Amnesty International does much good, but much harm as well. Check out this story from Pavel Litvinov in the WaPo:
Several days ago I received a telephone call from an old friend who is a longtime Amnesty International staffer. He asked me whether I, as a former Soviet "prisoner of conscience" adopted by Amnesty, would support the statement by Amnesty's executive director, Irene Khan, that the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba is the "gulag of our time."
"Don't you think that there's an enormous difference?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said, "but after all, it attracts attention to the problem of Guantanamo detainees."
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Good for Deano
It's good to see Dean repudiate this crap, but this sort of nuttery is now the mainstream of the Democratic leadership.
WASHINGTON -- A handful of people at Democratic National Headquarters distributed material critical of Israel during a public forum questioning the Bush administration's Iraq policy, drawing an angry response and charges of anti-Semitism from party chairman Howard Dean on Friday.
"We disavow the anti-Semitic literature, and the Democratic National Committee stands in absolute disagreement with and condemns the allegations," Dean said in a statement posted on the DNC Web site.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, organized the forum on Thursday at the Capitol to publicize and discuss the so-called Downing Street memo. That document suggests that the Bush administration believed that war with Iraq was inevitable and that the administration was determined to use intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The Sunday Times of London has reported that the prewar document, which recounts a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair's national security team, was leaked from inside the British government. The White House has rejected the memo's assertions.
Conyers' event occurred in a small Capitol meeting room, and an overflow crowd watched witnesses on television in a conference room at DNC headquarters. According to Dean, some material distributed within the DNC conference room implied that Israel was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
One witness, former intelligence analyst Ray McGovern, told Conyers and other House Democrats that the war was part of an effort to allow the United States and Israel to "dominate that part of the world," a statement Dean also condemned.
"As for any inferences that the United States went to war so Israel could 'dominate' the Middle East or that Israel was in any way behind the horrific September 11th attacks on America, let me say unequivocally that such statements are nothing but vile, anti-Semitic rhetoric," Dean said.
"The inferences are destructive and counterproductive, and have taken away from the true purpose of the Judiciary Committee members' meeting," he said. "The entire Democratic Party remains committed to fighting against such bigotry."
WASHINGTON -- A handful of people at Democratic National Headquarters distributed material critical of Israel during a public forum questioning the Bush administration's Iraq policy, drawing an angry response and charges of anti-Semitism from party chairman Howard Dean on Friday.
"We disavow the anti-Semitic literature, and the Democratic National Committee stands in absolute disagreement with and condemns the allegations," Dean said in a statement posted on the DNC Web site.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, organized the forum on Thursday at the Capitol to publicize and discuss the so-called Downing Street memo. That document suggests that the Bush administration believed that war with Iraq was inevitable and that the administration was determined to use intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The Sunday Times of London has reported that the prewar document, which recounts a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair's national security team, was leaked from inside the British government. The White House has rejected the memo's assertions.
Conyers' event occurred in a small Capitol meeting room, and an overflow crowd watched witnesses on television in a conference room at DNC headquarters. According to Dean, some material distributed within the DNC conference room implied that Israel was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
One witness, former intelligence analyst Ray McGovern, told Conyers and other House Democrats that the war was part of an effort to allow the United States and Israel to "dominate that part of the world," a statement Dean also condemned.
"As for any inferences that the United States went to war so Israel could 'dominate' the Middle East or that Israel was in any way behind the horrific September 11th attacks on America, let me say unequivocally that such statements are nothing but vile, anti-Semitic rhetoric," Dean said.
"The inferences are destructive and counterproductive, and have taken away from the true purpose of the Judiciary Committee members' meeting," he said. "The entire Democratic Party remains committed to fighting against such bigotry."
Master Yoda Stern
I still think David Stern is the best commissioner of any professional sport, in part by wielding his Jedi-like powers over the player's union every couple of years. But the following has occurred on his watch:
The NBA has lost about half its network TV audience in seven years, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The NBA has lost about half its network TV audience in seven years, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Iraq Report
From Austin Bay:
I find that this return visit to Iraq spurs thoughts of America– of American will to pursue victory. I don’t mean the will of US forces in the field. Wander around with a bunch of Marines for a half hour, spend fifteen minutes with Guardsmen from Idaho, and you will have no doubts about American military capabilities or the troops’ will to win. But our weakness is back home, on the couch, in front of the tv, on the cable squawk shows, on the editorial page of the New York Times, in the political gotcha games of Washington, DC. It seems America wants to get on with its wonderful Electra-Glide life, that September 10 sense of freedom and security, without finishing the job. The military is fighting, the Iraqi people are fighting, but where is the US political class?
I find that this return visit to Iraq spurs thoughts of America– of American will to pursue victory. I don’t mean the will of US forces in the field. Wander around with a bunch of Marines for a half hour, spend fifteen minutes with Guardsmen from Idaho, and you will have no doubts about American military capabilities or the troops’ will to win. But our weakness is back home, on the couch, in front of the tv, on the cable squawk shows, on the editorial page of the New York Times, in the political gotcha games of Washington, DC. It seems America wants to get on with its wonderful Electra-Glide life, that September 10 sense of freedom and security, without finishing the job. The military is fighting, the Iraqi people are fighting, but where is the US political class?
Bring In The White Coats
There's only one thing that will keep goofs like Tom Delay in power...Democrats. Check out
Dana Milbank today in the WaPo. Democrats held a mock impeachment (is this high school?) trial yesterday in the United States Capital, with John Conyers as chairman.
The session took an awkward turn when witness Ray McGovern, a former intelligence analyst, declared that the United States went to war in Iraq for oil, Israel and military bases craved by administration "neocons" so "the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the world." He said that Israel should not be considered an ally and that Bush was doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"Israel is not allowed to be brought up in polite conversation," McGovern said. "The last time I did this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me anti-Semitic." Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), who prompted the question by wondering whether the true war motive was Iraq's threat to Israel, thanked McGovern for his "candid answer."
At Democratic headquarters, where an overflow crowd watched the hearing on television, activists handed out documents repeating two accusations -- that an Israeli company had warning of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that there was an "insider trading scam" on 9/11 -- that previously has been used to suggest Israel was behind the attacks.
In the past, I thought that John Conyers and his ilk had wandered off the Democratic Party reservation. I'm beginning to think that they are the Democractic Party reservation.
Dana Milbank today in the WaPo. Democrats held a mock impeachment (is this high school?) trial yesterday in the United States Capital, with John Conyers as chairman.
The session took an awkward turn when witness Ray McGovern, a former intelligence analyst, declared that the United States went to war in Iraq for oil, Israel and military bases craved by administration "neocons" so "the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the world." He said that Israel should not be considered an ally and that Bush was doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"Israel is not allowed to be brought up in polite conversation," McGovern said. "The last time I did this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me anti-Semitic." Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), who prompted the question by wondering whether the true war motive was Iraq's threat to Israel, thanked McGovern for his "candid answer."
At Democratic headquarters, where an overflow crowd watched the hearing on television, activists handed out documents repeating two accusations -- that an Israeli company had warning of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that there was an "insider trading scam" on 9/11 -- that previously has been used to suggest Israel was behind the attacks.
In the past, I thought that John Conyers and his ilk had wandered off the Democratic Party reservation. I'm beginning to think that they are the Democractic Party reservation.
Is He Crazy...Or Brilliant?
The World According to Carl Everett
Noted paleontologist Carl Everett of the Chicago White Sox is back to feed us more of his astounding views on life, this time in a Maxim article that is sure to be a big hit in the John Rocker household. Having successfully disproven the existence of dinosaurs, Jurassic Carl now turns his attention to gays, Wrigley Field and Tiger Woods. Here are some of his latest "findings" straight from the July 2005 issue, which I bought strictly for, uh, work-related purposes:
Noted paleontologist Carl Everett of the Chicago White Sox is back to feed us more of his astounding views on life, this time in a Maxim article that is sure to be a big hit in the John Rocker household. Having successfully disproven the existence of dinosaurs, Jurassic Carl now turns his attention to gays, Wrigley Field and Tiger Woods. Here are some of his latest "findings" straight from the July 2005 issue, which I bought strictly for, uh, work-related purposes:
- Wrigley Field needs to be "imploded."
- Tiger Woods is not an athlete.
- "Gays being gay is wrong. Two women can't produce a baby, two men can't produce a baby, so it's not how it's supposed to be. ... I don't believe in gay marrages and I don't believe in being gay."
- "It's proven that 99 percent of baseball fans have no idea what they're watching."
Quote of the Day
"Continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit." -- Franklin Roosevelt
Why Only Attractive, White Girls?
Here's some food for thought:
At the same time, I am often amazed at how brazen the MSM can be in selecting what types of missing persons reports it selects as leading stories, especially on websites and TV. The missing person is almost always young; always a woman; always white; and always attractive. Right now the CNN.com home page is leading with this missing persons story, featuring (of course) a photograph of the attractive young woman front and center . . .
I can't stress enough that I am not saying this story isn't newsworthy. Every missing persons report is potentially newsworthy. Still, a person who followed the MSM uncritically might think that the only missing people in America are young attractive white women.
At the same time, I am often amazed at how brazen the MSM can be in selecting what types of missing persons reports it selects as leading stories, especially on websites and TV. The missing person is almost always young; always a woman; always white; and always attractive. Right now the CNN.com home page is leading with this missing persons story, featuring (of course) a photograph of the attractive young woman front and center . . .
I can't stress enough that I am not saying this story isn't newsworthy. Every missing persons report is potentially newsworthy. Still, a person who followed the MSM uncritically might think that the only missing people in America are young attractive white women.
On Keeping the Sabbath
From the Christian Century:
With sundown on the Sabbath, I stopped seeing the dust balls, the bills and the laundry. They were still there, but they had lost their power over me. One day each week I lived as if all my work were done. I lived as if the kingdom had come and when I did the kingdom came, for 25 hours at least. Now, when I know Sabbath is near, I can feel the anticipation bubbling up inside of me. Sabbath is no longer a good idea or even a spiritual discipline for me. It is an experience of divine love that swamps both body and soul. It is the weekly practice of eternal life, marred only by the fact that I do it alone. In its community form, Sabbath is not only about rest but also about resistance. Each time it appears in Torah, the commandment limits the exploitation of others as well as the exhaustion of the self. When you stop working, so do your children, your animals and your employees, even if they do not believe in your God. You believe in your God, so they get the day off. By interrupting our economically sanctioned social order every week, Sabbath suspends our subtle and not so subtle ways of dominating one another on a regular basis. The lion is restrained from making a profit on the lamb, who may still choose to lie down for a Sabbath nap alone but is free from the fear of waking up as lamb chops on this one day at least.
With sundown on the Sabbath, I stopped seeing the dust balls, the bills and the laundry. They were still there, but they had lost their power over me. One day each week I lived as if all my work were done. I lived as if the kingdom had come and when I did the kingdom came, for 25 hours at least. Now, when I know Sabbath is near, I can feel the anticipation bubbling up inside of me. Sabbath is no longer a good idea or even a spiritual discipline for me. It is an experience of divine love that swamps both body and soul. It is the weekly practice of eternal life, marred only by the fact that I do it alone. In its community form, Sabbath is not only about rest but also about resistance. Each time it appears in Torah, the commandment limits the exploitation of others as well as the exhaustion of the self. When you stop working, so do your children, your animals and your employees, even if they do not believe in your God. You believe in your God, so they get the day off. By interrupting our economically sanctioned social order every week, Sabbath suspends our subtle and not so subtle ways of dominating one another on a regular basis. The lion is restrained from making a profit on the lamb, who may still choose to lie down for a Sabbath nap alone but is free from the fear of waking up as lamb chops on this one day at least.
Come On, Bono
U2 frontman BONO was horrified during a visit to Ethiopia, when he saw local women pelting a breast-feeding aid worker with stones.
The American woman was oblivious of the offence she was causing, and had to escape the angry onslaught from female Muslims who had no qualms about injuring her or her baby.Bono recalls, "I remember one vision of the people who are with WORLD VISION, which is an American aid agency.
"One of the women was breast-feeding a child on the horse. She was so comfortable. She didn't mean to be insensitive."
Uh, Bono, she wasn't being insensitive. She was breast feeding her baby. For some reason, the "peaceful" Muslim women took offense.
The American woman was oblivious of the offence she was causing, and had to escape the angry onslaught from female Muslims who had no qualms about injuring her or her baby.Bono recalls, "I remember one vision of the people who are with WORLD VISION, which is an American aid agency.
"One of the women was breast-feeding a child on the horse. She was so comfortable. She didn't mean to be insensitive."
Uh, Bono, she wasn't being insensitive. She was breast feeding her baby. For some reason, the "peaceful" Muslim women took offense.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
This Is Great News
Dwane Casey was, in my opinion, unfairly ostracized over the whole UK/Emery package recruiting scandal in the 80's. He was clearly set up...and sacrificed by the university and that snake Eddie Sutton. Here's hoping he succeeds in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are negotiating with Dwane Casey after offering their vacant coaching job to the longtime Seattle assistant.
Casey, according to NBA coaching sources, beat out San Antonio Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo and deposed Cleveland coach Paul Silas in the race to succeed Flip Saunders as Wolves coach. Sources said Casey and the Wolves began exchanging contract figures Tuesday and are progressing toward an agreement.
Team vice president Kevin McHale coached Minnesota to a 19-12 record after Saunders was fired in mid-Feburary, but the 44-38 Wolves missed the playoffs just one year after ending a run of seven consecutive first-round exits by reaching the conference finals.
McHale maintained from the start that he didn't want the job on a permanent basis, and Casey materialized as a leading contender early last week.
A finalist for jobs in Toronto and Atlanta last summer, Casey is also a finalist for the coaching vacancy in Portland. Barring an unexpected breakdown in Casey's talks with the Wolves, Portland is expected to turn to Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are negotiating with Dwane Casey after offering their vacant coaching job to the longtime Seattle assistant.
Casey, according to NBA coaching sources, beat out San Antonio Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo and deposed Cleveland coach Paul Silas in the race to succeed Flip Saunders as Wolves coach. Sources said Casey and the Wolves began exchanging contract figures Tuesday and are progressing toward an agreement.
Team vice president Kevin McHale coached Minnesota to a 19-12 record after Saunders was fired in mid-Feburary, but the 44-38 Wolves missed the playoffs just one year after ending a run of seven consecutive first-round exits by reaching the conference finals.
McHale maintained from the start that he didn't want the job on a permanent basis, and Casey materialized as a leading contender early last week.
A finalist for jobs in Toronto and Atlanta last summer, Casey is also a finalist for the coaching vacancy in Portland. Barring an unexpected breakdown in Casey's talks with the Wolves, Portland is expected to turn to Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
A Nation of Wimps
I'm not one to reference Psychology Today, but this is one of the finest articles I've read in a long time.
More Social Security
From John Tierney in the NY Times:
Men in their 70's raced on bikes for 40 kilometers in this month's National Senior Games in Pittsburgh. A 68-year-old woman threw the discus 85 feet, and a 69-year-old man hurled the javelin nearly half the length of a football field.
Is it possible that people this age are still physically capable of putting in a full day's work at the office?
I realize I'm being impolitic. In the Social Security debate, the notion of raising the retirement age is the elephant in the room, as Robin Toner and David Rosenbaum reported in The Times on Sunday. Both liberal and conservative economists favor the change, but politicians are terrified to even mention it to voters.
Americans now feel entitled to spend nearly a third of their adult lives in retirement. Their jobs are less physically demanding than their parents' were, but they're retiring younger and typically start collecting Social Security by age 62. Most could keep working - fewer than 10 percent of people 65 to 75 are in poor health - but, like Bartleby the Scrivener, they prefer not to.
Amen brother. And I'd add this:
Today's notion of "retirement age" is a fairly recent one. Otto von Bismarck is often credited with craftily setting the retirement age at 65 because most people wouldn't live that long -- though in fact, Bismarck set it at 70, and it wasn't lowered to 65 until later. But the justification for retirement has always been that by retirement age people were nearly used up, and deserved a bit of fun and then a comfortable and dignified decline until death. Get rid of the decline and death, and you've given up the justification for living -- as Social Security recipients, at least, do -- off other people's efforts on what amounts to a form of welfare . Logically, retirement should be put off until people are medically old, or perhaps just replaced with disability, and those who are able to work should do so, while those desirous of not working should save up as for a long vacation.
Men in their 70's raced on bikes for 40 kilometers in this month's National Senior Games in Pittsburgh. A 68-year-old woman threw the discus 85 feet, and a 69-year-old man hurled the javelin nearly half the length of a football field.
Is it possible that people this age are still physically capable of putting in a full day's work at the office?
I realize I'm being impolitic. In the Social Security debate, the notion of raising the retirement age is the elephant in the room, as Robin Toner and David Rosenbaum reported in The Times on Sunday. Both liberal and conservative economists favor the change, but politicians are terrified to even mention it to voters.
Americans now feel entitled to spend nearly a third of their adult lives in retirement. Their jobs are less physically demanding than their parents' were, but they're retiring younger and typically start collecting Social Security by age 62. Most could keep working - fewer than 10 percent of people 65 to 75 are in poor health - but, like Bartleby the Scrivener, they prefer not to.
Amen brother. And I'd add this:
Today's notion of "retirement age" is a fairly recent one. Otto von Bismarck is often credited with craftily setting the retirement age at 65 because most people wouldn't live that long -- though in fact, Bismarck set it at 70, and it wasn't lowered to 65 until later. But the justification for retirement has always been that by retirement age people were nearly used up, and deserved a bit of fun and then a comfortable and dignified decline until death. Get rid of the decline and death, and you've given up the justification for living -- as Social Security recipients, at least, do -- off other people's efforts on what amounts to a form of welfare . Logically, retirement should be put off until people are medically old, or perhaps just replaced with disability, and those who are able to work should do so, while those desirous of not working should save up as for a long vacation.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Some Things...and People...Never Change
An interview with Gloria Steinem from that new teen feminist rag:
Melody: I keep on reading about how you believe in the inherent goodness of humanity, and I was just wondering how someone like Bush fits into that world view... if he does, at all.
Gloria: Well, yeah. He wasn't born that way. As a baby, he probably had a whole person inside him! But that family is enough to turn anybody into a raving power maniac, and they certainly did it with him.
Melody: When I saw the picture, the famous picture of him, with a bunch of other white guys, gleefully signing away our rights as women... all I could think was, "ok, how is that not just pure evil?" [Talking about the signing of the partial-birth abortion ban.]
Gloria: Well, you know, there is certainly evil effect. There are certainly going to be millions of women and a lot of men who simply are not alive because he's in the White House. There are going to be whole species of animals, and living things, and plants that are not alive anymore, and will never come back, because: he killed them. So, that's an evil impact. I don't think it's inevitable. He wasn't born that way.
This is chalk full of dumb comments, but the dumbest: "I keep on reading about how you believe in the inherent goodness of humanity." Who in the world - other than Gloria and her Leftist comrads - believes in the "inherent goodness of humanity." Please.
Melody: I keep on reading about how you believe in the inherent goodness of humanity, and I was just wondering how someone like Bush fits into that world view... if he does, at all.
Gloria: Well, yeah. He wasn't born that way. As a baby, he probably had a whole person inside him! But that family is enough to turn anybody into a raving power maniac, and they certainly did it with him.
Melody: When I saw the picture, the famous picture of him, with a bunch of other white guys, gleefully signing away our rights as women... all I could think was, "ok, how is that not just pure evil?" [Talking about the signing of the partial-birth abortion ban.]
Gloria: Well, you know, there is certainly evil effect. There are certainly going to be millions of women and a lot of men who simply are not alive because he's in the White House. There are going to be whole species of animals, and living things, and plants that are not alive anymore, and will never come back, because: he killed them. So, that's an evil impact. I don't think it's inevitable. He wasn't born that way.
This is chalk full of dumb comments, but the dumbest: "I keep on reading about how you believe in the inherent goodness of humanity." Who in the world - other than Gloria and her Leftist comrads - believes in the "inherent goodness of humanity." Please.
Say What?
ANDREW Bogut is getting a crash course in the cutthroat world of US sport, with the NBA draft hopeful forced to deny rumours he is going blind.The Australian basketball sensation is coming under increasing scrutiny from the US press ahead of the June 28 draft.
Bogut and former North Carolina forward Marvin Williams are expected to be picked No.1 and No.2 in the draft, held in New York, with NBA clubs Milwaukee and Atlanta holding the first two selections.
Williams, 18, is considered the player with the most potential following one season at Chapel Hill. College player of the year Bogut is viewed as the safest choice after a dominant sophomore season at the University of Utah.
But with only two weeks remaining until he is thrust into the international spotlight, doubts have been raised over Bogut's quickness, his overall potential and even his eyesight.
Former Utah coach Rick Majerus, who enticed Bogut to Salt Lake City and coached him in his first college season, reportedly told NBA executives recently the 213cm centre had a degenerative eye disease.
Bogut denied the accusation as well as any speculation of a rift between himself and Majerus.
Bogut and former North Carolina forward Marvin Williams are expected to be picked No.1 and No.2 in the draft, held in New York, with NBA clubs Milwaukee and Atlanta holding the first two selections.
Williams, 18, is considered the player with the most potential following one season at Chapel Hill. College player of the year Bogut is viewed as the safest choice after a dominant sophomore season at the University of Utah.
But with only two weeks remaining until he is thrust into the international spotlight, doubts have been raised over Bogut's quickness, his overall potential and even his eyesight.
Former Utah coach Rick Majerus, who enticed Bogut to Salt Lake City and coached him in his first college season, reportedly told NBA executives recently the 213cm centre had a degenerative eye disease.
Bogut denied the accusation as well as any speculation of a rift between himself and Majerus.
On Wealth and Fame
From Andrew Sullivan:
Some may find it hard to feel pity for someone as wealthy as Jackson, but if you view wealth, as I do, as a potential prison of pitiless isolation, then the damage to the man's psyche and soul must have been and still is immeasurable. And damaged people damage others - even in the pathetic, sick way in which Jackson obviously wounded some of the children who foolishly came into his care. The parents of these boys should have known better, but they too were mesmerized by the fantasy of eternal wealth and youth. What you see in this case, then, is the cold, heartless core of American celebrity: a Faustian trade-off between instant, fathomless attention and the maintenance of any sort of psychological or spiritual perspective.
Meanwhile, fame moves on. No one cares much about Jackson's music any more. No one cares about his soul or those of his alleged victims. What the culture of celebrity builds it also destroys - casually. In this case, the wreckage is a husk of a human, the detritus of a culture that feeds on exposure and then, bored, moves on to the next victim. It is because we do not want to look at this too long that we finally look away. The world that created Michael Jackson is also the world that will happily forget him.
Some may find it hard to feel pity for someone as wealthy as Jackson, but if you view wealth, as I do, as a potential prison of pitiless isolation, then the damage to the man's psyche and soul must have been and still is immeasurable. And damaged people damage others - even in the pathetic, sick way in which Jackson obviously wounded some of the children who foolishly came into his care. The parents of these boys should have known better, but they too were mesmerized by the fantasy of eternal wealth and youth. What you see in this case, then, is the cold, heartless core of American celebrity: a Faustian trade-off between instant, fathomless attention and the maintenance of any sort of psychological or spiritual perspective.
Meanwhile, fame moves on. No one cares much about Jackson's music any more. No one cares about his soul or those of his alleged victims. What the culture of celebrity builds it also destroys - casually. In this case, the wreckage is a husk of a human, the detritus of a culture that feeds on exposure and then, bored, moves on to the next victim. It is because we do not want to look at this too long that we finally look away. The world that created Michael Jackson is also the world that will happily forget him.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Mother of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The mother of Nicholas Faibish, the 12-year old San Francisco boy killed in a dog mauling attack, says she left the child locked in the basement to protect him from the dogs.
Maureen Faibish tells Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle she used a shovel on the door to lock her son in the basement while she went out to run errands.
"Typical Nicky," Mrs. Faibish told the Chronicle, "he wouldn't listen to me."
Faibish says she locked her child in the basement because the female dog Ella was in heat. She believes Nicholas got out of the basement and interrupted Ella and Rex, the family's male dog, while they were mating.
"My younger dog was in heat and anyone who came near her, Rex saw as a threat," Faibish told the Chronicle. "He may have been trying to mate. It was a freak accident. It was just the heat of the moment."
She sounds all broken up about the brutal death of her son. This woman should be shot.
Maureen Faibish tells Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle she used a shovel on the door to lock her son in the basement while she went out to run errands.
"Typical Nicky," Mrs. Faibish told the Chronicle, "he wouldn't listen to me."
Faibish says she locked her child in the basement because the female dog Ella was in heat. She believes Nicholas got out of the basement and interrupted Ella and Rex, the family's male dog, while they were mating.
"My younger dog was in heat and anyone who came near her, Rex saw as a threat," Faibish told the Chronicle. "He may have been trying to mate. It was a freak accident. It was just the heat of the moment."
She sounds all broken up about the brutal death of her son. This woman should be shot.
More "Scientific" Hogwash
In his review of Michael Shermer's new book, Science Friction, George Scialabba writes that Shermer...
...is less patiently evenhanded on the subject of intelligent design. It rouses the full-throated skeptic in him. His chapter called "The New New Creationism" aims to blow intelligent design theory out of the water, and, in this reviewer's opinion, it succeeds. With the exception of Pope John Paul II's 1996 encyclical "Truth Cannot Contradict Truth," conservative Christians' hostility to evolution has been unremitting. They have therefore championed (Shermer would say concocted) intelligent-design theory, according to which evolution's chief explanatory mechanism, natural selection, is unable in principle to account for irreducibly complex phenomena. (An irreducibly complex phenomenon, like the eye, is a system of interacting parts, every one of which is essential to successful functioning.) Very few scientists, Christian or non-Christian, have been persuaded by this argument. Shermer thoroughly explains why and offers a more tentative but still useful account of scientists' best current answer to the question of how life originated. "The answer can be found in the properties of self-organization and emergence that arise out of what are known as complex adaptive systems. . . . As a complex adaptive system the cosmos intelligently designs itself. It is one giant autocatalytic (self-driving) feedback loop that generates emergent properties, one of which is life." That may not be immediately intelligible, but non-scientists who want to understand the natural or social world had better get used to hearing about complex adaptive systems.
May we ask if science can demonstrate how such systems are created without the participation of any intelligence? Maybe a system evolves complex adaptive powers by employing . . . its complex adaptive powers.
...is less patiently evenhanded on the subject of intelligent design. It rouses the full-throated skeptic in him. His chapter called "The New New Creationism" aims to blow intelligent design theory out of the water, and, in this reviewer's opinion, it succeeds. With the exception of Pope John Paul II's 1996 encyclical "Truth Cannot Contradict Truth," conservative Christians' hostility to evolution has been unremitting. They have therefore championed (Shermer would say concocted) intelligent-design theory, according to which evolution's chief explanatory mechanism, natural selection, is unable in principle to account for irreducibly complex phenomena. (An irreducibly complex phenomenon, like the eye, is a system of interacting parts, every one of which is essential to successful functioning.) Very few scientists, Christian or non-Christian, have been persuaded by this argument. Shermer thoroughly explains why and offers a more tentative but still useful account of scientists' best current answer to the question of how life originated. "The answer can be found in the properties of self-organization and emergence that arise out of what are known as complex adaptive systems. . . . As a complex adaptive system the cosmos intelligently designs itself. It is one giant autocatalytic (self-driving) feedback loop that generates emergent properties, one of which is life." That may not be immediately intelligible, but non-scientists who want to understand the natural or social world had better get used to hearing about complex adaptive systems.
May we ask if science can demonstrate how such systems are created without the participation of any intelligence? Maybe a system evolves complex adaptive powers by employing . . . its complex adaptive powers.
Steve Fields Steak and Lobster Lounge Is Here!
The new restaurant has officially opened, and now the website is up. Looks good. A little pricey for my Newport bloodlines, but still good.
Another Bad Movie Idea
Quentin Tarantino has reportedly signed up to bring Eddie Murphy back as Beverly Hills Cop legend Axel Foley.
The movie-maker came up with the idea for a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film while writing Murphy a part in his upcoming war movie Inglorious Bastards.
Murphy tells website joblo.com: "There's been talk. Nothing solid yet. Quentin is insane but good insane. He came to me with an idea for another Cop, and we've been talking about that.
"If it comes off, great - he's one crazy guy worth working with."
The movie-maker came up with the idea for a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film while writing Murphy a part in his upcoming war movie Inglorious Bastards.
Murphy tells website joblo.com: "There's been talk. Nothing solid yet. Quentin is insane but good insane. He came to me with an idea for another Cop, and we've been talking about that.
"If it comes off, great - he's one crazy guy worth working with."
The Rest of the Story
Nixon was a cancer, but the whole lovefest with Mark Felt over the past few weeks has been sickening. Felt was no hero - he was a lawbreaking crook, just like the President he helped bring down.
One former federal prosecutor remembers Felt:
The news that W. Mark Felt, former deputy director of the FBI, is "Deep Throat" -- that it was he who played a key role in exposing and bringing to justice the people who authorized the 1972 Watergate break-in -- came as an unexpected revelation to many. But it was particularly unexpected for me, because, together with others, I prosecuted Mark Felt for a series of illegal and unconstitutional break-ins that he had authorized.
In late 1972 and early 1973, during the same period when he was investigating the Watergate break-in, Felt authorized FBI agents in New York and New Jersey to break into and search the homes of friends or relatives of fugitives associated with the Weather Underground, a radical, violent antiwar organization. These friends and relatives were innocent of any wrongdoing. There was no probable cause to conduct the searches. There was no search warrant authorizing them. And they were clearly illegal.
With Felt's authorization, teams of agents clad in old clothes picked locks or bribed landlords and searched these people's homes. They searched thoroughly: desks, beds, closets, etc. Using a document camera, they photographed a diary, a love letter, a Valentine's Day card, statements of personal philosophy and other documents. When they were done, they put everything back in place so that no one would know they had been there.
One former federal prosecutor remembers Felt:
The news that W. Mark Felt, former deputy director of the FBI, is "Deep Throat" -- that it was he who played a key role in exposing and bringing to justice the people who authorized the 1972 Watergate break-in -- came as an unexpected revelation to many. But it was particularly unexpected for me, because, together with others, I prosecuted Mark Felt for a series of illegal and unconstitutional break-ins that he had authorized.
In late 1972 and early 1973, during the same period when he was investigating the Watergate break-in, Felt authorized FBI agents in New York and New Jersey to break into and search the homes of friends or relatives of fugitives associated with the Weather Underground, a radical, violent antiwar organization. These friends and relatives were innocent of any wrongdoing. There was no probable cause to conduct the searches. There was no search warrant authorizing them. And they were clearly illegal.
With Felt's authorization, teams of agents clad in old clothes picked locks or bribed landlords and searched these people's homes. They searched thoroughly: desks, beds, closets, etc. Using a document camera, they photographed a diary, a love letter, a Valentine's Day card, statements of personal philosophy and other documents. When they were done, they put everything back in place so that no one would know they had been there.
This is Torture?
From CNN:
The U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay is drawing fresh criticism following a magazine report on a logbook tracing the treatment of a detainee who officials believe was intended to take part in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Time magazine said the interrogation techniques included "standing for prolonged periods, isolation for as long as 30 days, [and] removal of clothing."
They have a name for this: it's called fraternity hazing.
The U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay is drawing fresh criticism following a magazine report on a logbook tracing the treatment of a detainee who officials believe was intended to take part in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Time magazine said the interrogation techniques included "standing for prolonged periods, isolation for as long as 30 days, [and] removal of clothing."
They have a name for this: it's called fraternity hazing.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Every Life is Valuable
Ms. Mamitu was exceptionally lucky in that she was brought to a hospital here in Addis Ababa that offered free surgery by a saintly husband and wife pair of gynecologists from Australia, Reginald and Catherine Hamlin. Reg is now dead, while Catherine is the Mother Teresa of our time and is long overdue for a Nobel Peace Prize.
After that operation, 42 years ago, Ms. Mamitu was given a job making beds in the hospital. Then she began helping out during surgeries, and after a couple of years of watching she was asked by Dr. Reg Hamlin to cut some stitches. Eventually, Ms. Mamitu was routinely performing the entire fistula repair herself.
Over the decades, Ms. Mamitu has gradually become one of the world's most experienced fistula surgeons. Gynecologists from around the world go to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to train in fistula repair, and typically their teacher is Ms. Mamitu.
Not bad for an illiterate Ethiopian peasant who as a child never went to a day of school.
This very "worthless" child grew up to be quite "worthfull."
After that operation, 42 years ago, Ms. Mamitu was given a job making beds in the hospital. Then she began helping out during surgeries, and after a couple of years of watching she was asked by Dr. Reg Hamlin to cut some stitches. Eventually, Ms. Mamitu was routinely performing the entire fistula repair herself.
Over the decades, Ms. Mamitu has gradually become one of the world's most experienced fistula surgeons. Gynecologists from around the world go to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to train in fistula repair, and typically their teacher is Ms. Mamitu.
Not bad for an illiterate Ethiopian peasant who as a child never went to a day of school.
This very "worthless" child grew up to be quite "worthfull."
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