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Saturday, July 13, 2002
posted by gbarto at 1:11 PM:
We've all heard about the videotape of Inglewood police beating up a teen last week. Now the guy who shot the video is in police custody. Suppression of evidence? Or one more reason why someone with outstanding warrants relating to DUI and hit-and-run. Go to the LA Examiner and scroll through for a look at the unfolding story.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:07 PM:
Just in case you wanted to know about the conspiracy Michael Jackson claims is keeping him from regaining stardom.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:03 PM:
Arafat Trying for a Fresh Start With AdministrationThe State Department is no doubt weak in the knees at the news, but Powell and Bush are hesitant to work with the man the administration believes to be corrupt and probably (?) a terrorist. But in a touching gesture at outreach, Bush has agreed to henceforth informally describe Arafat as a "tyrannical thug" rather than a "murderous thug".
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posted by gbarto at 12:58 PM:
O'Neill Plans Trip to Argentina and BrazilThis time he's taking Madonna.
(just a joke, no running to the wire services, please)
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posted by gbarto at 12:55 PM:
German Official: Bin Laden AliveIntelligence head believes terrorist hiding at Afghanistan, Pakistan line
Maybe so, but more people saw Elvis last month.
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posted by gbarto at 12:54 PM:
Tourists Injured in Pakistan BlastExplosion at archeological site hurts 13, mostly sightseeing Germans
At an archaelogical site... hmm, are these not the remnants of the people who destroyed the Buddhas? But another reminder of why Musharaff has his work cut out for him.
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posted by gbarto at 12:53 PM:
Probe Focuses on Two Seattle MosquesFederal grand jury is investigating group affiliated with two defunct mosques for possible ties to Al Qaeda, says lawyer for former member
One hopes the Seattle Muslim community (and the larger American Muslim commnunity) will move (both) to denounce the abuse of Islam for the purposes of political terrorism and to demonstrate what the talking heads keep saying, namely that Islam is not incompatible with a peaceful secular society.
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posted by gbarto at 1:40 AM:
Den Beste updates us on Florida's Child and Family Services department - the one that lost a child for 14 months last year. One of their dedicated civil servants, no doubt aware of increased scrutiny for the department, nonetheless filed a false report about checking up on a someone under the state's protection. The problem was the boy was murdered elsewhere the same day.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:28 AM:
Le Monde leads with news that Paris and London agree to close Sangatte - a refugee center - which pleases nearby mayors and the managers of Eurotunnel and the French national railroads dealing with illegal immigrants, etc.And in UN/US news, American soldiers will be exempt from the International Criminal Court - for one year.
Le Figaro also leads with Sangatte. There's more interesting stuff further down. First of all, French television - which can be quite eye-opening even to American cable viewers - is suddenly in the sights of several government bodies for promoting violence, sexual delinquancy and general tumult among adolescents. Also on the culture front, ahead of Bastille Day festivities and France's summer holidays, youth are being warned to protect themselves against GHB, often used by rapists to subdue their victims.
Libé leads with "Heat Stroke for Hospitals", a look at how the 35-hour work week and generous vacation allotments put in place by the previous (Socialist) government are leaving hospitals understaffed as the vacation season gets underway.
Also in Libé, Chirac: He's everywhere!
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Friday, July 12, 2002
posted by gbarto at 6:19 PM:
Tough Week on the StreetDow and S&P post steepest weekly drops since September as falling consumer morale and rumors of new accounting irregularities spook investors
Waah!
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posted by gbarto at 6:18 PM:
Answering Natalie Solent's punctuation question, my fiancée the English prof says she would put the question mark outside with no inner punctuation. I'm of the same view, though I'm best not consulted given my heretical notions of comma and period placement.* * *
posted by gbarto at 6:10 PM:
Natalie Solent warns:WARNING: if you get an e-mail apparently from me, with no text but two attachments and headed "Fw: darling...."So doublecheck any email from her with a virus checker before opening. And don't open this one.
I don't know what's in it but I didn't send it. Delete unopened.
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posted by gbarto at 2:02 AM:
Says Le Monde, France is following Bush's lead; their finance minister has just proposed Une loi pour rétablir la confiance.Figaro Web leads with news that The Markets Crack[ed], while offering Francis Mer's securities law reform proposal below.
Libé, for its part, leads with the Clone-Baby, which will apparently be born in December.
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Thursday, July 11, 2002
posted by gbarto at 12:31 PM:
JFK's PT-109 Boat FoundPatrol boat skippered by future prez was sunk by Japanese in WWII
The TurkeyBlog first took an interest in politics from reading about JFK (long after his death) so this story struck a chord. Have a look. Coming soon, they hope to locate the first bed Clinton ever broke as we continue to seek formative artifacts from the lives of our presidents.
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posted by gbarto at 12:27 PM:
Bergen: Dan Quayle Was RightActress agrees that Murphy promoted fatherless parenting
That's Candice Bergen and Dan Quayle for those who don't remember the pre-Clinton era. Not earthshaking news, but interesting to note.
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posted by gbarto at 12:25 PM:
Stocks Continue SlideMarkets drop, bounce, then drop again after dismal close yesterday
Oh no! Come back, markets. Come back.
Tried to call my broker but he couldn't get anything out between the sobs...
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posted by gbarto at 12:49 AM:
Lileks on video game violence and his new freezer. Both old but worth (re)reading.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:41 AM:
Dr. Weevil is writing about... weevils! Also on tithing and Gore Vidal, America's most obnoxious living writer.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:36 AM:
Den Beste had a busy day; one on his new computer, etc., and a post on the eternally unfulfilled hopes of Mac users.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:21 AM:
French news:Le Monde leads with the question of houses of prostitution. A UMP deputy has reignited the debate over the institutionalization - which we take to mean state regulation - of prostitution. She opposes. The Mayor of Paris and his adjunct have also denounced legalization, noting a) that even in countries such as Holland and Australia where limited legalized prostitution exists the illegal variety persists and b) that the legalization of slavery does not make slavery any better.
Figaro web leads with "Toumai: The ancestor who pushes back the origins of man", this regarding a 6-7 million year old skull, the oldest example to date of a hominid.
Libération also leads with Toumai, noting that
The oldest hominid ever found is 7 million years old, nearly 4 million years older than Lucy. Its discovery in Central Africa [specifically, Chad] calls into question the theory that the cradle of civilization is in East Africa.
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Wednesday, July 10, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:54 PM:
Futere continued:Following up my comments on chingate, etc. last night, Xavier Basora (who moderates Corel's French forums newsgroup; there's a related url here) writes:
I wanted to bring to your attention that the Latin verb futere is indeed the root word for the Romance language derivatives. In fact, in Chapter 5 of J.N. Adam's The Latin sexual vocabulary discusses this verb in some detail. The word is also scattered in other places in the book.Sounds like interesting reading material.
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posted by gbarto at 12:19 PM:
Dumb Luck Redefined$10 million Michelangelo drawing found in back room of museum
Some really good news for a change.
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posted by gbarto at 12:18 PM:
Smart Letter Brings HopeKidnapped girl's dad gets message offering to negotiate her return
One hopes and prays it's not just a hoax but I'm still not getting good feelings about this case.
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posted by gbarto at 12:17 PM:
Deadly DreamPalestinian media glorify homicide bombers to children
Just part of the peace offensive...
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posted by gbarto at 12:17 PM:
$10,000 for Entry to U.S.A.Jordanian appears in court as part of investigation into massive visa fraud at American Embassy in Qatar; probe could yield clues about Sept. 11
Another proud moment for the U.S. State Department
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posted by gbarto at 2:23 AM:
A well-armed militia. Not just an American idea.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:16 AM:
The F-word in other languages: Went to see "Y tu mamá también" and discovered how little Spanish I follow. But I did pick up a few "chingate"s which lead to thoughts of how to say FU in other languages. In case anyone needs such info, here are a few:French (my second language) offers the now quaint Baise-toi/Baisez-vous, which comes from a verb that originally meant "to kiss" (un baiser still means "a kiss") but for which the euphemistic usage became the standard, then became blue language in and of itself. More popular is Fous-toi/Foutez-vous (foo-twa/footay-voo). But apparently niquer is also popular, as in "Nique le FN" (F- the Front National), a grafitto my sister saw while over there).
Spanish has "chingar," as with chingate, cited above. (forgive spellings on that one.)
Italian says Va fan culo, which my fiancée says means not just FU, but in the A--. Says she, it shows up as far back as Bocaccio but still makes frequent appearances these days.
We conclude with a Latin rendering of a classic English insult with which the good Dr. Beard has furnished us: Futue te ipsum et tuum caballum, which translates roughly "Screw you and the horse you rode in on." Note, incidentally, that the infinitive for the verb, futere is probably the source for the French foutez-vous.
The TurkeyBlog has no plans to make such linguistic forays a regular feature, but a few new entries may show up from time to time, particularly if Dr. Weevil (see link at left) ever gets around to offering his ancient gratuitous language excerpts.
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posted by gbarto at 1:59 AM:
Touché* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:57 AM:
Le Monde leads with what the TurkeyBlog is going to summarize as "Who can screw who the most with the blunt instrument called the European Common Agricultural Policy?"The secondary lead centers on the US: "Business: Bush's response". Notes Le Monde that Mr. Bush's policies are "designed to fight against corrupt CEOs" - which is no great shakes except of course that some on the left want to fight all CEOs.
Le Figaro on the web is completely out of step with Le Monde, focusing on the Interior Minister's Security Plans, also the paper's lead headline for tomorrow's print edition. Other print leads: Arafat challenged by his own; Bush threatens fraudulent CEOs.
Libération leads with "George Bush to the rescue of capital interests," a slightly different take than the others.
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posted by gbarto at 1:46 AM:
Airport security is one of the lead stories in the current Time and as the TurkeyBlog spends some time in such places he took a look. Among the issues: The TSA's insistence that bomb screening machines be in the same place as the passengers. Having flown out of the Grand Rapids Airport very shortly after the behemoths were installed, the TurkeyBlog can testify that they are big, ugly and use up space passengers should be using. Ordinarily, the main airline there, Northwest, is slower than others but not too awful. Flying out last time, the TurkeyBlog spent an hour and a half in line to get boarding passes and found out why when the attendant did not put his bags on the belt but instead instructed him to go wait in line to have his bags scanned before proceeding to his actual gate. It seems that the TSA's plan for air security is not unlike that the former Secret Service agents would have most liked for their high-profile principals: the fewer the people around the better; when no one at all goes to airports anymore they'll be satisfied with their protective measures. Unfortunately, even as air traffic wanes in a lot of places, the lines get longer, the hassles greater. It's time that the crap about everyone's an equal threat so let's make this a hassle for everyone gave way to the use of careful profiling and risk assessment based on assuring security as quickly as possible, not as politically correctly as possible.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:36 AM:
The TurkeyBlog bids a sad farewell to Bowser the Cat, a wonderful cat who lived his life well.* * *
Tuesday, July 09, 2002
posted by gbarto at 12:19 PM:
Why not drop by the LA Examiner for all your LA news? (mentioned by Instapundit, linked at left - and below)* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:13 PM:
Free the honeybees!* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:12 PM:
Be well, Natalie.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:11 PM:
We're not designed to last forever? So says Den Beste. The good news is we last long enough; our enemies would say too long. Anyway, another long Den Beste pondering on why the perfect diet doesn't exist. Have a look.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:42 AM:
Bush Takes On Corporate CheatsPresident gives Wall Street speech intended to restore confidence, pushes for big-business reform
"I challenge every CEO in America to describe in their company's annual report prominently and in plain English details of his or her compensation package, including salary and bonus and benefits. And the CEO, in that report, should also explain why his or her compensation package is in the best interest of the company he serves," Bush said.This last call is a useful one, as is a call for corporate books to reflect what is actually going on with corporations. Most important, it sounds like Bush isn't simply bashing big business; he's encouraging it to be the best it can be.
Capitalism isn't just an economic system; it is an acknowledgment of how the world works and how the world can work to the greatest benefit of all. A lot of economic systems assume that if one person profits, another must be taken advantage of. Capitalism understands that things do not have inherent value; they have different values for different people depending on those people's needs and wants - how specific things can improve individual lives. Capitalism at its best is focused on creating a framework where people can buy and sell in full awareness of what is being exchanged and what is being paid for it.
There is an old quip that a salesman was so good he could sell ice cubes to the Eskimoes. Later business books rebuked this idea, insisting that a good salesman serves those who need his goods the most - or changes his operation to sell the goods his regular customers need the most - and thereby builds a reputation for trustworthiness and attentiveness to his customers' needs. Capitalism ideally follows the second model, but there are those - including some prominent capitalists - who believe the joke about swindling is more accurate than the observation about what would be better. These undermine the system and should be shunned by the wise, and prosecuted when their swindles truly do take advantage, whether they're peddling lousy goods or lousy stock. These include certain politicians who are forever trying to sell anti-business demagoguery to a people who really need a strong but responsible business community to thrive. Contrariwise, It sounds like Mr. Bush has the right people in his sights, and if his plan - to the exclusion of the usual anti-business mulch - is adopted, the country should be the better for it.
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posted by gbarto at 2:26 AM:
Den Beste on treaties, the Constitution and precedence.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:20 AM:
Travis Tritt fans won't like the last update on these remarks about who his first horse was.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:15 AM:
Says Le Monde: "Contaminated Blood: After the anger, hope." Of course a court recently let a bunch of non-ministerial mucky-mucks off the hook. They're being put back on. Of course the ministers will go scott-free: That's how politics works.Le Figaro also leads on the blood issue here; it's the secondary lead at Libération, whose lead is:
The Anti-Arafat Plan. Says Libé, Washington's demands are prompting internal revolt in Palestine. The TurkeyBlog, as regular readers can imagine, is shedding crocodile tears for poor Yassir, who must be having a hard time figuring out why all of a sudden the West is no longer unanimous in its celebration of his malicious, murdering ways. Some of Europe talked of coming to the rescue, but then they realized that Britain and the US had the only armies and economies and they backed down.
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posted by gbarto at 2:04 AM:
Report: World to Expire in 2050WASHINGTON — The planet is set to expire in the year 2050 due to the over-consumption of natural resources, with the United States being the worst offender, according to a report expected to be released Tuesday.The report, incidentally comes from the World Wildlife Fund. But fear not, you can do your part to serve the planet. A few tips:
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Monday, July 08, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:49 AM:
Natalie Solent on the fight over freedom.* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:45 AM:
Washington Won't Give Up on Medical MarijuanaWhatever you think about medical marijuana, it's disturbing that our Justice Department has time on its hands and resources to fight the will of a clear majority of that state's voters over a matter that has damn little with our federal governments main mandate: to safeguard our liberty.
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posted by gbarto at 11:42 AM:
Last Tango in TehranU.S. citizen banned from teaching dance, confined to Iran for 10 years
Dance instructor... American citizen... Dance instructor... American citizen... So difficult to weigh these matters.
So, will the State Department takes a full-grown American seriously? We know (see down four posts) they're indifferent to children. Then again, this person was breaking the law. With the sordid art of dance! If we get this person out, the next thing you know Americans will have the idea they're allowed to have their own opinions abroad too. Good heavens! Some of them might even pass out Bibles... Oops, we had that one too.
The word is out America - when it comes to the Middle East and Muslim-dominated countries, you'd better read up before going because you're probably not wanted. So stay home, America, and keep your dollars with you... And see how long it takes before the UN is ticked you're not sending US foreign aid - lobbied for by the same State Department that won't protect our citizens abroad!
And here I thought all that stuff about "Life is a circle" was crap.
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posted by gbarto at 11:36 AM:
Bush Prepares Corporate Scandal PlanContrary to the sounds of it, he's working on a proposal to address bad corporate management, not corporate scandals per se.
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posted by gbarto at 11:34 AM:
Lack of CommunicationWorldCom top execs take Fifth in congressional hearing today
And who can blame them. While I'm not one to carry water for the telecoms, I can understand being reluctant to participate in one's own show trial. And unfortunately, for all the claims that their hearings are informational, Congress has not shown itself lately to be nearly as interested in listening as in lecturing.
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posted by gbarto at 1:23 AM:
Patriotism and C++? Den Beste does it again.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:19 AM:
Man Wants Back Sons Who Were Abducted by Egyptian MotherAfter months of pleading by Shannon, the State Department is now working on his case.They always get more interested when members of Congress start complaining. But they have a great deal of difficulty deciding which clients to serve: foreign countries or the people who vote their funding. American citizens, needless to say, do not seem to enter into the equation. Let's be grateful that folks like Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas (and how often do you see a Democrat praised in these pages?) are working on this issue, pressuring the State Department to move while seeking some language, any language, that might convince the State Department that it's first concern should be the welfare of American citizens, not the easily bruised egos of their opposite numbers in other countries.
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posted by gbarto at 1:12 AM:
Several Gored at Spain's Bull RunThree in hospital with bull-related injuries, three others from falling
Toss this one in the Darwin files.
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posted by gbarto at 1:11 AM:
Federal Agents Nab Afghan Man Stopped in PennsylvaniaA man wanted since '97, by the way, whose van contained either a primitive bomb or the wierdest soda storage system since the funny hats with straws coming down the sides.
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posted by gbarto at 1:03 AM:
Says Libération:AIDS: the egoism of the wealthy countries
Notes the 14th world conference on the pandemic at Barcelona: Aid to the south remains insufficient.
But of course the real story is the egoism of the South, which has not been wise in using assistance, not been helpful to those pharmaceutical companies that tried to pitch in and help - why take a 90% discount on drugs when you can protest that it's not 95%? - and not been willing to address the cultural issues that encourage the disease's spread. If they can learn to use condoms in San Francisco bath houses, they can learn to use them in Sub-Saharan Africa. If the Reagan administration could decide 20 years ago that the moral issues concerning the means of transmitting the disease had to take a backseat to the real health concerns, Africa should be able to accept this now. And if the whole of the West could figure out that prevention, not treatment, was the most effective course, then Africa's leaders should be off their political duffs and on pulpits everywhere telling the people that social responses to AIDS has to change, behavior has to change and use of protection has to improve. If Africa won't adopt the measures the West undertook when the disease was an unknown, it won't bring the disease under control the way the West has. To think that Western pharmaceutical, medical and educational advances can substitute for African self-government at the personal, familial and governmental levels is absurd - and deadly.
Note: when I was a young'un, a local doctor of an extremely conservative bent who vigilantly opposed teen sex, etc, came to our school to discuss the disease. And he told us how the disease worked, that abstinence was the best preventative... and what to do to maximize protection if we wouldn't consider abstinence. The discussion was open, forthright, and acknowledged not only what the doctor thought was best but real-world alternatives that clashed both with his ideology and the community's ideology. Because you don't play games when facing a disease of this nature. If my backword little town could figure this out in the late 1980s, there's no reason why the capitals of Africa should remain to this day mystified.
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posted by gbarto at 12:52 AM:
Le Figaro, like Le Monde, leads with the AIDS conference; they're title is "AIDS: The North-South Crevasse Deepens". In other words, the third world is getting worse while things are improving in Europe and North America.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:46 AM:
Le Monde leads with "AIDS: A conference against passivity"; among the newsbits, life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa is down to less than 40 thanks to the epidemic. Unfortunately, as Andrew Sullivan has pointed out, a large reason for this is that neither civic nor governmental leaders in Africa have been willing to acknowledge the impact of the disease, take the real measures necessary to combat it and threaten the traditions/social pressures that have made the continent so ripe for the spread of AIDS. From South Africa, where the president denies the disease's existence, to the Sahel - where the infrastructure to deliver food is lacking, never mind one for delivering prevention information, condoms and the carefully controlled regimen of pharmaceuticals to control the disease - things are bleak for the African continent and only the rejection of the post-colonial ways of governing and doing business can put it on a path to facing down this disease.* * *
Sunday, July 07, 2002
posted by gbarto at 12:10 PM:
Required Reading: The QuranGroup opposes university's choice of mandatory text for freshmen
While I'm not so sure everyone needs to read the Koran, if your university has a tradition of hitting a rough topic of the moment in orientation, the Koran is as good as any this year. And looking at the text straight on beats the hell out of the usual multi-culti approach: declaring a culture more authentic for not being Western, whitewashing the unsavory elements and then issuing a patronizing call for understanding and tolearance - patronizing because it presumes that only the hideous West can be called to account for its flaws, other cultures being so authentic that thought cannot be permitted to intrude into tradition, lest the quaint ideas of the other be shattered by crushing Western Reason.
Students reading the Koran will find first that Allah gets called merciful and compassionate alot. They'll find that sometimes Christians and Jews are fellow children of God and sometimes they're betrayers of God. They'll find that a lot of stuff sounds alot like the Old and New Testaments (should they have read such things) but with a brand spanking new 7th century flavor. And what's more - or so the Koran says - the old books were just guys writing what they understood about things whereas the Koran is the word of God, straight from God - as dictated by the angel Gabriel anyway.
Most importantly - if the translation sticks to the original text - they'll find that Islam is a religion whose book, whose traditions, whose unspoken understandings are all ripe for exploitation by loathsome miscreants who might mistake their own opinions for the word of God and launch ridiculously vile crusades and the like with the aid of the hopeless, the despondent, the illiterate, the easily led and - of course - other loathsome miscreants.
What happened September 11, 2001 is not unlike what happened when the Pope's Christian Army sacked the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Constantinople, in 1204 (read about it here): a religion with great potential to do good was turned over to the most vile and murderous impulses of man and abused for their purposes, starting with the leader of the Crusade and running down the chain of command to the lowliest soldier. In time, Christianity grew up. It reinterpreted or clarified texts that could be (ab)used to justify the deeds of 1204, and other ancient oddities as well. Neither Christians nor Jews today are in the habit of stoning prostitutes, marrying widows off to their brothers-in-law, et cetera. And even the most ardent literalist knows better than to suggest they should. It is time for Islam to grow up, to accept both the opportunities and the risks that accompany existence in the modern age. In time, Islam will look back on 9/11 with the same shame and embarrassment with which the Catholic Church views the Sack of Constantinople. Or it will perish, a relic even at its apogee.
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posted by gbarto at 2:22 AM:
Another lovely Steyn column, pointed out by LGF.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:18 AM:
Gun Locks Threaten Lives, Study Says* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:16 AM:
Airport Security to Get TighterGovernment to increase patrols of uniformed and undercover armed guards at airports; spokesperson says no connection to LAX shooting
Just like there's no connection between the new bomb detection devices and 9/11 - just part of the implementation of a long thought out plan of our forward looking leaders.
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posted by gbarto at 2:14 AM:
Le Monde says that Chirac has appointed the commission that will judge his plans for terms of immunity from prosecution for politicians. This is a potentially big deal because Chirac has for years been the subject of threats of prosecution for questionable dealings in his personal and political finances.Elsewhere, Le Monde tells us Irak has turned away UN inspectors, shocking none save poor Mr. Annan who may mistakenly believe the UN to be an independent body, as opposed to an arm of US policy utilized by the US when convenient and otherwise ignored by all.
Libération leads with the Funeral for the Afghan Vice-President, who was assassinated yesterday.
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