Dave Copeland wrote about this first story on 2 levels last month -- no direct perma link, but scroll down the page a bit]
According to a new study by environmental research group, Inform, people living in the United States will soon be getting rid of about 130 million mobile phones every year.
"That's about 65,000 tons of cell phones and ultimately they are thrown away," says Joanna Underwood, spokesperson for Inform.
Quick math. 65,000 tons = 130,000,000 pounds. They are basing their model on a cell phone weighing 1 pound!? I'm not saying there isn't a potential problem here, but get the actual facts straight. CNN and Wired both let it go unchallenged. CNN was worse, in my opinion since they actually mention that cell phones weigh about 3 ounces or so these days.
The other thing is the pathetic recycling of the story by CNN.com. A quick Google search of Inform and "environmental research group", yielded many, many similar stories on the subject.
This was from the Inform Press Release where the story began:
Cell phones are typically used for only 18 months before being replaced, and by 2005 about 130 million of these devices, weighing approximately 65,000 tons, will be retired annually in the US. Most of them will initially be stored away in closets and drawers, creating a stockpile of about 500 million used phones that will soon enter the waste stream.
The release came out in May. Pathetic. I wonder if they would let an NRA or a study from the Heritage Foundation go out unchallenged and with just a quick re-write?
If you care
England defeated Argentina 1-0 in World Cup Soccer. After all that talk of revenge, war, remembering the Falklands (totally off topic, in old Robin Williams stand-up he once went on about how certain TV people when talking of the Falklands, would fail to enunciate enough, and it would come out "Fucklen") Islands; how could there be no fights.
You know, there are some close-up photos that can be good, and some that shouldn't be published. This is an example of the latter:
p> 
Quiet Growth
Thanks to the VodkaPundit for adding me to his links as one of the "After Work Cocktails." Apparently, this doesn't completely suck.
Hit 'em where it hurts
Peter Lewis is the former president and CEO of Progressive Insurance Corp., and lives in Cleveland. He is estimated to be worth around $1.4 billion dollars. He is also a very generous philanthropist. One of the best ever in the history of Cleveland. He is, however, turning down all comers these days. The reason: Case Western Reserve University sucks. He is trying to create pressure for changes. Specifically he sees the school as an:
underachieving, poorly managed institution plagued by high turn over in administrative ranks and lack of national stature in academic programs. He called CWRU "a diseased university that is collapsing and sucking Cleveland into a hole with it."
Lewis has previously given CWRU $36 million for the building of the Weatherhead School of Management. The original donation was for $15 million, and the building was to cost $25 million. The costs went ridiculously over, spiraling to almost $62 million. The school has 46 trustees, which he feels should be reduced.
Lewis believes that CWRU is vital to Cleveland, since it is a major center for technology, medical teaching and treatment, and tied to the school (by location and trustees) are the Cleveland Institute of Art (right next to the law school) and the Cleveland Institute of Music -- major artistic and cultural contributors. Hmmm. Seems like someone is a fan of The Creative Class.
I went to the law school. I can only say this for what Lewis doing. Go man, go! The school is incredibly poorly run, and is constantly turning over staff. I've seen better run operations by some Cuyahoga County agencies (and that's not easy).
Thursday, June 06, 2002
Now Legally Allowed in the Bar
Well, she is now 21. It only seems like yesterday that there were questions of whether Pavel Bure or Sergei Federov committed statutory rape. Now, it's a non-issue.
Advancing Front
Busy day on the domestic front. Our new mattress was delivered; and we purchased a car. This means it's time to get rid of my car. Anyone looking for a 1989 Toyota Camry V6-LE. Suspension shot, winshield cracked, brakes almost gone, lots of rust, power windows no longer work. Only 216,000+ miles, but it still averages about 30mpg. I was coming so close to my vow that I would someday be driving just the husk.
He's a Homer
VodkaPundit discusses Bush's planned speech tonight, which will be a major cabinet reorganization. The creation of a new Department of Homland Security (DoHS). The crucial observation:
Sure, there's the danger that the new department will mean nothing more than new red tape. And with the broader powers given for domestic spying, there's a real threat of DoHS becoming as sinister as Hoover's FBI.
...
Plus, DoHS sounds way too much like "D'oh!" for anyone's comfort.
Good thing it's already a joke.
More on the State Dept. Disconnect From Reality
It seems more people are paying attention to the State Department's hypocrisy. In its 2001 Patterns of Global Terrorism this piece reflects on how it treats the terrorist activities of Palestinians
The State Department report's "Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents" lists only nine of the 97 Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel in 2001. The only apparent common denominator among these, which run the gamut from a Tel Aviv suicide bombing to a drive-by West Bank shooting, is that non-Israeli foreign nationals were killed in eight of them.
The underlying suggestion - that attacks killing Israeli civilians alone do not constitute terrorism - is abhorrent.
The attacks not deemed "significant" include the Dec. 2 Hamas suicide bombing in Haifa (15 killed, 40 wounded), the Nov. 27 joint Fatah/Islamic Jihad shooting attack in Afula (three killed, 50 wounded), the July 16 Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Binyamina (two killed, 11 wounded) and the May 18 Hamas suicide bombing in Netanya (five killed, 100 wounded).
The report lists the source of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' external aid as "unknown" despite extensive documentary evidence, described by the State Department as authentic, proving Mr. Arafat personally authorized payment to the group for bullets and explosives. Al Aqsa was recently designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) but receives scant attention in the report.
Mr. Arafat's bankrolling of terrorists, and terrorism emanating from within the Palestinian Authority (PA), are not addressed.
Mr. Arafat, in fact, is praised for calling for a cease-fire on Dec. 16. His speech glorifying martyrdom two days later is ignored. The report even blames Israel in part for the PA's failure to combat terror, citing "Israel's destruction of the PA's security infrastructure" - as if Israeli retaliatory attacks were the cause, not the result, of the PA's refusal to fulfill its commitments to combat terror.
The report glosses over terror attacks by Mr. Arafat's own Fatah groups such as the Tanzim, which it describes as "loosely organized cells of militants drawn from street-level membership in Fatah."
Even the Guardian isn't that bad.
Break out the Numbers
At the end of almost every Reuters piece from Israel, is a notation of how many Palestinians versus how many Israelis have died since September 2000. Well, here's a piece that breaks the numbers out a little more in percentages. The information came from the International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism
55% of the Palestinians killed were Combatants (children under the age of 13 were not counted, regardless of what they were doing)
25% of the Israelis killed were Combatants
7% of the Non-Combatant Palestinians killed were Women (less than 5% overall); total # = 40
37% of the Non-Combatant Israelis killed were women; total # = 132
Fortunately/unfortunately the article does not list the numbers for children.
Seeing a Trend
Little Green Footballs has a long list of US Executive branch statements, following Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel. It is one of the more depressing things I've read.
Damn the Facts, I'm Making a Point Here
Bob Novak, never afraid to ignore the facts when he has a pet theory (though, in fairness, that affliction effects at least 90% of partisan columnists) sees Casey, Jr.'s loss to Rendell in the Penna. Democratic primary for Governor, as a clear result of his anti-abortion stance. Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia, is wildly popular there to this day, as Patrick Ruffini points out, in a far superior analysis, and that Casey, Jr. ran a populist-little guy/big corporation campaign with labor backing. Pointing out that it didn't work for Gore now it didn't work for Casey.
Novak is willing to concede Rendell's popularity. He notes that Rendell only won 9 of the 66 counties, but those were by landslides amongst the most populous areas. Novak continues, though, to ignore the discrepancies, that there were other issues:
Casey -- Anti-abortion, pro-guns, pro-labor (big union support), left-populist
Rendell -- Pro-choice, anti-guns, hated by labor unions, mildly pro-business
He instead hammers that Philly pro-abortion activists were wildly active and vital to beating Casey. Again, Patrick Ruffini conducted a post-election analysis far superior to this piece.
Finally at the end of the article (but before his final sentence claiming, that the Dems won't ever back another pro-lifer) he admits no one really believes the abortion issue cost Casey the election.
Why did 100,000 more Pennsylvanians vote on May 21 than usually vote in primaries for governor? Was it abortion? ''It certainly had an effect,'' Casey himself told me, while asserting it was not the major reason.
Jeff Bell, a veteran conservative Republican activist who had planned to work in the elder Casey's contemplated campaign for president, denies that abortion played a serious role in the younger Casey's defeat. Indeed, there is widespread agreement with Bell that Casey's campaign was too negative and erred in moving left of Rendell on labor issues.
Fine work Rob. Almost as much credibility as a NYT column from Krugman or Kristoff.
Damn. Wish I could get free tomorrow. Daniel Pipes will be in downtown Cleveland at the City Club to speak on "Militant Islam and the War on Terrorism."
The City Club site does have webcasts, but they aren't live. Guess I'll take a radio to work. The broadcast is live on the radio (104.9 FM) from 12-1 pm. I think the station offers a radio feed on their site. The City Club broadcasts are syndicated in eighteen states. Otherwise, I have to wait until Sunday at 10 am to watch it on the local PBS station.
Leaving the Stroke Fest
Ohio Senator Voinovich (also former mayor of Cleveland and Governor of Ohio) has just gotten tired of seeing celebrity testifiers. To that end he is planning to "boycott" the hearing today where Kevin Richardson of the boy band, Backstreet Boys is scheduled to testify on the dangers of mountaintop coal mining.
Boycott my ass. He just was looking for an excuse to avoid having to hear from a Backstreet Boy. Please, Congressmen love having celebrities at the hearings. It gets them some reflected attention, photo ops, and extra sound bytes.
I can't stand them because they all go the same way. The celebrity is seated, the hearing is called to order; several of the Congressmen in opening remarks puff up the importance of the hearings; then laud the celebrity who is speaking; camera lights and flashes which are prevalent the entire time, pick up the pace here; the celebrity then reads in a monotone from a prepared statement (while an intense barrage of flashes continues) on the importance of the hearing and then speaks of his/her support/opposition (the reading of the prepared statement is the most painful, yet awkwardly funny occurrence, especially when they are from "actors" who suddenly lose their ability to act, and read the statement written by others for them without looking up or making any eye contact); the Congressmen again laud the celebrity (flashes die down); the celebrity gets up to leave and the flashes and press follow the celebrity out the door.
I did love this defense of the boy band member:
Vicki Hanna, a spokeswoman for the star, said that perhaps it is Voinovich who is "misinformed and isn't very well-educated on what Kevin has been doing on this issue."
...
"Kevin is a smart celebrity," said Hanna.
That's just too easy.
Wednesday, June 05, 2002
Amnesty Impotence
Like a one hit wonder, AI has released its all-important, ever popular press release condemning the actions in Megiddo:
After today's horrific suicide bomb attack on a bus in Israel Amnesty International stressed the need for international observers with a clear human rights mandate to be sent to the region. The organization expressed dismay over the bomb attack on the bus and the cycle of violence.
Because, clearly international observers have superpowers to stop terrorists from blowing up.
Guess that "send a letter to Islamic Jihad to end the suicide bombings" campaign isn't working out so well. Actually this last part of the press release is the most disgusting, moronic, piece of s**t, bald-faced lie I have ever read from AI
The organization commented that, if international observers had been sent to Israel and the Occupied Territories when the organization had first called for them in October 2000, lives of both Israelis and Palestinians might have been saved.
How? What do they think observers could do?
I guess they think they will be able to walk up to a suicide bomber and say in a calming voice, "Now Ahmed, I know you feel despair. I know you have been told how you are about to embark on voyage to get 72 virgins in heaven by killing Jews and yourself. I know you have been fed, educated and trained to [makes the quote mark gesture with his hands] know that the Jews are evil and must be exterminated. I know your family supports your decision, and the fabulous cash prizes from the Saudis and Iraq. But Ahmed, it will just continue the cycle of violence. End it Ahmed. End-- Whoops, let me rephrase th-- "
BOOM!
Missing the Point
The Guardian returned right back to form with this editorial calling for a comprehensive peace conference. Read in reverse, it actually had a shot of logic.
No one can deny that the Megiddo bombing, like the other suicide attacks before it, was an unacceptable act of terror. But terrorism is not an ideology or a creed. It is a tactic.
Yes. Yes! YES! It is a tactic. It can not be rewarded, or they will only see it as justification to continue such actions to wring more concessions.But what was said just before this seeming sanity
The Egyptian leader advocates international recognition of a Palestinian state with borders yet to be determined. At this stage details are not as important as a strong commitment by the US to a conference which will hammer out both a timetable and a final settlement based on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It should give firm guarantees that the outside world will help to implement the agreement, in part by providing peacekeepers and monitors to patrol the new international borders.
Mr Sharon's call for a vaguer and shorter meeting focused largely on terrorism and security must be rejected. The Israeli prime minister and his powerful supporters in America have been clever at using Washington's "war on terrorism" to narrow the agenda.
So we give them the land, and then the UN has to guard the undefined borders, protect the settlers, and pretend the Palestinian "right of return" issue will somehow work itself out. And the checkpoints will be run by who? Or are the West Bank and Gaza sealed from Israel, ending any chance of economic growth for Palestine, so that the entire region will be one big refugee camp, because we all know how well that works at creating peace. Who cares? The details aren't important. What is important is a big conference with lots of photo ops, promises, and a set date (which will be contingent on certain events that still won't happen, but we should still honor the date even if the rest is ignored).
Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has responded predictably with a new incursion into Jenin, but his tactics of meeting force with greater force are simply not working. Looking to Yasser Arafat to clamp down on the suicide bombers is not a sufficient solution. Diplomacy provides the only prospect of real progress. The EU is doing what it can to bring about an international conference, but it is clear that unless the US becomes fully engaged, the process will never start.
Translation: Appeasement. Yes, that will solve it all.
I didn't know
When I posted just below on the similarity of the Arafat/Palestinian Authority reactions. I had no clue the Israeli reaction would be so similar:
Israeli armored vehicles entered the West Bank town of Ramallah early Thursday and surrounded the office of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, witnesses said.
...
At least two tanks and three armored personnel carriers took up position around the Palestinian leader's headquarters and sounds of gunfire could be heard.
Just a tip to the IDF, if this continues in the same vein. Go stick some forces around the Church of the Nativity before the terrorists try to make a run for it.
Proof? They want proof?
I can't believe this:
The Palestinian Authority will arrest members of an Islamic militant group if it is proved responsible for a car bombing in Israel Wednesday that killed at least 16 people, Palestinian sources said.
The sources said Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority had decided that if the bomber indeed came from Islamic Jihad, members of the group would be rounded up. Israel says Arafat has not acted on previous promises to arrest militant bombers.
You mean, like, perhaps statements claiming responsibility?
The leader of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, Abdullah Shami, said Wednesday's attack is "part of our resistance, a response to the crimes of the Israeli aggression."
In Damascus, Syria, another Islamic Jihad leader, Ramadan Shalah, said the bombing was meant to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast War in which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — areas the Palestinians claim for a future state.
Seems pretty much like an admission of guilt.
As I recall, right after the Passover Massacre, Arafat suddenly announced that he was ready to implement the cease fire. Does it strike anyone else as a strangely familiar ploy?
Nader really, really needs a new hobby
Ralph Nader (wait, stop, hold off on rolling your eyes) still desperately trying to stay relevant, has decided the NBA is a new target. To this end he and his new sports watch-dog organization "League of Fans" has sent:
a letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern on Tuesday urging a review of the officiating in the aftermath of the "notorious" refereeing in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals between the Kings and the Lakers in L.A.
"At a time when the public's confidence is shaken by headlines reporting the breach of trust by corporate executives, it is important, during the public's relaxation time, for there to be maintained a sense of impartiality and professionalism in commercial sports performances," the letter said. "That sense was severely broken . . . during Game 6."
...
"Your problem in addressing the pivotal Game 6 situation is that you have too much power. Where else can decision-makers (the referees) escape all responsibility to admit serious and egregious error and have their bosses (you) fine those wronged (the players and coaches) who dare to speak out critically? . . . A review that satisfies the fans' sense of fairness and deters future recurrences would be a salutary contribution to the public trust that the NBA badly needs."
Ralph, don't you have an anti-globo rally to attend instead? Protesting the officiating of sports games? He sounds like a guy calling in to a sports talk show. What's next? Complaining that the NBA draft lottery is fixed? Sports conspiracy theories are probably my favorite type of conspiracies, since they are the most inconsequential, but create the greatest passion amongst fans.
Something of a Concession
The Guardian actually lets something slip in its version of wire reports on the m****r-f*****g terrorists who blew up a bus 10 miles from the West Bank. It of course led instead, with Israel making a new raid into Jenin. It's description of Jenin, however, was something:
Jenin, a militant stronghold where many previous suicide bombers have come from, has been the target of repeated Israeli raids in recent months, including a brief incursion on Monday.
During Israel's six-week military offensive against Palestinian militias, which ended last month, the Jenin refugee camp adjacent to the town was the scene of the fiercest fighting.
I had to re-read that. First, a concession that the terrorists have a base of operations in Jenin, i.e., it isn't just innocent civilians there. Second, no mention of a Jenin "massacre", or Palestinian claims of such, only the truth -- that there was fighting, battles.
For the Guardian, this is amazing. I'm not worried, though, I'm sure they'll return to form soon enough.
ACLU, Working to Insure That Airline Security Sucks
The ACLU has filed lawsuits against several airlines claiming racial bias/profiling led to 5 different passengers being removed from flights between October and December 31. Okay, first off, I think it is very stupid to let someone on a plane and then kick them off for appearances and passenger paranoia (and only 2 were actually Arab). If you are going to screen, you have to do it before boarding. I also don't like racial profiling in the abstract. It's unnerving, and seems more than a little unfair. My brother-in-law gets it a lot when he flies without his wife (he's Indian). That said, let's show some common sense.
Hell, even Nick Kristoff admits some racial profiling is necessary for finding terrorists. El Al bases its very effective security on a good amount of racial profiling, during pre-boarding. Of course their screeners are well trained, and it isn't going through the luggage that gives them clues:
Israeli specialists have a low regard for American security searches. They say they tend to cause unnecessary discomfort for travelers, while being prone to missing potential assailants. "The United States does not have a security system, it has a system for bothering people," Dror says.
"The difference between the Israeli and American systems is that we are looking for the terrorist, while the Americans look for the weapons," he adds.
At the heart of the Israeli system is the questioning of the passenger, which Dror says is done not only to get answers, but also to gauge the passenger's behavior. "The reason we open the suitcase is to have another few minutes with the passenger, to ask some more questions," he says. The questioning also serves as a way to quickly decide who to send to the plane without probing more thoroughly, he adds.
The ACLU is using some stupid paranoia that hit in the immediacy after 9/11 to bully and prevent any racial profiling of passengers. It is a cynical move to keep the Norman Mineta ineptitude in place.
Tuesday, June 04, 2002
It's all about taking out the parties
As I've been reading, digesting, and occasionally vomiting over the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), what has continually struck me, has been what appears to be an obvious attempt to minimize the influence and control of national political parties. As the FEC is holding hearings over how to implement regulations which are the key to how the BCRA is enforced, a McCain advisor testified, and convinced me of this:
[Trevor] Potter, a former FEC commissioner who advised McCain during the debate in Congress, urged commissioners for a broad interpretation of one provision regulating how much money members of Congress can raise through their leadership political action committees. Lawmakers use such PACs to raise money for fellow party members' campaigns.
PACs typically maintain two accounts. One is to pay for federal election activity, regulated by the FEC, which can raise up to $5,000 per donor in "hard money," for direct electioneering by candidates; and the other is registered with the Internal Revenue Service and can raise unlimited "soft money" from virtually any source, including corporations and unions that cannot give to the FEC-registered PAC accounts.
The new campaign finance law bans federal officeholders from raising soft money for their leadership PACs, or for most any other federal election activity. National party committees also are banned from collecting or spending soft money.
In comments made in the Senate in March, however, McCain, R-Ariz., alerted lawmakers to a potential way to maximize their leadership PAC fund-raising.
McCain said the new law would let leadership PACs continue taking up to $5,000 per donor for FEC-regulated accounts dedicated to federal election activity, plus up to $5,000 a donor for nonfederal accounts dedicated to state and local political activity.
Democratic party committees including the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) contend that if leadership PACs can maintain two accounts — in essence collecting double the hard money, national political parties should be able to do the same.
McCain, who maintains a leadership PAC called Straight Talk America that raises hard money, told the FEC in a letter Monday that the Democratic Party was making an "extraordinary leap" and that Congress clearly intended to bar national party committees from raising nonfederal money.
This puts incumbent federal candidates in a very powerful position -- potential kingmakers-- and at the same time reduces the strength of National Political Parties. I fail to see how this "reduces the appearance of corruption" when it just shifts the money influence. It keeps looking more and more like McCain really had an axe to grind against the Republican National Committee for not backing him in 2000.
The Best Defense...
SonicBlue is not resting on a minor victory over the MPAA and the TV media. Instead it is rolling out a new, more advanced model. The new model, ReplayTV 4500, comes with a standard telephone line modem, up to 320 hours of recording time, file-sharing capabilities for shows and personal photos, and more VCR-like capabilities.
Of course it helps to have some good allies like the EFF and the Consumer Electronics Association backing you up. Sonicblue has decided that the best way to beat the studios and network is to press forward and keep selling because, "It's virtually impossible for the courts to get you to stop selling your product once it's on the market."
The article takes a none too subtle shot at MPAA heavy, Jack Valenti:
In 1982, Jack Valenti, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, told a House of Representatives subcommittee that the VCR was the beginning of the end for new movies, since studios would no longer receive money from networks eager to show their films on television.
"If you are an advertiser who has paid $280,000 a minute to advertise (on television), he feels a very large pain in his stomach as well, as in his checkbook, because (the VCR) destroys the reason for free television," Valenti said. "The technology is there, and I am the one who has a belief that before the next few years, the Japanese will have built into their machines an automatic situation that kills the commercial."
A reader, Kevin Maguire e-mailed me a while back and kindly followed up with some interesting information. He has a VCR that has a pre-set 30 second Fast forward:
My VCR is a Philips-Magnavox. ... When I hit the "skip search" button, it fast-forwards for 30 seconds (playback time, not real time) as if I'd hit the FF button. This means we can still see the commercials, just like if we'd hit FF ourselves while the tape was playing.
A pre-set 30 second FF button on a VCR. Seems like a commercial skipper to me.
Title IX and "big-money"
You know what bothers me about this article trying to defend the way Title IX is enforced? The way it tries to blame the problems on
big-money men's sports, chiefly football and basketball, consume such a large share of collegiate sports budgets that women's sports and the so-called minor men's sports are being forced to battle over the small pot left over.
Why are they big-money sports? Because they also generate big money. Not just in ticket sales and merchandise, but they sell the school -- giving it name recognition; and like it or not alumni give more money to a school when the "big-money" sports are doing well.
Another factor, the "big-money" college sports either help support the entire athletic department or are entirely self-sufficient so as not to take from the other programs. Both have their pluses and minuses, but they are both fair approaches.
Dionne's article when talking of the success of Title IX, fails to mention, of course, how the enforcement has changed. From opportunity, to equal numbers, to quotas and percentages based on the school M-F ratios.
Update on BEDCO Money Missing
Last week I wrote that Black Elected Democrats of Cleveland Ohio (BEDCO), headed by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, had not accounted for $117,000 it received from the Ohio Democratic Party intended for GOTV drives. Well they found $47,627 of it. It was given directly to 3 state congresspersons, presumably to use in GOTV. Of course Ohio law prohibits direct contributions of more than $2500 from PACs, so the 3 of them have to return $40,127. Each received a check payable directly to them, not their campaign committees, though in Ohio, that is treated as one in the same. Naturally the person in charge of BEDCO knew nothing about it, and has no involvement.
Monday, June 03, 2002
Small Steps for the PVR
Sonicblue won a reversal from a federal district court judge on the collecting of data from users of ReplayTV personal video recorder. It isn't a full victory, and does not address whether the information sought was relevant. The decision only found that
"defendants would be required to undertake a major software development effort, incur substantial expense, and spend approximately four months doing so."
Under rules of evidence, she said, "a party cannot be compelled to create ... new documents solely for (the data's) production."
The judge did mention some concerns of privacy of the users and service interruptions, but they were not the reason for the decision.
If you have insomnia
And live in the DC area, then the 2-day hearing on the Federal Election Commission’s proposed rulemaking on aspects of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) starts tomorrow at the FEC's 9th floor hearing room, 999 E St. NW is the place to be. On the first day alone, it looks like 7 of the 8 testifiers will be attorneys. Rock on.
Arafat's Screwed
Arafat, well technically his Cabinet, overruled the Palestinian courts by refusing to release PFLP terrorist leader Ahmed Saadat. Essentially trying to curry more favor with the foreign diplomats at the expense of his own promises to his people to follow the law. Excellent. Further destabilization and minimizing Arafat's rule will force the elections everybody wants -- and we will learn whether the Palestinians really want peaceful coexistence; or Arafat will go petty dictator, which will create a civil uprising among Palestinians, which will at least create some breathing space for Israel.
More UN Irrelevance
Now it's Europe's turn to tell the UN to bug off. Seems the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is a little worked up over Western European countries deciding to take a closer look at who they are granting asylum, illegal immigration, and allowing to immigrate to their countries. They argue that the number of people seeking asylum has fallen in Europe, so Europe shouldn't even be having a debate. In fact, it seems that the UNHCR is most alarmed that Europe has decided to talk about it. Of course asylum seekers is only a small part of immigration changes.
"The UNHCR is concerned that the current debate in Europe is getting considerably overheated," said Rupert Colville at the agency's headquarters in Geneva.
"If this results in rushed policy and lawmaking, it could have very dangerous results for future refugees, either in terms of getting access to Europe or in terms of getting a fair hearing and decent treatment over here."
Meanwhile, the UK has basically told them to sod off. That according to their stats, the number of asylum seekers have gone up.The Home Office politely stated:
The spokesman said: "We appreciate the UNHCR's input, but they are obviously looking at it from a European perspective.
"Speaking from the UK Government's perspective, application figures have steadily risen."
Translation: Dear sir or madam, thank you for expressing your feelings and thoughts over this matter. We value all opinions, and rest assured yours will be carefully considered along with all other opinions. We place your opinions on the same high mantle of careful thought that comes from soccer hooligans.
Big Shoe Waiting to Drop
A double whammy against Arafat by his own. First the Palestinian Authority High Court has determined that there was "no evidence linking Ahmed Sa'adat to the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi last October and said he should be released immediately." Ahmed is the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which took explicit credit for the assassination. Ahmed was given up by Arafat to a joint US/UK warden in Jericho, in exchange for Arafat's freedom from his basement in Ramallah. Israel is ticked and will not let this terrorist shit go free. The Palestinian street meanwhile wants him free, and views him as something of a hero. Arafat has ignored the court and parliament before, but last week he signed the law essentially saying he would follow the law. Maybe he sees this as a way to free and be free of Ahmed, who would likely be dead in a couple days by Israel if not captured and/or extradited. This would eliminate a political rival and would show he is "committed" to reform. The real concern, may be for the safety of the US/UK wardens who are holding him.
Meanwhile Hamas has turned down Arafat's offer to join his Cabinet. They obviously don't want to be linked to him politically; nor do their leaders want to chance being under his thumb, more easily targeted by him, or risk being given up to the Israelis by him. Hamas probably figures it can do better if elections are held running against Arafat's corruption then joining it.
Should be fun to see how the cockroach deals with the more and more open and brazen challenges to his authority; while still giving "reform." Most likely he'll just blame Israel again.
Sunday, June 02, 2002
Absolute Cluelessness
What is mind-blowing about the complaints of the length of time the Palestinians have to go through for checkpoints, is that there is a failure to understand, they won't be any better if the West Bank and Gaza are set up as a Palestinian State. What do these people think? If Israel tomorrow gave up these lands, they would fence/wall them off, and any Palestinian wishing to enter Israel would still have to go through heavy security. A sovereign state does not give you the right to freely pass into another, even if it is adjoining. I mean, what makes them think it will be a shorter passage? A Palestinian clearance card? Please, that would just make Israel more suspicious given the corruption of the Palestinian Authority. If you want freer check points, try not blowing up civilians.
He calls himself a Journalist?
In one of the worst pieces of one-side writing I have ever seen, even from the Guardian, a Jonathan Cook tries to dredge up, once again, the "Jenin Massacre" story. This time by claiming Israeli unexploded ordnance is an issue.
United Nations special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen entered Jenin refugee camp on April 18, shortly after Israel lifted its news blackout, and declared the sight of the devastated camp "horrific beyond belief". He was not alone in being appalled. The pictures of a vast wasteland that days before had been home to thousands of Palestinians shocked the world.
The fact that it didn't look too different from the "before" pictures is irrelevant
The official Palestinian death toll stands at 56, but in the confusion caused by Israel's mass round-up of men no one is sure how many people are still unaccounted for.
After the week-long frenzy of concern in mid-April, the current silence of the international community is truly scandalous. One cannot but suspect that the world has chosen to forget Jenin.
Two related factors contributed to this rapid loss of interest. The first occurred with the west's supine acceptance of Israel's decision to block a UN fact-finding mission. There is little doubt that the UN lost its nerve to push for an inquiry. The fierce criticism UNWRA now faces in the US has increased its reluctance to publicise the camp's plight.
The second factor was the hasty claims - made by Palestinian and Israeli spokesmen in the absence of concrete facts - that hundreds of Jenin's inhabitants had been killed. Given the world's inflated expectations, the talk of a massacre seemed grossly disproportionate once the camp was opened to scrutiny. The casualties sustained by the Israeli army, including 23 soldiers killed, only fed the view that Jenin was a messy but essentially fair fight.
What hastily made claims made by "Israeli Spokesmen." The only "hasty claims came from the "fair and balanced journalists who smelled the stink of death everywhere?" Nevermind, once again, the claims made by the Palestinian terrorists of how they fought and mined the roads and buildings.
The massacre theory was soon discounted. The numerical threshold, wherever it lay, had not been crossed - and neither, argued Israel, had the moral threshold. This position was justified by Israel's assertion that almost all of Jenin's victims were fighters. The evidence from UNRWA, however, is that at least a quarter of the dead were women, young children, pensioners or disabled, as were many of the injured.
But there is no need to get bogged down in imprecise debates about what constitutes a massacre. These deaths can be judged as war crimes according to legal yardsticks we already possess, such as the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Oh, please. Lets discuss the Geneva Convention. Lets talk of hiding amongst civilians; purposefully targeting them; using them as shields or to lure soldiers; how any rights under the Convention are lost by violating them... Oh, you just mean Israeli "violations."
Israeli commentators have been quick to dismiss calls for a war crimes investigation, implying that the Palestinians are pursuing it only as a consolation prize for failing to win recognition for their massacre claims.
No. Really.
Aid agencies and human rights groups, including the International Red Cross, Médicins sans Frontières, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have produced weighty research indicating that the Israeli army committed a variety of war crimes. At least some of their evidence has been con firmed by soldiers who admit their comrades panicked and shot indiscriminately after the army incurred losses.
Excuse me while I stifle a chuckle. I've been to Amnesty's site and there are no such claims of panic firing at civilians. And as I've pointed out, they are hardly the site to find "fair and balanced" information.
Speaking of "fair and balanced"
The charge sheet against Israel is long. It includes the failure to allow sufficient time for the civilian population to evacuate before the bombardment began, the use of human shields to protect soldiers, the degrading treatment of the male population, the blocking of aid, attacks on medical teams, and the denial of access to search and rescue teams.
I and other journalists can personally substantiate some of these claims. For example, after Jenin town and its refugee camp were militarily secured, I saw dozens of trucks bearing aid supposedly delivered to Jenin days earlier stranded in a car park in the neighbouring village of Jalameh. And a Red Crescent driver who gave me a guided tour of the battlefield in his ambulance showed me several bullet holes, including one in the windscreen.
Because, those males throwing grenades, pipe bombs, booby trapping and firing on the army deserve honorable treatment. As for the medical teams, it has been shown enough times that they have been hiding ordinance and bombers in the ambulances (again, a violation of the Geneva Convention -- which apparently doesn't count for Palestinians) so they don't exactly have impunity to go anywhere. As for the journalists. You mean the same ones who smelled the stink of death and a massacre of levels equal to what happened in Bosnia? Why, how could their judgment be doubted?
One possible reason for such obstruction is that Israel decided that the terrorist infrastructure it wanted to destroy could not be separated from the civilian infrastructure of the camp. The army confronted not a few wanted men hiding among the local population but a network of fighters whose families loyally supported their decision to resist Israel's occupation.
Apparently Jonathan doesn't see anything wrong with the terrorist network hiding among their families (again, recheck your Geneva Convention, which he otherwise invokes like a cross against a vampire), but golly if the IDF actually goes after them, that is just plain wrong. Ugh.
The Cockroach Scuttles
So Arafat is trying to get the splinter Terrorist groups not in his "control" to join his particular government. I love this comment in the article
During more than three decades as the Palestinian leader, Arafat has always preferred to rule by consensus and is again looking to bring other factions into the government, such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Translation, he seeks to bring them into his sphere, where he can kill the leaders and seize control and consolidate his power/authority over them. I hope they reject him. In a way Israel doesn't lose. If Hamas and such accept, it tells us what the Palestinian leadership wants. If they reject and wait for the "fair" elections, it will tell us whether the Palestinians want peace or destruction.
Kings Gak
There is no other way to put it. Shooting 16-30 from the Free Throw line at your home court is inexcusable. That is a pure choke job. It was hilarious in a way at the end to listen to the NBC crew try to avoid talking about how Chris Webber was too afraid to shoot. Saying only that, only Bibby wanted the ball for the Kings. Avoiding the naming of names. I was rooting for the Kings (or more specifically against the Lakers) I'm a Sixers fan, so seeing LA win would almost be as bad as seeing Boston advance. The Kings and WEBBER just choked.
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