Saturday, July 09, 2005
This Is Like Watching A Train Wreck
Here's a very revealing exchange between Ron Reagen Jr. and Christopher Hitchens. Hitch makes Ronny look foolish. Then again, a baboon would make Ronny look foolish.
RR: Christopher, I'm not sure that I buy the idea that these attacks are a sign that we're actually winning the war on terror. I mean, how many more victories like this do we really want to endure?
CH: Well, it depends on how you think it started, sir. I mean, these movements had taken over Afghanistan, had very nearly taken over Algeria, in a extremely bloody war which actually was eventually won by Algerian society. They had sent death squads to try and kill my friend Salman Rushdie, for the offense of writing a novel in England. They had sent death squads to Austria and Germany, the Iranians had, for example, to try and kill Kurdish Muslim leaders there. If you make the mistake that I thought I heard you making just before we came on the air, of attributing rationality or a motive to this, and to say that it's about anything but itself, you make a great mistake, and you end up where you ended up, saying that the cause of terrorism is fighting against it, the root cause, I mean. Now, you even said, extraordinarily to me, that there was no terrorist problem in Iraq before 2003. Do you know nothing about the subject at all? Do you wonder how Mr. Zarqawi got there under the rule of Saddam Hussein? Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal?
RR: Well, I'm following the lead of the 9/11 Commission, which...
CH: Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal, the most wanted man in the world, who was sheltered in Baghdad? The man who pushed Leon Klinghoffer off the boat, was sheltered by Saddam Hussein. The man who blew up the World Trade Center in 1993 was sheltered by Saddam Hussein, and you have the nerve to say that terrorism is caused by resisting it? And by deposing governments that endorse it?
RR: No, actually, I didn't say that, Christopher.
CH: At this stage, after what happened in London yesterday?
RR: What I did say, though, was that Iraq was not a center of terrorism before we went in there, but it might be now.
CH: How can you know so little about...
RR: You can make the claim that you just made about any other country in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
CH: Absolutely nonsense.
RR: So do you think we ought to invade Saudi Arabia, where most of the hijackers from 9/11 came from, following your logic, Christopher?
CH: Uh, no. Excuse me. The hijackers may have been Saudi and Yemeni, but they were not envoys of the Saudi Arabian government, even when you said the worst...
RR: Zarqawi is not an envoy of Saddam Hussein, either.
CH: Excuse me. When I went to interview Abu Nidal, then the most wanted terrorist in the world, in Baghdad, he was operating out of an Iraqi government office. He was an arm of the Iraqi State, while being the most wanted man in the world. The same is true of the shelter and safe house offered by the Iraqi government, to the murderers of Leon Klinghoffer, and to Mr. Yassin, who mixed the chemicals for the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. How can you know so little about this, and be occupying a chair at the time that you do?
RR: I guess because I listen to the 9/11 Commission, and read their report, and they said that Saddam Hussein was not exporting terror. I suppose that's how, Christopher.
CH: Well, then they were wrong, weren't they?
RR: No, maybe they just needed to listen to you, Christopher.
CH; Well, I'm not sure that they actually did say that. What they did say was they didn't know of any actual operational connection...
RR: That's right. No substantive operational connection.
CH: ...which was the Iraqi Baath Party and...excuse me...and Al Qaeda. A direct operational connection. Now, that's because they don't know. They don't say there isn't one. They say they couldn't find one. But I just gave you the number, I would have thought, rather suggestive examples.
RR: Christopher, I'm not sure that I buy the idea that these attacks are a sign that we're actually winning the war on terror. I mean, how many more victories like this do we really want to endure?
CH: Well, it depends on how you think it started, sir. I mean, these movements had taken over Afghanistan, had very nearly taken over Algeria, in a extremely bloody war which actually was eventually won by Algerian society. They had sent death squads to try and kill my friend Salman Rushdie, for the offense of writing a novel in England. They had sent death squads to Austria and Germany, the Iranians had, for example, to try and kill Kurdish Muslim leaders there. If you make the mistake that I thought I heard you making just before we came on the air, of attributing rationality or a motive to this, and to say that it's about anything but itself, you make a great mistake, and you end up where you ended up, saying that the cause of terrorism is fighting against it, the root cause, I mean. Now, you even said, extraordinarily to me, that there was no terrorist problem in Iraq before 2003. Do you know nothing about the subject at all? Do you wonder how Mr. Zarqawi got there under the rule of Saddam Hussein? Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal?
RR: Well, I'm following the lead of the 9/11 Commission, which...
CH: Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal, the most wanted man in the world, who was sheltered in Baghdad? The man who pushed Leon Klinghoffer off the boat, was sheltered by Saddam Hussein. The man who blew up the World Trade Center in 1993 was sheltered by Saddam Hussein, and you have the nerve to say that terrorism is caused by resisting it? And by deposing governments that endorse it?
RR: No, actually, I didn't say that, Christopher.
CH: At this stage, after what happened in London yesterday?
RR: What I did say, though, was that Iraq was not a center of terrorism before we went in there, but it might be now.
CH: How can you know so little about...
RR: You can make the claim that you just made about any other country in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
CH: Absolutely nonsense.
RR: So do you think we ought to invade Saudi Arabia, where most of the hijackers from 9/11 came from, following your logic, Christopher?
CH: Uh, no. Excuse me. The hijackers may have been Saudi and Yemeni, but they were not envoys of the Saudi Arabian government, even when you said the worst...
RR: Zarqawi is not an envoy of Saddam Hussein, either.
CH: Excuse me. When I went to interview Abu Nidal, then the most wanted terrorist in the world, in Baghdad, he was operating out of an Iraqi government office. He was an arm of the Iraqi State, while being the most wanted man in the world. The same is true of the shelter and safe house offered by the Iraqi government, to the murderers of Leon Klinghoffer, and to Mr. Yassin, who mixed the chemicals for the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. How can you know so little about this, and be occupying a chair at the time that you do?
RR: I guess because I listen to the 9/11 Commission, and read their report, and they said that Saddam Hussein was not exporting terror. I suppose that's how, Christopher.
CH: Well, then they were wrong, weren't they?
RR: No, maybe they just needed to listen to you, Christopher.
CH; Well, I'm not sure that they actually did say that. What they did say was they didn't know of any actual operational connection...
RR: That's right. No substantive operational connection.
CH: ...which was the Iraqi Baath Party and...excuse me...and Al Qaeda. A direct operational connection. Now, that's because they don't know. They don't say there isn't one. They say they couldn't find one. But I just gave you the number, I would have thought, rather suggestive examples.
Greatest American Rock Bands
Here is USA Today's 20 greatest American rock bands of all time. Pearl Jam #1? Please.
A few obvious omissions:
A few obvious omissions:
- Doobie Brothers
- Steely Dan
- Steve Miller Band
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
What Was Tubby Thinking?
Obviously, he wasn't:
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Top University of Kentucky officials said yesterday they are not concerned that they were not told in advance about a meeting involving basketball coach Tubby Smith, a Lexington-area woman and the former UK basketball player she alleges drugged and raped her in his campus dorm room.
"I'm comfortable with my communication with Tubby," athletic director Mitch Barnhart said. "Tubby told me about the meeting after it happened, and I appreciate him keeping me informed. I'll leave it at that. This is an ongoing investigation, and we need to leave it with the police and let them do their job."
A spokesman for UK President Lee Todd also said Smith had not informed either man of the allegations, even though he was tipped off to the police investigation by Police Chief Anthany Beatty after the woman filed her complaint.
Nevertheless, spokesman Jay Blanton said yesterday that Todd has not objected to Smith's handling of the investigation.
"Dr. Todd is comfortable with the level of communication that took place here and more importantly with the cooperation the university given to the police," he said.
Reached in Indianapolis this week, Smith refused to discuss meeting with the accuser or his relationship with the police chief.
This is the sort of thing that could cost Tubby his job.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Top University of Kentucky officials said yesterday they are not concerned that they were not told in advance about a meeting involving basketball coach Tubby Smith, a Lexington-area woman and the former UK basketball player she alleges drugged and raped her in his campus dorm room.
"I'm comfortable with my communication with Tubby," athletic director Mitch Barnhart said. "Tubby told me about the meeting after it happened, and I appreciate him keeping me informed. I'll leave it at that. This is an ongoing investigation, and we need to leave it with the police and let them do their job."
A spokesman for UK President Lee Todd also said Smith had not informed either man of the allegations, even though he was tipped off to the police investigation by Police Chief Anthany Beatty after the woman filed her complaint.
Nevertheless, spokesman Jay Blanton said yesterday that Todd has not objected to Smith's handling of the investigation.
"Dr. Todd is comfortable with the level of communication that took place here and more importantly with the cooperation the university given to the police," he said.
Reached in Indianapolis this week, Smith refused to discuss meeting with the accuser or his relationship with the police chief.
This is the sort of thing that could cost Tubby his job.
Friday, July 08, 2005
There Are More Bill Cosby's Out There
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Two days before the oldest and best-known U.S. civil rights group holds its yearly convention in Milwaukee, black leaders in the city say their community is being torn apart from the inside.
Civil rights leaders like 57-year-old Prentice McKinney, who fought to free Milwaukee's blacks from the ghetto, say gangs, drugs and violence have left those who still live in the nation's urban cores in fear of the next generation.
"Back then, the enemy was clear, it was white racists, and racist police officers," said McKinney, who was a black teen-age "commando" in the 1960s and now runs a tavern once frequented by fellow activists.
"It was a legalized system of segregation. And so, the challenge was between the white establishment and the African-American population. Today, the African-American population is being destroyed by its own youth ... an enemy from within."
He and others interviewed before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's six-day meeting beginning on Saturday see a changed city where a generation of blacks freed from the shackles of yesterday's legalized discrimination are held hostage by today's crime and poverty.
"You have a population of older African-Americans ... who are now afraid of the children in their neighborhoods," McKinney said.
Milwaukee, with 583,624 residents, 37 percent of whom are black, is the country's 22nd-largest city. It remains deeply segregated, civil rights activists say.
Civil rights leaders like 57-year-old Prentice McKinney, who fought to free Milwaukee's blacks from the ghetto, say gangs, drugs and violence have left those who still live in the nation's urban cores in fear of the next generation.
"Back then, the enemy was clear, it was white racists, and racist police officers," said McKinney, who was a black teen-age "commando" in the 1960s and now runs a tavern once frequented by fellow activists.
"It was a legalized system of segregation. And so, the challenge was between the white establishment and the African-American population. Today, the African-American population is being destroyed by its own youth ... an enemy from within."
He and others interviewed before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's six-day meeting beginning on Saturday see a changed city where a generation of blacks freed from the shackles of yesterday's legalized discrimination are held hostage by today's crime and poverty.
"You have a population of older African-Americans ... who are now afraid of the children in their neighborhoods," McKinney said.
Milwaukee, with 583,624 residents, 37 percent of whom are black, is the country's 22nd-largest city. It remains deeply segregated, civil rights activists say.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
The Wisdom of C.S. Lewis
"I think it important to try to see the present calamity in a true perspective. The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun... The insects have chosen a different line: they have sought first the material welfare and security of the hive, and presumably they have their reward. Men are different. They propound mathematical theorems in beleaguered cities, conduct metaphysical arguments in condemned cells, make jokes on scaffolds, discuss the latest new poem while advancing to the walls of Quebec, and comb their hair at Thermopylae. This is not panache: it is our nature."
Quote of the Day II
"Their wounds are almost like they are war wounds." -- CNN anchor Solidad O'Brien (sp?)
Uh, THEY ARE FREAKIN' WAR WOUNDS, YOU MORON!!
Uh, THEY ARE FREAKIN' WAR WOUNDS, YOU MORON!!
Quote of the Century
“It is important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire impose extremism on the world.” -- Tony Blair
I pray he's right, but I fear he's wrong. Is our determination greater? Is our media's determination greater? Is our politician's determination greater? Is our academic leadership's determination greater? Is our cultural icon's determination greater?
From what I've seen since 9/11, our cultural institutions have neither the stomach nor the courage to adequately defend our values and way of life...and the barbarians know it. The only thing standing between us and them has been W, Blair, Rummy and all of the other "fascists" and "warmongers" in the West. But what happens when they're gone?
I pray he's right, but I fear he's wrong. Is our determination greater? Is our media's determination greater? Is our politician's determination greater? Is our academic leadership's determination greater? Is our cultural icon's determination greater?
From what I've seen since 9/11, our cultural institutions have neither the stomach nor the courage to adequately defend our values and way of life...and the barbarians know it. The only thing standing between us and them has been W, Blair, Rummy and all of the other "fascists" and "warmongers" in the West. But what happens when they're gone?
More on Africa
I agree with Anne Applebaum:
[A]mong those who work seriously on Africa, it has long been clear that what Africans need isn't only cash, which can be stolen or wasted, but the opportunity to trade their way out of poverty, just as Asians did over the past several decades. Yet the current regime of agricultural tariffs, quotas and export subsidies, whether for American cotton or European sugar, so reduces the price of African agricultural products that African farmers cannot compete. Each European cow costs taxpayers $2.20 a day, while half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. Withdraw the subsidies for the cows, and Africans might even be able to make competitive cheese.
[A]mong those who work seriously on Africa, it has long been clear that what Africans need isn't only cash, which can be stolen or wasted, but the opportunity to trade their way out of poverty, just as Asians did over the past several decades. Yet the current regime of agricultural tariffs, quotas and export subsidies, whether for American cotton or European sugar, so reduces the price of African agricultural products that African farmers cannot compete. Each European cow costs taxpayers $2.20 a day, while half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. Withdraw the subsidies for the cows, and Africans might even be able to make competitive cheese.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Yes!
The Frenchies lose...again.
SINGAPORE (AP) -- London was awarded the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday, defeating European rival Paris in the final round of voting to take the games back to the British capital for the first time since 1948.
After Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds, London beat its cross-Channel opponent on the fourth ballot of the International Olympic Committee vote -- capping the most glamorous and hotly contested bid race in Olympic history.
SINGAPORE (AP) -- London was awarded the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday, defeating European rival Paris in the final round of voting to take the games back to the British capital for the first time since 1948.
After Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds, London beat its cross-Channel opponent on the fourth ballot of the International Olympic Committee vote -- capping the most glamorous and hotly contested bid race in Olympic history.
W - Friend to Africa
Nick Kristof's column in the NYT begins:
Those who care about Africa tend to think that the appropriate attitude toward President Bush is a medley of fury and contempt.
But the fact is that Mr. Bush has done much more for Africa than Bill Clinton ever did, increasing the money actually spent for aid there by two-thirds so far, and setting in motion an eventual tripling of aid for Africa. Mr. Bush's crowning achievement was ending one war in Sudan, between north and south. And while Mr. Bush has done shamefully little to stop Sudan's other conflict - the genocide in Darfur - that's more than Mr. Clinton's response to genocide in Rwanda (which was to issue a magnificent apology afterward).
Those who care about Africa tend to think that the appropriate attitude toward President Bush is a medley of fury and contempt.
But the fact is that Mr. Bush has done much more for Africa than Bill Clinton ever did, increasing the money actually spent for aid there by two-thirds so far, and setting in motion an eventual tripling of aid for Africa. Mr. Bush's crowning achievement was ending one war in Sudan, between north and south. And while Mr. Bush has done shamefully little to stop Sudan's other conflict - the genocide in Darfur - that's more than Mr. Clinton's response to genocide in Rwanda (which was to issue a magnificent apology afterward).
Now They're Fighting Each Other
American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents.
Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.
The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code.
Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May when as many as 50 mortar rounds were fired across the city. But, to the surprise of the American garrison, this time it was not the target.
If a shell landed near the US base, "they'd adjust their fire and not shoot at us", Lt Col Tim Mundy said. "They shot at each other."
Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.
The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code.
Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May when as many as 50 mortar rounds were fired across the city. But, to the surprise of the American garrison, this time it was not the target.
If a shell landed near the US base, "they'd adjust their fire and not shoot at us", Lt Col Tim Mundy said. "They shot at each other."
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
The 800 Pound Gorilla In The Room
Cincinnati has had 37 homicides so far this year. Here are the stats:
Victims: 95% male; 89% African-American; 24% age 21 and younger.
Suspects: Of the 22 cases in which suspects are listed, 91% are male, 90% are African-American.
Locations: District 4, which includes Avondale, Bond Hill and Walnut Hills, has been the deadliest to date, with 13 killings, or 35 percent. District 5, which stretches from Clifton Heights to Winton Hills and Mount Airy, has the fewest, with five.
I'm noticing a trend here that everyone is afraid to talk about.
Victims: 95% male; 89% African-American; 24% age 21 and younger.
Suspects: Of the 22 cases in which suspects are listed, 91% are male, 90% are African-American.
Locations: District 4, which includes Avondale, Bond Hill and Walnut Hills, has been the deadliest to date, with 13 killings, or 35 percent. District 5, which stretches from Clifton Heights to Winton Hills and Mount Airy, has the fewest, with five.
I'm noticing a trend here that everyone is afraid to talk about.
The Demise of the Church Festival?
Well, at least in Western PA:
For many Catholic churches in Western Pennsylvania and for volunteer fire departments as well, the summer carnival has been a mainstay of fund raising for generations, a big business that requires precision planning, attention to detail and months to organize.
But with rising costs, a shortage of volunteers and competition for people's time, money and attention, carnival stalwarts say it's becoming increasingly difficult to bring in the tens of thousands of dollars in revenue such an event can generate.
"In the past, a good church or fireman's carnival -- between what they did on the grounds, on their raffle and with their food -- could make over $100,000 in a week's time," said Dan Shefler of Penn Distributing, one of the area's largest carnival suppliers. "That's much rarer these days."
"At one point in time, we were netting $80,000 from the carnival," said Sid Haeck, business manager of St. Mary of the Mount Church on Mount Washington, where the annual carnival starts tonight and runs through Saturday. "Last year, it was between $30,000 and $35,000."
For many Catholic churches in Western Pennsylvania and for volunteer fire departments as well, the summer carnival has been a mainstay of fund raising for generations, a big business that requires precision planning, attention to detail and months to organize.
But with rising costs, a shortage of volunteers and competition for people's time, money and attention, carnival stalwarts say it's becoming increasingly difficult to bring in the tens of thousands of dollars in revenue such an event can generate.
"In the past, a good church or fireman's carnival -- between what they did on the grounds, on their raffle and with their food -- could make over $100,000 in a week's time," said Dan Shefler of Penn Distributing, one of the area's largest carnival suppliers. "That's much rarer these days."
"At one point in time, we were netting $80,000 from the carnival," said Sid Haeck, business manager of St. Mary of the Mount Church on Mount Washington, where the annual carnival starts tonight and runs through Saturday. "Last year, it was between $30,000 and $35,000."
This Guy Has Quite A Bit Of Free Time
TOKYO - A Japanese psychiatric counselor has recited pi to 83,431 decimal places from memory, breaking his own personal best of 54,000 digits and setting an unofficial world record, a media report said Saturday.
Akira Haraguchi, 59, had begun his attempt to recall the value of pi - a mathematical value that has an infinite number of decimal places - at a public hall in Chiba city, east of Tokyo, on Friday morning and appeared to give up by noon after only reaching 16,000 decimal places, the Tokyo Shimbun said on its Web site.
Akira Haraguchi, 59, had begun his attempt to recall the value of pi - a mathematical value that has an infinite number of decimal places - at a public hall in Chiba city, east of Tokyo, on Friday morning and appeared to give up by noon after only reaching 16,000 decimal places, the Tokyo Shimbun said on its Web site.
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