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Saturday, April 20, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:23 PM:
Israel's catching hell over Jenin; Bush and the UN call for investigations, with which Israel (however reluctantly) agrees to comply - even give assistance. Perfect moment for the Palestinians to seize the moral high ground. Right? Right? Anyone? I guess that's why:Palestinians say battles with Israel will go on--using underground network.The headline is Militants Regroup for Future and it tells us of a young Palestinian:
Khaled is eager for Israel to relax its grip on Bethlehem, so he can reunite with his comrades and renew the battle against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that they have waged with rocks, guns and suicide bombings. "Of course, it will be different," he said. "We were in the open before. Too open, I think. Now, we will be underground. It is not the first time."Not to worry, our beloved negotiating partner, Yasser Arafat, is impotent in the face of all this, even if he does ever make up his mind whether he wants to slaughter Israelis en masse or 15 at a time.
Tell me again why we even talk to him. And why we're still questioning Israel's declaration that Jenin was unsafe for aid workers even as they try to stitch back together a doctor who stepped in the wrong place on plastique intended for Israeli soldiers.
My one ounce of sympathy for the Palestinian cause is starting to evaporate.
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posted by gbarto at 10:11 PM:
What they're reading in France.Le Monde: France votes, no one cares. In the face of international conflicts and countless tragic tales, the path to the Elysée palace (the French White House) drew little interest. In the shadow of the dueling cohabitants (Chirac, president; Jospin, prime minister), the only surprises came from the 14 other candidates.
sub-heads: UN investigation of Jenin; and today's feature here:
ALGÉRIE: Manifestation contre le gouvernementThe riots come on the anniversary of "Berber Spring," an uprising 22 years ago in which cultural and social rights were demanded for the Berbers.
100.000 Berbères sont descendus samedi dans les rues de Tizi-Ouzou, pour protester contre l'arrestation de militants en Kabylie. Sept personnes ont été assassinées et quatre blessées par un groupe armé dans la nuit de vendredi. / Algeria: Anti-Government Riots. 100,000 Berbers took to the streets of Tizi-Ouzou to protest the arrest of militants in Kabylie. Seven killed and fourteen wounded by an armed band Friday night.
Le Figaro: Their lead is the same story I fronted yesterday, not too surprising since the paper does a weekend edition, not separate Saturday and Sunday editions. However, Bush's call for an investigation into Jenin has crept in.
Libé: Also has the same lead as yesterday, but has snuck in the UN investigation of Jenin. And here's one I haven't seen before: Tobacco and the sex of your child. Apparently, smokers are less likely to have boys.
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posted by gbarto at 9:45 PM:
Too cool. Den Beste has some new gadgets.* * *
posted by gbarto at 6:01 PM:
The voices against tyranny burned a couple flags, woo hoo. And they made such asses of themselves that they even upset a libertarian. I'll just make the cliché observation that they wouldn't burn a Palestinian flag in Jenin. But being a better society than the sort they tend to root for, I think our republic can bear this offense. Like the father whose child flails at his knees on account of some candy or toy denied, we'll do best with these types with the gentle tolerance that can only hope they'll outgrow such foolishness. via Joanne Jacobs* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:53 PM:
Speaking of Sound and Fury, he has some interesting thoughts on the lottery here.* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:37 PM:
Sullivan Numbers: Joanne Jacobs is a 2; like Sound and Fury, I'm a three.* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:25 PM:
Israelis right about danger in camps
According to the New York Times:
As relief agency officials and human rights activists swarmed around the camp, an Israeli Arab doctor stepped on something that exploded, blowing him off his feet.But of course the Israelis were just keeping people out to avoid having them see the atrocities they were committing. (via Instantman)
Writhing in agony and bleeding from the leg, Wael Omari, part of a delegation of physicians, was stretchered away to an ambulance by shocked colleagues. The blast was a sharp reminder of the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance and booby-traps.
I have a suggestion: Next time, the Israelis should ask international observers to come along and walk in front. Then we'll find out how much trust and faith the international community puts in the Palestinians.
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posted by gbarto at 2:52 PM:
Rallies Focus on Middle EastThousands march in D.C. for a host of causes in largely peaceful protests.
They're doing better than I expected (see italics). Is the anti- movement growing up? Or rediscovering what Ghandi and MLK knew?
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posted by gbarto at 2:49 PM:
The simplicity of Hegel. Hegel noted that some like to bloviate about life being too complicated for right and wrong to be distinguished, then noted:This perplexity may at first sight be taken for a right and really serious attitude to the thing, but in fact those who boast of this perplexity are in the position of not being able to see the wood for the trees; the only perplexity and difficulty they are in is one of their own making. Indeed, this perplexity and difficulty of theirs is proof that they want as the substance of the the right and the ethical not what is universally recognized and valid, but something else...Hegel goes on to observe that for some, freedom of thought is only believed to exist if it diverges from the norm, opposes the state and society. Hegel overstepped the bounds with a lot of his thought on conformity, but the point made here is valid and important, for it addresses a mindset that though opposed to Hegel's is no less arbitrary and no less sinister. Unquestioning obéissance to the state is foolish; so is unquestioning désobéissance. The two replace reason with variants of conformity. The reason I excerpted this passage is that it so well explains the French critiques of simplisme we saw a while back. Were the French being principled? Or were they simply being contentious? It certainly seems that opposition to terror ought to be a no-brainer, that liberating people from regimes that practiced terror ought to be a no-brainer. But those addressing inferiority complexes like to put themselves above right-thinking people, and as Hegel says, they invent complexity to pretend that "right" doesn't exist. Those supporting terrorism and totalitarianism today because of the blind belief wrong is right and "complex thinkers" understand that are just as mindless in their thought - and as abusive of the human condition - as those who mistook Hegel's Philosophy of Right as an invocation to blind obéissance to Hitler's regime sixty years ago.
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posted by gbarto at 2:22 PM:
Ancient Holy Site Under SiegePalestinian guerrillas take sanctuary in a church they know Israel can't harm.
Kind of like using human shields. This is just a reminder that Palestinian soldiers choose life. And will wear any mantle necessary to attain it, including infidel churches. Still, I was reading a piece by PJ O'Rourke the other day (in Holidays in Hell) where he observed that the Israelis had flung some tear gas into a mosque, but after the condemnation they'd gotten for that, they weren't going anywhere near the place. And it made me think: What if those soldiers were hiding out in a synagogue instead? If somebody burned it down, would they call it a draw? The Palestinians can count on us preserving the sanctity of a holy place. Too bad we can't expect the same of their supporters in Marseilles, in Strassbourg...
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posted by gbarto at 2:14 PM:
Lactose intolerance and the wonders of capitalism The TurkeyBlog is a happy TurkeyBlog: For the first time in about nine years, I've been eating French vanilla ice cream - sort of. There's a wonderful new product out there called "Mocha Mix" ice cream. It's made by Morningstar, to all appearances, though their website doesn't offer much guidance. Anyway, Mocha Mix offers a soy-based ice cream that's as close to French vanilla as I can remember. Ben and Jerry's makes (or made) a chocolate that was pretty good. And while we're on the subject, Veggie Slices makes not half-bad imitation cheeses. If you can't have milk products, I encourage you to give these a try, first for your own pleasure, and second, because I would like to see these products develop enough of a market that the companies will keep making them.Stepping outside my solipsism a minute, I'd also like to note that we live in an amazing age - and it just keeps getting more amazing. From the internet to fake cheese to designer cells, science and industry have been doing incredible things for the amelioration of the material state of human life. Unlike others (say, Leon Kass), I believe this ameliorates the spiritual state as well. The availability of a longer fuller life with more choices, more possibilities, may - in some cases - cause a loss of focus, but what it does more often is to open our eyes to what a profoundly cool thing it is to be alive in this world today. Suffering continues around the world, of course, but new opportunities arise, new sources of hope come to be. And part of the key lies in the words I italicized at the top of this paragraph: Science and Industry. We tend to forget about the latter, but science can advance till the cows come home and it does us no good without industry, without enterprise, without that push to make the buck that comes from making someone's life better. Altruism is nice, but even altruists like to hear their praises sung (no need to send letters about Mother Theresa, I'm talking general principles here) and parting with a dollar is one way of saying thanks, your labors are appreciated. I write about this because simple pleasures - like a bowl of ice cream - are not the sort of thing to which the great humanitarians ought turn their attention, yet they add a little value to life all the same. And it's good that we have mechanisms for delivering them while our great humanitarians focus on more urgent problems. Let us pause briefly to celebrate capitalism and the wonderful little touches it can add that make life a little more pleasureable - for its good and ours.
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posted by gbarto at 1:13 PM:
The Pope Speaks. Speaking to Nigerian bishops, the pope reitierated the importance of celibacy and poverty for priests. While not directly invoking the scandal in the US, the pope seemed to address the issue, putting emphasis on the responsibilities of priests and simultaneously rejecting calls by some for looser standards for priests. Mr. Sullivan and others are welcome to continue calling for married priests, toleration of homosexual activity, et cetera, but it occurs to me: Isn't the problem here too much tolerance and understanding? Or did I miss the part where those deprived of sexual contact with adults automatically turn to children? Pedophilia is a particular - let's use the world gingerly - orientation (or at least attraction) which doesn't seem to have its outlet in marriage. Whether one wishes for freer lifestyles for Catholic priests is an interesting question, but beside the point in the pedophilia matter since almost no one is calling for looser standards on pedophilia. In any case, the pope said that the pedophile, the heterosexual and the homosexual all have the same responsibility - to give their spiritual committment to God alone by refraining from other passions of the flesh, be they sexual or material.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:03 PM:
New Joanne Jacobs column up at Fox News.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:53 PM:
Another Grunge death: Layne Staley of Alice in Chains found dead in his home. He was 34. Were drugs involved? Wouldn't be a surprise, but by the time they found him he was too badly decomposed for immediate assessment.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:33 AM:
Who put the "veri" in verisign? The prefix is supposed to sound like veritas, truth, but verisign isn't exactly open and above board. Today I received a form from verisign that looked something like this:| Domain Name Expiration Notice Reply by: May 15, 2002 Renewal Rate: $29 annually per domain name Renewal and Transfer instructions | |
| [My Mailing Information] |
|
The form underneath carried the label, Domain Name Renewal Form.
Of course, this isn't about renewal. It's about Verisign tricking you into making them your registrar. It's simple: send out a form that says Expiration notice. Person opens the envelope, says uh oh, don't want to have Layne's problem (his registration lapsed and things got messed up a few weeks back), so they fill out the forms and ta-da, they're paying Verisign $29 a year. If you've got a plan like mine, this means an extra ten bucks a year to do business with a company that sells its service deceptively.
I get messages like this in e-mail too. If you're new to this and get a message about renewal, the first thing you need to do is visit someplace like this:
http://www.bulkregister.com/whois.phtml
Then make sure you're checking the nsregistry, and you'll see who your registrar is and how long you're registered for. If you want to renew, you can go with them if you're happy with the service and price, or you can shop around. But if you get an "expiration notice" that quietly mentions transfer, better doublecheck your information before you sign anything. If you like the deal they're offering, maybe you'll even want to take it. But remember that you're dealing with a company that doesn't always play quite straight.
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posted by gbarto at 12:38 AM:
Sharp piece from Gunner20, though not one that offers much hope. (via Mac's Temporary Blog) Gunner20 argues that the ambitions of Israel and Palestine are so fundamentally incompatible that only the destruction of one of the parties will bring resolution. He uses the Punic wars as a springboard, leading us to pile on to Mac's frustrations in noting thusly aut Israel aut Palestina delendus est.* * *
Friday, April 19, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:34 PM:
What they're reading in France.Le Monde: Presidential campaign down to the wire. Not as far as the polling goes; it's just that Friday at midnight was the official end of the campaign.
Sub-heads: In Russia, they're bracing for extremist violence as Hitler's birthday coincides with a big soccer game. Next on the docket is the cities: How do you target violence and tension without aggravating it? And (yes, this is front page news in the NYT of France), Olympe de Marseilles - a soccer team - has as its new head a former reporter for the Nouvel Observateur.
Le Figaro: The lead story on the website is that the Social Democrats and the Green Party in Germany aren't looking so hot in the latest polls. Further down, the French elections get a little play of their own, specifically, the Socialists are already criticizing Jospin's campaign, making one wonder just how ill the first round of voting bodes for the Prime Minister in his bid to become President.
Libération: Libé leads with the Sunday vote. This page carries Libé's last polls. Main numbers: Chirac - 19.5%, Jospin - 18%, Jean-Marie LePen (read Pat Buchanan) - 14%, Arlette Laguiller (read Ralph Nader's leftist cousin) - 7%. And leading them all - you guessed it - undecided, with 31%. You can go to the table to see the rest.
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posted by gbarto at 8:42 PM:
By the way, with respect to the post below, what's with these people? How did our protest movements go from sit-ins and non-violent marches to the mess we have today? Could it be because the movements aren't policing themselves? I know there were shootings at Kent State, I know things got ugly at the '68 Democratic convention, but there was still a celebration of non-violent tactics and civil disobedience was... civil. But that requires that groups know what they stand for, not just what they stand against, so that they appreciate their stake in the proceedings, understand that acting irresponsibly doesn't simply make for a raucous good time, it hurts something they believe in. That's why the right was so quick to boot Falwell, Robertson and Coulter after their 9/11 remarks. The left still doesn't understand that it's not just about fightin' the man; serious political movements don't just fight power, they have to be prepared to either take it and wield it differently or to find a way to disperse it. When the anti-war crowd offers something other than death by moral superiority, I'll be prepared to listen. In the meantime, the ugly business we're going about is alas absolutely critical to the survival of our civilization. May we suggest that they launch an anti-war protest in Palestine and see how far they get.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:30 PM:
Protest Weekend Under WayA bike ride is broken up; 40 arrested.
Betcha they let the National Guard keep their waterguns though. I know this is serious stuff, and it's a damn shame that every time these folks drop by, we have to worry about the town being torn up, businesses getting disrupted, etc., but the sub-head could have chosen a less innocuous characterization than "bike ride".
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posted by gbarto at 8:28 PM:
Senate Seeks to Wrap Up Energy Bill Right now, they're busy sizing the shroud.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:26 PM:
Protesters Come to Washington When pro-Israel demonstrations were announced, the world sort of went ho-hum, hoped the counter-protests wouldn't go too badly, and went on with its business. Yet every headline about this weekend's protests seems breathlessly to worry about what will happen. I wonder what the difference is.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:18 PM:
All sorts of unusual rituals. Martin Roth offers "A weblog from the Christian counterculture", which just reminded me, vis-à-vis the Middle East that yes, there are Christians there. With all the fighting between Muslim and Jew, this tends to slip through the cracks to the point where the Church of the Nativity, even, becomes a symbol of their struggle, rather than a symbol of the other faith from that region (a faith to which I belong, I might add). Roth's big question: Wasn't Suha Arafat supposedly Christian? and if so, how come she condoned suicide bombing this week?On a more secular note, Roth notes they've shut down "Crossing the line" hazing rituals in the Australian navy, as something that no other worker would be asked to put up with. Roth notes: Come to think of it, getting torpedoes fired at you isn’t accepted in any other workplace either.
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posted by gbarto at 2:42 PM:
Jenin Pullout Complete Sharon's complying, bit by bit. Since he's made a partial withdrawal, do you think maybe Hamas will agree to only blow up buses but not business establishments?* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:37 PM:
From the Grand Rapids Press, yesterday, an article on the issue of taxes, liens and spousal protections: Michigan is one of twelve states that has traditionally shielded homes from being taken in tax disputes, if so doing would affect not only the taxpayer but also a spouse who was innocent of wrongdoing. The IRS wanted that changed, and the Supreme Court has granted its wish. I appreciate the need for the taxpaying public to pony up, so that we don't all wind up with higher taxes while some people freeload. On the other hand, the statements like this, from a former IRS attorney, reminded me why I can never think of things in such terms when the IRS is involved:Mark Pendery, formerly was the chief attorney for the IRS in West Michigan. When he worked there, he encouraged the U.S. Justice Department to pursue the case.In the case in question, there were clearly games being played with title transfers to shield the house. The guy involved was an attorney who owed close to half a million, since he hadn't bothered to file returns for five years. And had the Supremes left it at that, I would be inclined to say, Fine, they played games with the system and lost. However, the Supremes' ruling affects not just this one case but thousands, not all of which involve such self-evident twitting of the law. Worries Antonin Scalia:
"This is a huge decision for the Internal Revenue Service," Pendery said. "This is an extra tool they didn't have. They're going to be very pleased."
the decision will harm stay-at-home wives who outlive their husbands but could become vulnerable to IRS liens based on the behavior of their spouse. (GR Press paraphrase, not his words)I hope the IRS uses this "tool" for taking people's homes wisely - more wisely than police have used the forfeiture laws regarding cars used in drug crimes, for example. I have my doubts, but then I haven't heard about too many outrages in states without these protections; has the IRS shown discretion or are their actions just too taken for granted to draw attention?
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posted by gbarto at 11:47 AM:
Interview with an escalator. Anne Rice, eat your heart out.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:21 AM:
From the Journal's Taste page, a nice essay on Islam, suicide and terrorism. My comments here.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:03 AM:
Great stuff on the WSJ editorial page. First, there's this essay by Netanyahu on the origins of terrorism.And Peggy Noonan puts her finger on what the Catholic Church must do about the sex scandals:
It would be wonderful, finally, if the pope spoke to the world about his recognition of the gravity of the situation, and his grief, and what hard steps he will take to save the soul of the American church.
He could begin with leaning toward a cardinal kneeling before him, thanking him for his long years of effort, and then removing and taking away his cardinal's hat and ring. Thus showing the cardinals and the world that he will not accept the continuance of the calamity.
He could start with Cardinal Bernard Law, whose actions have at least broken the spirit of the law. That would send a message to those in the church who need to hear it, that covering up, going along, and paying off victims is over. That careerism is over, and Christianity is back.
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posted by gbarto at 10:57 AM:
FNC is reporting unspecified threats against financial institutions in the Northeast. Have they gone through the phone logs for calls from Holland yet?* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:05 AM:
Fritz Hollings: Standing tall against the American citizenry for more than forty years. (it's Den Beste)* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:54 AM:
Fox News round-up on latest Mid-East violence, including another suicide bombing, though this one, at a checkpoint, wounded soldiers, not civilians. This presumably means that Palestinian spokesmen will declare it a military operation that doesn't count since no civilians were hurt. But actually, a couple million civilians were hurt, Palestinians all, as Israel is again told that Palestinians aren't people, they're potential bombs, thus eroding further the hope of these two peoples living in peace - and of Palestinians being allowed to seek work in a prosperous Israel when Palestine has few jobs to offer.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:47 AM:
Thor Heyderdal, of Kon-Tiki fame, has died.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:45 AM:
Depressing story about Jenin in the Washington Post. A UN Envoy is condemning Israel, based on what he's found in surveying the camp. Again the charges levied at Israel, that they failed to do search and rescue and did not check every house to make sure there were no innocents inside. But Charles Johnson last night had links to the boasts of a Palestinian that:"We had more than 50 houses booby-trapped around the camp. We chose old and empty buildings and the houses of men who were wanted by Israel because we knew the soldiers would search for them," he said.In effect, Israeli troops are being blamed for not turning themselves into human landmine detectors. The bottom line is that with the amount of bad blood between the Israelis and the Palestinians in Jenin, the wonder is that the Israelis didn't choose to simply incinerate the whole area. While there were no doubt excesses, they must be balanced against the fact that 13 men died because they didn't want to shoot a young man who had been wired to blow up among them. Israel is castigated for the death of a 12 year old, but somehow these reports fail to mention how wantonly the Palestinians themselves sacrifice their children, leaving Israel no choice but to suspect every Palestinian of being a potential bomb. Well, every Palestinian save the "soldiers" and the Yasser Arafats and other politicos who scramble to maintain their own lives while encouraging ordinary civilians to choose death. Of course there's something to be said for this, because Arafat doesn't offer much promise for the lives of ordinary Palestinians anyway.
"We cut off lengths of mains water pipes and packed them with explosives and nails. Then we placed them about four metres apart throughout the houses -- in cupboards, under sinks, in sofas."
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Thursday, April 18, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:25 PM:
Excellent editing from LGF with respect to the mess and Jenin.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:18 PM:
Speaking of France... It's time for "What they're reading in France today":At this hour, Le Monde is leading with the return of Afghanistan's king. The three subheads are Italy, Chechnya and - of course - the Presidential elections. However, there's a new story in Italy: the crash of a private plane into a skyscraper in Milan has replaced worker riots as the news of the day. As for Chechnya:
TCHÉTCHÉNIE Quand la réalité rattrape M. Poutine Un attentat a fait 17 morts, jeudi, à Grozny, alors que le président russe affirmait, au même moment, que la phase militaire de l'opération en Tchétchénie était terminée. / Reality catches up to Putin A bomb killed 17 Thursday in Grozny even as the Russian president was assuring that the military phase of operations in Chechnya had ended.
Inside, the updated story now lists 18 dead, all pro-Russian police, indicating that Moscow continues to reap grief from its actions in the region.
Today's election story concerns... voting blocks and identity politics. I presume we're all familiar with that here.
Figaro leads with the headline: Israel accused of using human shields. However, the story summary concerns Pres. Bush's declaration that he was satisfied with Sharon's progress in withdrawing from Palestinian territory.
The print edition leads with these three stories: 41% of French haven't picked (their presidential choice) yet; Afghanistan's king returns; signs of Al-Quaeda at Djerba (see the Le Monde edito in the posts below for more).
Finally, Libé: Tourist plane crashes into Milan building, First round of elections rendered "sclerotic" by Jospin-Chirac duel. Lastly, in the society section:
Lutte renforcée contre les armes et l'antisémitismeEssentially, Jospin is pushing tolerance and gun-control on the campaign trail today. Will Chirac catch up? He has spoken out on the matter of synagogue burnings, et cetera before. One curious feature of the first round elections - with so many candidates, when one makes news, you don't automatically get the round-up of everyone else's views on the same matter. No fairness doctrine in France.
Lionel Jospin a annoncé, jeudi, des mesures pour durcir la législation sur les armes. Et pris l'initiative d'une action concertée avec d'autres pays européens contre les actes antisémites. / Fight strengthened against arms and anti-Semitism Lionel Jospin announced, Thursday, measures to strengthen arms legislation. And he took the initiative in a concerted effort with other countries against anti-Semitic acts.
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posted by gbarto at 9:44 PM:
Do the posts below indicate hope for Europe?* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:26 PM:
Reynolds notes that the Ghriba bombing woke up some who are predisposed to favor the Palestinians. This is established in the post below, which starts today's Le Monde editorial. Here's the heart of the editorial:The "weapon" isn't new. The Tamils use it in Sri Lanka. It is no less possessed of ignoble, unacceptable, sickening madness and criminal cowardice there. In the name of solidarity with the Palestinians, and in defense of their national struggle, the authorities of Islam and the intellectuals of the Arab world should be the first to denounce suicide-bombings. It is the Palestinians' misfortune that the opposite is happening. Over the course of just the last few weeks, the highest Muslim authorities have refused to condemn this tribal regression, according to which it is legitimate and noble to seek death in killing the greatest possible number of civilians among the adversary. In a hotel dining room, a pizzaria, a nightclub, or a bus.
[The editorial then mentions the Islamic conference in Malaysia and numerous Muslim authorities who have passed on their chance to denounce suicide bombing; then comes the key point:]
There is moral corruption in this manner of fighting by procuring and exhorting the young to give themselves over to death in the midst of other youth. And the Palestinian cause is one of their victims, along side bus passengers or restaurant patrons on Easter eve.
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posted by gbarto at 9:00 PM:
Here's the opening to the Le Monde Editorial Reynolds mentions:To all appearances, it was indeed a suicide bombing that on April 11 ravaged the Ghriba synagogue on the isle of Djerba in Tunisia. Fifteen people were killed in that place of peace and serenity. We don't yet know too much about what leads the investigators are following. One imagines a gesture whose author wished to associate himself to the Palestinian drama. So long as they do not fail to look into an Al-Quaeda network connection. The two tracks are not mutually exclusive. Lacking anything better, on would place the tragedy of Ghriba in the category of suicide bombings committed by a kamikaze. The expression is unfortunate since it reflects on the Japanese who, during WWII, limited themselves exclusively to military targets.
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posted by gbarto at 8:44 PM:
Mistake Kills Four CanadiansEight hurt as U.S. pilot bombs them by mistake in Afghanistan
Den Beste already said what needs to be said about this.
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posted by gbarto at 8:41 PM:
Six Killed as Train DerailsHundreds injured when 14 cars overturn in northern Florida
Apparently the train was coming from Orlando - home of Disney - en route to Washington. WaPo, incidentally, says five, and the local evening news was reporting 3. In any case, a most unfortunate mess.
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posted by gbarto at 8:39 PM:
Actor Robert Blake, Bodyguard Arrested. Never would have seen that coming.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:37 PM:
Here's the WaPo on the plane crash in Milan.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:33 PM:
A Stinging Repudiation Engineered by 3 Democrats. Democrats are crowing about the defeat of the Bush proposal on energy, featuring drilling. However, Senator Daschle still has a ways to go before he can declare himself a full-fledged leader: He has to pass something. A key feature of the Republican revolution in 1994 is that welfare reform and several other measures actually made it through Congress - and with enough support that Bill Clinton found it necessary to sign them. Lacking control of the House, the Democrats can't be expected to run Washington. But they could present a credible alternative. The bottom line is that Senator Daschle's triumph for environmentalists is not tightened CAFE standards, not new funds for clean-up, not new regulations to force the use of next generation technology to reduce pollution. It's not even Senate passage of such a bill. All Mr. Daschle can boast about is that when Republicans started shooting themselves in the foot, he stayed out of the way long enough for a Republican bill to collapse. When Daschle gets an environmental bill through the Senate with enough support that the President is forced to work with him on it, that will be something.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:57 PM:
Rumsfeld on Fox notes that he was never asked about Afghanistan in his confirmation hearings. Nor Cheney, about Iraq. Nor McNamara about Vietnam. Rumsfeld rightly notes that this shows we have to be prepared to be surprised. But it should also tell us something about the Congressional committees that always seem to know what the CIA should have figured out and what the Executive Branch should be doing, yet apparently never get around to asking the relevant questions when they count.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:53 PM:
Nice piece by Marty Peretz, asking the question, why is a carefully applied death penalty in the United States so detested by France when it turns a blind eye to almost instantly enacted death sentences for suspected collaborators in Palestine? And how closely does this tie to the anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism that serve as policy for France and leftist Europe? via Sullivan* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:36 PM:
Den Beste mentions that the Milan incident reminds: we're still at risk. My thoughts here.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:22 AM:
It's interesting the things A Dog's Life comes up with sometimes. Like this piece on Eugene Ormandy.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:00 AM:
Emmanuelle Richard has a run-down on the Canal+ dust-up, including some good links.* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:41 AM:
Commercial or private plane is still being debated. The flight seems to have originated in Slovenia - hotbed for terrorism? Hmm. The last time I checked, they were supposed to be the one part of the former Yugoslavia that actually worked. Updates in post below.New update: plane actually en route from Locarno, Switzerland, on the way to a small airport in central Milan.
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posted by gbarto at 9:15 AM:
Piper crashes into skyscraper in Milan. Senate president declares it a terrorist attack, but wires are now reporting that the pilot had sent an SOS. It matters not. It's Berlusconi's fault, regardless.Update: Learning of the SOS, the Italian Senate president reconsiders his earlier claim. Also, the markets, which had tumbled on the first reports, are gradually coming back.
Update: Fox still referring to an "incident" but one of their correspondents just speculated that the hole was too big for a small plane to make. No idea. Further updates to come, no doubt.
Update: Apparently one 75 year old man on plane. Was plane on fire before crash? Why was there a small explosion after the crash? 3 dead, dozens injured. All according to FNC on-air.
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posted by gbarto at 8:56 AM:
Dicit Jonah Goldberg:Baghdad delenda est.Legge. Valde est bonus.
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posted by gbarto at 8:35 AM:
About the Bush-Powell conference: Could one fail to notice that they both kept having troubles reiterating what the strategy was? But that when it came to questioning Arafat's committment, the words flowed easily? The press conference was ostensibly to discuss Powell's trip, but it could be summarized as "Ariel's withdrawing, what's with Arafat?" Bush and Powell seem to feel that case has been made; in what way will they act on that information - and on the fact that the world's been informed that this is how they see things?* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:31 AM:
The King of Jordan (on FNC) says, in disagreement with just about everyone save the administration, that Powell's trip was a net positive, reducing tension and violence. At the very least, we can take from this that he doesn't wish to unduly antagonize the U.S., for whatever that's worth.Also, the King diagnosed what has those of us with some faith in the administration have been saying. Of course he thinks it bad, we think it good, but we agree that the trip gave Israel a relatively free hand to pursue its goals in the area for a few extra weeks.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:57 PM:
Sharp piece in the ... Guardian? Anyway, here it is. It's on anti-Semitism. via Natalie Solent* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:43 PM:
Ah, for the good old days. Ben Kepple wants to know who lost Venezuela - i.e., why they let Chavez back in. I'm inclined to agree; elected tyrannies are no better than any other, as France's Second Empire showed.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:32 PM:
I posted the other side of this the other day, namely that five civilized nations had stood with Israel against the UNHRC resolution condemning Israel and approving of Palestinian violence as a means to a state. Guess it says something about perspective: A Dog's Life is outraged that some EU countries sold Israel down the river; I was surprised that not all of them did.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:13 PM:
Motorola's tanking; is Apple next? Steve Den Beste thinks so. (And he makes a solid case.)* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:07 PM:
WaPo: Bush defends Powell trip. High pollen counts make for a miserable allergy season. And Ashcroft gets slammed for messing with Oregon's Assisted Suicide laws.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:02 PM:
What they're reading in France:Le Monde: Madagascar between violence and mediation With the December 16 elections contested, violence has been rising in Madagascar. Now the New Partnership for the Development of Africa has put on a summit to try to reach a solution - without success. The story counts for a lot more for the French, who have a territory, the Isle of Reunion, in the neighborhood. They also have a little colonial history there.
The 3 subheads: Canal+ called to revolution against J2M (the French love nicknames and abbreviations for famous people, in this case, Jean-Marie Messier); the trial of a serial killer and - shocking - the poverty of ideas in the presidential race. Italy and Israel slide down to the international section, while the France section leads with Jean-Marie LePen, an odious Pat Buchanan, who says he alone has the following to set the direction of the presidential elections.
Figaro: leads with an Italian labor leader, who has taken center stage in the Italian crisis since there isn't a coherently organized opposition to Berlusconi within the political system. Other stories: The emergence of street children, as young as 8-12, who often sleep outside and who - surprise - are not showing positive psychological development. And speaking of problematic psychology, there's a presidential election on so the brain goes off, as with Lionel Jospin who today declared that it would be a "crisis" if Chirac were re-elected. No word on whether Jospin has enough perspective to serve as head of state.
Libé: on the website leads with Sharon's anticipated withdrawal from the West Bank and the fact that Colin Powell isn't very happy with Arafat. Second lead: The mess with Canal+. Libé offers this sharp summary:
Abonnés, salariés et célébrités, se sont rassemblés mercredi devant le siège de Vivendi Universal pour défendre «l'esprit Canal». Ou ce qu'il en reste. / Subscribers, workers and celebrities came together Wednesday at the headquarters of Vivendi Universal to defend "the Spirit of Canal+". Or what's left of it.Libé notes, as did Le Monde, that a number of pols also declaimed the watering down of the French culture and such. But it isn't making money selling French culture.
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posted by gbarto at 7:00 PM:
Anti-Jewish violence encouraged by hate groups in Denmark. Fredrik Norman has the story.* * *
posted by gbarto at 6:49 PM:
Instapundit is wondering about anti-Semitic violence in France in April 2001. Antisem.com says there were only 5 incidents of note in the first six months of 2001. You can visit their site, or see my translations here.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:06 PM:
Fantastic commentary from Slate's the Fray on the situation of the Palestinians. Instantman has the relevant excerpt, but I'm just going to give these sentences:[T]he people of Palestine also seem to be counting on Israel's personal morality (or at least Israel's need to appear moral before the world) not to commit genocide. They seem to be saying that the people of Israel will bow to world pressure and not wipe them out. At the very least, the message is that Israel is a good enough world citizen to follow certain rules of civilization.This is exactly what I was trying to say about Arafat in the post below.
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posted by gbarto at 1:56 PM:
Angry Arafat Appeals for U.S. Action Of course, the U.S. has been pushing for Arafat action to little apparent success. The denunciation of terror lasted almost five minutes after Powell arrived for talks. Notice, however, that Arafat hasn't called for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or even Iran or Iraq to do something. It would be too humiliating when they didn't respond to the call. And they wouldn't. Dead Palestinians in the streets of Israel take the spotlight off these nations. Their involvement through acts less discreet than money for suicide terrorists would put the spotlight back on them, and perhaps even give Bush the evidence he thinks he needs to tell Europeans that they're wrong about what ails the Middle East, and that he's going to clean house.This creates a dilemma for Arafat: He's been used by the Arab nations just as sure as he himself has used the Palestinian people, and now he's feeling very frightened because the only people actively assuring his survival are the United States and, ironically, Israel. Arafat now knows he will get little more for his cause than words from his supposed allies (guess he knows how the US feels about Europe), and probably suspects that if he exerts too much pressure on his "allies," he will become a glorious martyr in the advancement of their agenda. Thus he must turn to the only honest brokers in the region, the Great Satan and the Little Satan. By their grace he lives, and this we know, because Israel has had ample opportunity to kill him and hasn't. So, what do you do when there are only two people you can trust, but they're your avowed enemies? You beg for help and do your best to save face in so doing. This is where Arafat is today. Lucky for him that his enemies are more trustworthy than his friends.
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posted by gbarto at 1:35 PM:
Cool new Fox Weblog on wind power, et cetera. Take a look.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:16 AM:
Cynthia McKinney, Arab shill? I'm sorry. That's not fair. Read the story and decide for yourself. via Instantman* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:00 AM:
There's more in the WSJ for 4/17 (besides the post below)* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:42 AM:
WSJ editorials: Good editorial page on 4/17. Thoughts here.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:28 AM:
A little more on Canal+. The WSJ notes that employees for a brief period took over the air to protest. Having watched Canal+ react to allegations that its News Puppets (les Guignols de l'Info) had prompted the suicide of former Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy, this detail didn't register as that astonishing.Incidentally, one of the storylines floating around is that this is part of the Americanization of Jean-Marie Messier, hence of Vivendi. This is only the case in the sense that American companies are expected to make profits and Canal+ has lost money five years running, but heeeeeeey, it's a cultural icon.
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posted by gbarto at 9:30 AM:
I was surprised to see the WSJ following the French papers' lead with a front pager on the dismissal of Lescure as the head of the Canal+ unit of Vivendi.I was not so surprised by the story next to it, on troubles in the cell phone industry. The cellular phone industry is the closest analog in existence to the airlines: they don't know where their costs are, don't know what their service is worth, and can't get it together to put serving customers over serving their computer systems.
Living on the boundary between two cell towers for the only major cell carrier in my little rural region, half my calls are billed as roaming, half as from the home base, making for bills considerably larger than one would get ten miles to the north or ten miles to the south. But they can't even transfer my contract from one tower to the other in midstream. Worse, when their bills came out late one month, we got hit with a late charge for not getting a bill paid that was not yet received. Can't fight the computer, and certainly not when the choice is between talking to an unhappy current customer or the guy they were trying to sell a new contract. Still my experiences have been pretty positive. Forbes did a story a while back on just how bad it can get. The worst? A woman was being chased during a gang initiation, but couldn't get her cell phone to work to call the cops. She was caught and shot in the face. The upshot? The cell company told her that if she'd read the fine print, she'd have known the coverage maps were not binding. Can it get worse? Yes. A competing company had a tower in the area that would have received and forwarded her call. The roaming charge would have been rough, but the call would have gone through. Unfortunately, her cell phone provider had thoughtfully put in special codes to make sure that she couldn't log on to the competitor's tower, because the two were in fierce competition and didn't wish to provide business to one another.
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Tuesday, April 16, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:43 PM:
Martin Devon has some insights about Benjamin Netanyahu and root causes that must be read. This is the sort of thing that would get a Pulitzer prize - if the awards meant anything.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:25 PM:
Another Yikes, this one about the "peaceful side of Islam." You can read about it at this LGF post. I'm going to go remind myself that the number one headline in France is about the equivalent of the head of HBO stepping down. Somehow it seems saner at this moment.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:10 PM:
Live from the WTC offers her take on stock options here. Here are my thoughts.* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:55 PM:
WaPo: Osama escaped? Powell coming home. And apparently it's not a fluke that the air conditioning just kicked in, there's a heat wave on.* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:44 PM:
New TurkeyBlog Feature: What they're reading in FranceLe Monde:
Pierre Lescure leaves Canal +
Jean-Marie Messier, CEO of Vivendi, announces the departure of the head of France's leading pay-channel, sort of equivalent to HBO (and if you look at the end of HBO films, you'll sometimes notice they're with the participation of Canal+).
Sub-heads:
Israel-Palestine news: No cease-fire for Powell Which we all know.
Italy, still in the news: The Street defies Berlusconi. Their short summary:
L'Italie a été paralysée, mardi, pendant près de huit heures, par une grève générale sans précédent depuis vingt ans. Deux millions de travailleurs sont descendus dans la rue. (Italy was paralyzed Tuesday for nearly eight hours by a general strike of a nature not seen in twenty years, in which two million workers took to the streets.)
Story 3 concerns Corsica, which has been pushing for increased autonomy. We saw this with Scotland in the UK a while back. Now the island that produced Napoleon isn't sure it should be so closely tied to France. Chirac disagrees, asserting that he cannot see a time where he would accept Corsica going its own way. Of course the issue of Corsica as its own culture has been around awhile; Merimée (the guy who wrote the book, Carmen) tossed off a novel, Colomba, emphasizing this toward the middle of the 19th century.
Le Figaro leads with the crisis in Italy. Its lead subhead is LeMonde's top story, the departure of Lescure. However, the business-oriented Figaro puts emphasis on the new guy, Xavier Couture, and what his ascent means for Canal+. LeMonde's front page summaries and links don't even mention Couture, instead focusing the rift with celebrity CEO Messier.
Finally, Libé, the people's paper, of course leads with the Canal+ story, but hits both the politics of Messier and the ascent of Couture. The second lead is Italy. Finally, Libé gives prominent mention to the fact that José Bové, smasher of McDonald's and defender of Arafat, starts his 3 month sentence for vandalism after the presidential elections wrap up.
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posted by gbarto at 6:44 PM:
Yikes! The link is old, but could Arlette really have a shot? Yeesh, I thought Jospin was bad.At the same time, I have to note that 90% of those names are the same ones I heard on the news all the time when I lived in France in '93! Ok, I know, we still have Bush (but a new one), Gore (started running in '88) and several other hangers-on. But Gingrich is gone. Dole is doing Viagra commercials. Michael Dukakis can't even find work as a punchline anymore. And even Ross Perot gave up trying to run in his little party. But other than the lack of Philippe Seguin, the list just takes me back to the Guignols, PPDA and Ouest-France from my time in Bretagne.
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posted by gbarto at 6:15 PM:
Why didn't I think to use this phrase?The murderous bigotry of low expectations.Sharp comment from Vodkapundit.
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posted by gbarto at 3:36 PM:
Hee hee.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:13 PM:
Academia loves to talk about collaborative learning, loves to call for more openness and collaboration in society at large, and loves to make an ass of itself. As it did at Georgia Tech, where 187 of 1168 students in a computer science course got accused of the offense of "discussing homework." In a twisted effort to achieve pristine intellectual integrity, they have effectively announced that it is better to fail the class and fail to master the material than to run the risk of having one student provide too much help to another. We're not talking copying, we're talking guiding one another.He wanted to learn. That was his big mistake. The university officials who filled in the violation form were forced by the Georgia Tech rules to stray so far from their obligation as educators that they seriously listed part of the freshman’s offense in exactly these words: "He was trying to learn it."From the Washington Post.
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posted by gbarto at 3:00 PM:
John Gibson notes that the problem with Sharon's offensive is that whenever Palestinians die - by their own hand or by Sharon's - Arafat's prestige grows in Palestine and the Arab world. Gibson says we have to make Arafat irrelevant again, but he doesn't know how either. Here's a suggestion: Bring Powell home, proceed with the Iraqi invasion, irrespective of what's going on in Israel, and send the Saudis a note about what they will do to support us as a friend unless they wish to be the next enemy on our list. The only way to make Arafat irrelevant to our efforts is to... make him irrelevant to our efforts.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:53 PM:
Btw, the Dutch government fell owing to shame about its role in the massacres in Bosnia. Here's a link from Instapundit.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:20 PM:
Says Instapundit, the CAIR poll is gone. It always sucks when the other side rigs your polls.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:18 PM:
With regard to the post below, I would add that leveling a few presidential palaces and government controlled media facilities, and then seeing how the people react while Saddam's status and whereabouts are unknown, could prove instructive.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:15 PM:
Dennis Ross grows up. Now that the Clinton administration is gone, Mr. Ross' candor has greatly increased. Today he notes that Saddam Hussein thinks if he can keep the Israeli-Palestinian conflict going, he can avoid attack. Mr. Ross suggests we disabuse him of that notion.The TurkeyBlog suggests that short-term deterrence does not necessarily require Saddam's ouster. Nor does it require occupying Iraqi territory. Rather, the destruction of military and terrorist infrastructure would allow us more time to array our forces and attack at our leisure. We already have a model for this in Israel's destruction of the Osirak facility. Since we lack such a clear target - owing to the lack of inspections, etc., we will of course have to make assumptions. We oughtn't err on the side of caution. If B-1s and B-2s were to unexpectedly show up and destroy a goodly number of suspected weapons depots and military research facilities one night, it would weaken Saddam, make of him the party in this who is distracted by outside concerns, and telegraph to the rest of the world that they might as well get on board because we're going forward, with or without them.
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posted by gbarto at 12:34 PM:
Bush seems to be wrapping up with the golden rule, asserting again that the best way to fight evil is to do good.Shepard Smith notes this is nothing new, but it is nice to hear. It is nice to hear. Call it Bush's Kennedy touch, a call to volunteerism without the blueblood element of noblesse oblige that tinged his father's pronouncements.
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posted by gbarto at 12:30 PM:
Says Bush, he'd only consider deficit spending in the face of war, recession or national emergency: "I never thought we'd have the trifecta."Bush argues that restrained, responsible spending can get us on track to a balanced budget soon, and that we need to avoid the "guns and butter" spending patterns of the Johnson administration, and says he will help Congress control itself when it comes to spending the people's money. So refreshing, on April 16, that the top pol in the land remembers that it's our money, which we pay for government, not their money, of which we're allowed to keep some.
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posted by gbarto at 12:24 PM:
Bush calls for the defense budget to come first, not last, since we're at war. He says he won't speculate on why it's usually last. He knows that we know this is because priority 1 for Congress is handing out money, and our safety and liberty get what's left when they're done buying votes.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:23 PM:
Bush says he has three priorities:1) Homeland security - Job 1 of the government is protecting the American people.
2) A budget that shows our committment to winning the war on terror.
3) Economic growth, hence tax cuts and the rest.
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posted by gbarto at 12:20 PM:
Bush on TV, calling for fiscal sanity and proper budget priorities with the war. And he opens with a shot at the Senate. He says that just as Americans had to pay their taxes by yesterday, the legislature is supposed to have a budget by April 15. The House got it done; the Senate hasn't passed anything yet.Shot at Nicky Kristoff too - a declaration that America isn't going to just sue when it's attacked (is this also a shot at the International Court of Justice?).
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posted by gbarto at 12:11 PM:
Cute P.J. O'Rourke column on today's WSJ editorial page. PJ explains what's up with the press coverage of the Israel-Palestine confrontations:[F]rom my own experience, Palestinians are warm, hospitable and chatty. Israeli soldiers are not.and
[W]hen someone is pounding the stuffing out of someone else, there's more human interest in the unstuffed than in the stuffing pounders. The Sioux were right at the Little Big Horn, but Custer is what sells.O'Rourke also notes the difference between today's reporters and those from earlier times:
Ernest Hemingway styled his World War II press contingent " Hem Force" and liberated several French towns, or at least the wine cellars thereof.Forbes FYI, incidentally, had a piece on this three or four years ago, though I don't think it's online.
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posted by gbarto at 8:45 AM:
Powell continues to flutter around the Middle East, presumably in need of another Arab leader to slap him around a little more. Already, Arafat has embarrassed us with the effective renunciation of his denunciation of terror. Syria and Lebanon all but announced plans to keep shelling Israel - reminding that for these thugs, an offer of peace is an admission of weakness. Israel ought pull out the knives in return, and the U.S. ought to both be defending such an action and contributing to it. So long as the savages who run the Middle East believe they can maintain material comfort by humiliating our Secretary of State and playing on the fact that we are civilized, and they are not, Jews will continue to die, Americans will die, and oppressed peoples will be ground down ever closer to being irredeemable. It's time for us to remember what Bush said: You're with us or you're against us. Syria is against us; Lebanon is against us, and Yasser Arafat is against us. And, it goes without saying, the Saudis are against us. May they join the Taliban among the rubble of bankrupt societies, discarded by history.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:45 AM:
Cardinals come home to roost? In the wake of the U.S. Catholic church child molestation scandal, the pope has summoned all American cardinals to the Vatican for a talk.* * *
posted by gbarto at 8:44 AM:
Congress not a Lifesaver. Virginia Postrel has written in the past about sugar protectionism. Today, the consequences are coming to Holland, Michigan, where there was a large plant for making Lifesavers. After around 90 years in operation, the plant will be closing; the missing Lifesavers will be added to the production of the company's Canada plant.Elsewhere, Chicago is losing a big Brachs plant to Mexico.
But not to worry; those who furnish sugar beets and corn syrup will be okay, and you'll be able to enjoy their products all you want - just hope you don't want anything with cane sugar.
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posted by gbarto at 2:05 AM:
The TurkeyBlog thanks Instapundit for the link, but reminds that it is written by Geoffrey Barto (the "G" throws everybody off, including my first grade teacher, who never got it right). The story, if you're having trouble finding it, is reproduced here. (my server logs say about half the Instapundit visitors got the error page; I don't know if that's the fault of blogger or my hosts but the Instapundit link does seem to be working now)* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:54 AM:
Is CAIR (discussed here) trolling?* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:45 AM:
Ben Kepple takes on sci-fi with aliens, but misses the point.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:14 AM:
New danger on the horizon? Den Beste, seer of all things, looks for early warning signs in the matter of Iran and Iraq.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:01 AM:
All those paragraphs I spent on cloning! When Joanne Jacobs said it so simply:I also suspect that many in the conservative right are eagerly awaiting new therapies for dreadful diseases suffered by themselves and their loved ones. When the choice is between a few cells in a lab and the life of your child, husband, sister, etc., even the hard-core tends to wobble.
Bush is a social conservative, so perhaps he's not pandering. But sincerity doesn't redeem bad policy.
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posted by gbarto at 12:56 AM:
And now it's time for "What are they reading in France?"Le Monde leads with a General Strike in Italy:
Les syndicats italiens ont juré de paralyser le pays lors de la grève générale de mardi, en espérant faire reculer Silvio Berlusconi sur son projet controversé de réforme de la législation du travail. Le président du conseil prend le risque d'un affrontement pour imposer ses réformes sociales néolibérales. (Italian unions have sworn to paralyze the country with a general strike Tuesday, hoping to make Silvio Berlusconi pull back from his controversial plans for reforming labor law. The President of the council runs the risk of a severe confrontation for imposing his neoliberal (read free-market conservative) social reforms)Of course Italy has had such reforms in place for years now, especially in the north. It's called the grey market, and it's been written up in both Forbes and WSJ if I recall correctly. The question is whether a left that wishes to pretend to relevance can stand to see free markets operating openly and above-board.
The lead Israel issue is the arrest of Marwan Barghouti. The lead national issue is whether foreigners should be allowed to vote in municipal elections. Lionel Jospin says oui; no word on what Chirac thinks. I'd suggest that if cities are autonomous enough from the state that voting in municipal elections doesn't get into issues of sovereignty, then communities should be autonomous enough to decide themselves upon the issue of who does and doesn't get to vote, rather than having Paris rule on the question.
Le Figaro leads with the devastation in Jenin, this having been visited by one of their correspondants. Their second story is the general strike in Italy. While Le Monde is almost the fraternal twin of the Old Gray Lady, Figaro is somewhat harder to pigeonhole. In style and substance - but not necessarily politics - it might claim the WSJ as a second cousin. Therefore, the breaking news board features a rise in the Bourse (France's stock market) and 7000 layoffs from GE Capital Management.
Libération (a liberal New York Post?) leads with Jenin. And since the link doesn't look to be permanent, we'll note this cute feature:
Tout dans les jambes A 90 ans, Jenny Wood Allen vient de boucler son seizième marathon de Londres d'affilé. Epuisée mais ravie puisqu'elle ne termine même pas à la dernière place. Qui dit mieux? (It's all in the legs. At 90, Jenny Wood Allen has just finished her 16th London marathon. Tired but delighted since she didn't even finish last. What could be better?)
Oh yes, and there's the Torment of the Ministers, who feel they're being left out of Jospin's presidential campaign, even as he falls in the polls.
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posted by gbarto at 12:21 AM:
'Suburban Jews' Rally in D.C.From around the country, thousands come to show their support for Israel. - WaPo
In other news, urban Palestinians had protests today and rural Catholics wondered if there was somethin' funny about the local priest. Still, the story isn't too bad, and the web site has pictures.
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Monday, April 15, 2002
posted by gbarto at 9:25 PM:
A must visit site, the Devil's Dictionary. Time will tell if the reviser is as sharp as Bierce, but anybody taking the work as a starting point has to have a little something on the ball. And the essay at the start of the opening post is right on the mark.* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:20 PM:
Stand up for Israel. Vote no on today's CAIR poll. via Instantman* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:28 PM:
On Fox News earlier today, Ariel Sharon said he expects to be out of most of the occupied territories within the week, with Ramallah being the last place Israel will leave. In the meantime, that bastion of civilization, the UN Human Rights Commission condemned Israel. Says the WaPo:The 53-state Commission passed the motion by 40 votes to five, with seven states abstaining and one member not present for the ballot which came as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell pursued his bid to negotiate a ceasefire in the conflict.Those five opposed because there was no mention of Palestinian violence or Israel's right to defend itself. Arabs were surprised, thinking they had compromised:
Britain and Germany voted against, while Italy abstained. Canada, Guatemala and the Czech Republic also voted no.
Diplomats had indicated on Friday that the motion would get significant European support after Arab and Muslim states softened some of the language, removing references to Israel committing acts of "state terrorism" and to the Palestinians' right to use "any means" to fight military occupation.How genteel of them, deciding to merely ignore the slaughter of the Jews, rather than declaring it proper.
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posted by gbarto at 2:59 PM:
Charles Johnson isn't sure about the term homicide bomber. Bjørn Stærk has this comment, which I answered with this.Charles wonders what difference the language makes anyway, since the Arabs just call them martyrs. The difference is that this isn't about a discussion with the Arab world; it's about the civilized world forming a discourse that calls things what they are, so that it doesn't confuse thought with the romanticization of causes célèbres. As such, we need to remind ourselves that the Palestinian doesn't die for the sake of death, but as a consequence of committing murder. And we need to ask Palestinian society if it really cares so little for the lives of its children that the death of a few Jews is easily worth the loss of a family member? The answer is three posts down.
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posted by gbarto at 2:33 PM:
But the Israelis should be reasonable, should understand Palestinian frustrations. Asparagirl has testimony from a young lady who just survived her fifth terrorist attack. She's in the 11th grade.Arafat may be the darling of European anti-Semites, but he and his friends have not been helping people like this young woman grow up with the idea of Palestinian-Israeli harmony. Of course Arafat never wanted that anyway; he just wants this little girl to stop surviving terrorist attacks and die, so they'll be one dead Jewish person closer to the end of Israel.
Oops. Is my open-mindedness about the Palestinians shrinking evermore?
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posted by gbarto at 11:34 AM:
Steve Den Beste has some trenchant observations on why the new Osama video doesn't prove Osama's still alive.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:21 AM:
In the Wall Street Journal letters to the editor, Aisha Kirun Ahmed asks:Does [Reuel Marc] Gerecht believe a Palestinian mother loves her child any less than an Israeli mother loves hers? Do Palestinian mother really aspire for their new-borns to become, not doctors or lawyers, but human bombs?It's funny, but Instapundit is asking the same question:
DO PALESTINIANS love their children? Or see them as tools of conquest?The Prof has a number of links, and you should go visit. The TurkeyBlog knows that Palestinians are human beings, precious in God's eyes and as deserving of redemption, a good life on earth, and all the rest, as any other human beings. He knows the same was true of the lives extinguished at Auschwitz. And he knows that in the darker reaches of human nature, there sometimes lies the impulse to deny or destroy the humanity of others to elevate oneself, or simply to let out rage and hatred. The question then comes, are Palestinians dying because of the same dark hatred and rage, the same envy and bitterness, that sent six million Jews to the gas chambers? And if so, where is it coming from?
"If I had 100 sons, I would sacrifice them all for Allah and Palestine. I will not be content until all the Jews are killed and gone from Palestine."Oh, of course. It's exactly the same rage that sent six million Jews to the gas chambers. Sixty years on, and the Palestinians have beat the Nazis by one: The Nazis denied the humanity of the Jews, and so slaughtered them. The Palestinians, with a zeal surpassing Hitler, have realized that it's so important to dehumanize the Jews that if you have to dehumanize yourself to do it, so be it.
-Palestinian mother of a suicide bomber
Sick.
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posted by gbarto at 11:06 AM:
How could we pass up a nice swipe at Gray Davis? We can't. It's here. Via Instapundit.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:00 AM:
Should Israel withdraw?* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:25 AM:
[Vermont Gov.] Dean, who is quickly staking out liberal territory for a possible presidential campaign, is unequivocal. "The first thing we need to do is roll back these tax cuts," he said last week, to applause from his liberal audience.Just one example of how the Democrats are going to fell the mighty Bush. If you can't oppose the war on terror, why not tax cuts for working families? Gore is looking more and more like the most viable leader of the Democratic party every day.
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posted by gbarto at 9:21 AM:
Has the leader of the Al-Aqsa brigades been captured? Some think so. At any rate, Marwan Barghouti is in Israeli custody. He is mentioned as possibly the leader of Al-Aqsa, not to mention a potential successor to Arafat. The latter would be especially interesting, since it would mean that if anything happened to Arafat, Israel would still effectively have control over the leader of the PA. Of course for this very reason, Barghouti's shot at the office is dramatically lessened; he may make a nice symbolic figure - voice of Palestine imprisoned - but the PA isn't going to give actual leadership to someone who can't lead.* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:15 AM:
Now the other Arab states are getting a little flak. Powell tells Syria and Lebanon to stop supporting Hezbollah. It's about time. We hear a lot about Palestinian frustration, but damn little about what it's like to be a state with people taking shots on all sides. The vaunted strength of the Israeli military does indeed keep the state safe, relatively speaking, but the same is true of the U.S., which doesn't mean we'd be happy if the Canadians and Mexicans took shots across the border or intimated they were coming after our citizens. Maybe Israel should do tit for tat on Arafat and demand that all the neighboring Arab states cease supporting the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad as a precondition for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.* * *
posted by gbarto at 9:10 AM:
Pro-Israel Rally in DC. If you're in the neighborhood, drop by. Here's the story. Here's a map showing what's shut down and where the demonstration is.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:31 AM:
A la une: For a contrast with FNC and WaPo, here's a look at the headlines from Le Monde.The lead story is The Return of Chavez. The other top three banners are "Israel-Palestine," "Nepal," and... "Cycling"! The Israel-Palestine story is headlined: "Colin Powell demands an end to the bombings," and has this news capsule:
Au cours de ses entretiens, dimanche, avec Yasser Arafat, M. Powell a pressé le président de l'Autorité palestinienne de mettre un terme à la vague d'attentats contre Israël. (Over the course of his meeting, Sunday, with Yasser Arafat, Mr. Powell pushed the president of the Palestinian Authority to bring to an end the wave of bombings against Israel)Was this to emphasize the U.S.'s principled stand? Or to downplay the Chairman's mealymouthed reply?
The scoop in Nepal is that Maoist guerillas, who have killed more than 100, are close to forcing the government to the bargaining table as the populace sees negotiations as the only way to end the violence. Sound familiar?
Die-hard cycling fans should click on the link; it's on the main page and the TurkeyBlog is not into bicycle punditry.
Incidentally, the latest breaking news is a Russian embargo on American chicken.
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posted by gbarto at 12:12 AM:
Arafat May Accept Conference Palestinian leader tells Fox News regional peace talks discussed by Powell, Sharon are a possibility - from FoxNews.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:09 AM:
He's baaaaaaaack. Chavez, that is.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:08 AM:
Here's the latest on the lack of peace negotiations, from the WaPo. Short summary: They're still lacking. Nothing new to read here. I only mention it because they noted in the first paragraph that Arafat's offices are battered. If you want the real inside story, you'll have to go down two posts to find out that they're not just battered. They're cramped.* * *
Sunday, April 14, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:58 PM:
Tiger wins another Masters. You can make up your own quip about the green jacket.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:57 PM:
Arafat's Offices Battered, Cramped And the contractor can't come till next month. The horrors.And what a contrast with the spacious, wide-open supermarkets and restaurants the Palestinians have given the Israelis. How ungrateful.
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posted by gbarto at 11:54 PM:
Yes.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:44 PM:
Nice column in the Detroit Free Press on the difference between Israel's war on terror and the U.S.'s war on terror. (None). It's by the Tuesdays with Morrie guy, if any of you are into that.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:41 PM:
Nice column in the Boston Globe on the difference between Israel and the U.S. (via LGF, see link in post below)* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:37 PM:
The post below comes via the indispensable Little Green Footballs, as do a lot of my thoughts and a good share of my actual news regarding the Middle East. You're already reading him, no doubt, but if you're not, you're missing out on the best clearinghouse I've come across for news, views and original story sourcing for the Middle East. Take a look, there's big stuff going on and he's the best place to find out about it.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:33 PM:
Says Al Watan:"Wouldn't it have been better for President Arafat to change the rules of the game by taking a courageous decision to refuse to receive Powell before Israel pulls out of the Palestinian areas?"Apparently some in the uncivilized world think it was demeaning to ask Arafat to formally oppose killing people in shopping centers and buses. Read this article for the perspective of those lacking perspective, the sick, the twisted, the... Arab media. I, too, wish that Arafat would have refused to see Powell. Then maybe even the folks at foggy bottom would get their heads out of their a**es long enough to realize that Arafat can offer them only embarrassment.
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posted by gbarto at 11:27 PM:
Asks Den Beste, how are we supposed to negotiate with someone like Arafat - who dropped his anti-terrorism talk the instant Powell arrived? Skeptically, and with a sidearm handy.Here's my question: Powell dissed after going out on a limb to talk to Arafat. How do you suppose he feels about that?
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posted by gbarto at 11:19 PM:
Sing it, Ken. Sean Connery's Scottish nationalism vs. Yasser Arafat's Palestinian nationalism:Scotland has its own parliament now, and has since 1997. The Palestinian Authority has ... uh, something, I'm sure.
Anyway, Arafat should be killed.
Wait, that wasn't the point at all. The point is that Connery is a healthy, rich, beloved golf fanatic living in Spain and Arafat is a stinky old death whore living in wrecked old British imperial building in the Middle East.
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posted by gbarto at 11:10 PM:
Cool interview with Tim Blair here. (read about it at Welch) My favorite bits:John Hawkins: Are you surprised at the large rift that's occurred in US-European relations since Sept 11th and what do you think the implications of that split are?
Tim Blair: Bush foreshadowed the split by announcing early that the US would take action whether any European allies were joining the US or not. Strange, isn’t it; Bush was meant to have no knowledge at all of Europe, but he picked the mood there perfectly.
John Hawkins: Are there any lessons from the 'Cold War' or from 'WW2' that we can apply to the 'War on Terrorism'?Welch liked the second bit too.
Tim Blair: Yes. That wars can be won. So-called cycles of violence can be ended. Ruined, warlike nations (like Japan after WW2) can become prosperous and peaceful. And liberty will prevail, because it is the strongest force. More people are prepared to die for freedom than for tyranny.
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posted by gbarto at 4:08 PM:
Den Beste has this link to an ABC story on Israelis successes with their crackdown. Of note:Also arrested in Tubas, nine miles northeast of Nablus, was Awais' deputy, Abu Khader, and two other militants, the army said, adding that they surrendered without a struggle.As I've said before, the Palestinians have a funny way of doing things. Their fighters don't fight. Death is reserved for women and children. Curious.
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posted by gbarto at 3:52 PM:
From Instapundit, the magnificent Mark Steyn on Europe and the Middle East.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:33 PM:
Will therapeutic cloning become the focus of single-issue voters who are looking forward to cures for incurable diseases? Instapundit raises the question, based on this column. As a sufferer of ulcerative colitis (curable only by removing the colon, if it leads to cancer or life-threatening hemmorhaging), I'm going to have to say nay on my account, since I'll probably be voting for Bush the next time around. On health issues. The Democrats hitting Bush hardest on his opposition to therapeutic cloning are the most harmful to progress to medicine in general.The likes of Daschle talk now about the promise of this research, but they'll be just as quick to the microphone to denounce the biomed industry for not doing better the first time something goes wrong. They'll be the first to the microphone to favor bankrupting with lawsuits a company whose promising drug had lethal side effects in a few patients. The first time a little child in small town America dies and it comes out that he wasn't getting the latest wonderdrug because the family couldn't afford it, they'll be at the microphone to denounce cold, cruel biomedicine for wanting to feed its families when it could be giving away the drugs or selling them cheaper. And they'll pass bills restricting those companies who insist on full payment for their drugs from Medicare and Medicaid. We've already seen this pattern before.
If people want to make something like this a single issue, that single issue should not be one technology. It should be their health in general. And that means supporting the party that, alas, merely does the least harm.
If you want to do something, sign Postrel's petition and let your Republican reps and senators know you've signed it. Curing Republican hostility to a few technologies is going to be a lot easier than curing Democratic opposition to medicine as a part of the free market.
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posted by gbarto at 2:50 PM:
Incidentally, here's the NYT headline and short summary:Powell Holds Talks With Leaders, but Offers No Hints of Progress
By TODD S. PURDUM
The secretary of state held talks with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but announced no progress toward a cease-fire to end the violence.
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posted by gbarto at 2:45 PM:
"Arafat Nixes Powell Demand Story here.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:07 AM:
Palestinian negotiators said Arafat would carry through with a pledge curb violence against Israelis only after the Israeli military ends the 17-day-old incursion in Palestinian cities and villages.Let's ignore for the moment that this blogger at the Washington Post needs an editor. The Palestinians are, for all intents and purposes, back to their old tricks. It's still Israel's fault, it's still up to Israel to take a few more steps before the Palestinians can do something as novel as stopping blowing themselves up in supermarkets.
Powell, in a terse statement after three hours of talks, said he and Arafat "exchanged a variety of ideas"...meaning no consensus was formed and no real agreements were reached.
In the meeting, Powell made a 45-minute presentation to Arafat with the clear message that "the bombings have to stop, that they are a major barrier to moving forward," on security and political issues, including Palestinian statehood, a senior U.S. official said.Arafat didn't bite so we're now going to try to strong-arm the one reasonable entitity in the region again; Powell will meet Sharon again to reiterate calls for Israeli withdrawal so that the Palestinians will, I dunno, be given enough hope, I guess, to stop the suicide terrorism.
So, it looks like we're back to square one as the Augustinian Arafat proclaims: Let us denounce terrorism... but not yet. (And note, that's denounce, not renounce - even talking about growing up is too much for this still-born nation).
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posted by gbarto at 12:25 AM:
Saudi Arabia's ruler, King Fahd, ordered the fund-raising drive to help channel mounting public anger against Israel and the United States away from street protests, which the kingdom bans for fear they would get out of control.For example:
The campaign was criticized by some in the United States as an incitement to violence. But Saudi officials in Washington have assured the Bush administration that proceeds raised are intended to serve humanitarian purposes, not help the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
A 6-year-old boy, with a plastic gun slung over his shoulder and fake explosives strapped around his waist, walked into a donation center and made a symbolic donation of plastic explosives, according to Al Watan daily.This comes from one story on FoxNews, reminding that where Arab hatred of and solidarity against Israel is concerned, the Saudi will hold as many simultaneosly contradictory thoughts as is necessary to incite violence without ruffling American feathers. Assuming that the King and Crown Prince have access to FoxNews.com, just like you and me, I take this to mean that if the donated car is indeed used in a suicide bombing, we'll have grounds for labeling Saudi Arabia as a state that supports and finances terrorism.
Another Saudi, 26-year-old Mohamed al-Qahtani, offered his car, saying he hoped it will "reach the Palestinian areas so a Palestinian fighter could use it to blow up a military barracks and kill (Israeli) soldiers," Al Watan reported.
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posted by gbarto at 12:17 AM:
Whither Gore?* * *
French Elections, 1st round
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