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Friday, July 26, 2002
posted by gbarto at 5:33 AM:
The TurkeyBlog is again off on the big bird to California. Probably no French news tonight; back tomorrow.* * *
Thursday, July 25, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:00 PM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with an America/France story, The Hearing of Zacarias Moussaoui. The Franco-Moroccan confused the courts yet again by deciding not to plead guilty today after all; he had attempted to plead guilty last week and was told to think on it. Guess he thought on it.
Le Figaro leads with the pullback in the markets, noting "everything was on sale." Figaro also notes that "Hamas promises a 'sea of blood.'"
Libé leads with the trial of 3 out of control cops (Rodney King style). It also notes the arrival of the Interior Minister in Corsica, where there's a strong independence/autonomy movement that has troubled several regimes now.
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posted by gbarto at 1:25 PM:
Interesting bit on the American Revolution at Natalie Solent's.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:18 PM:
You've Got Account Irregularities!SEC probes AOL ad transactions
With apologies to Ken Layne, the biggest dot.con yet.
Of course if they were making up ad revenue numbers, I'm concerned about their business model. They show so many ads as it is that there really couldn't be room for that many more. Not if they're also going to keep the paying subscriber model.
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posted by gbarto at 1:14 PM:
Conn. Court Says It Can't Dissolve Gay Couple's Civil UnionConnecticut says it doesn't have the unions, so can't dissolve them. Vermont will only put through the paperwork if a Vermont citizen is involved.
However, a civil union is either something that other states have to recognize or it isn't. That is, if Connecticut won't perform the divorce, it also doesn't recognize the union. Which says to me that if the two want to work this out, the best answer would be to enter binding arbitration for property distribution and the other usual housekeeping. Presumably, they could note the intent of their actions in the settlement agreement. That should make them good to go in 49 states. Vermont is another question, but if Connecticut doesn't have a divorce setup and the two "divorced" by other means, I think Vermont would be required to recognize the alternative resolution.
Of course this is a case for a lawyer, which I am not. But it seems to me that this would work in the same way that other questions are worked out when two states have different paperwork requirements for certain processes.
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posted by gbarto at 1:03 PM:
Palestinians accidentally blow up own bus!Don't have a link, but apparently a Palestinian bus hit one of the bombs Palestinians had planted in the hopes of blowing up Israeli troops a while back. Five injured.
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posted by gbarto at 1:01 PM:
Two Nabbed in Philly KidnapMore arrests in abduction of 7-year-old Erica Pratt likely
Good to see these idiots caught; hope they get the co-conspirators (if any) too. But what an era when those kidnapping for ransom are the "safe" ones.
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posted by gbarto at 12:58 PM:
Traficant Expelled 420-1Gary Condit sole vote in favor of keeping rogue Democrat in House
We presume Trafficant took some solace in knowing at least one other person was open to the idea of a felon serving in the House. However, Mr. Trafficant will be serving elsewhere instead.
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posted by gbarto at 1:47 AM:
Natalie Solent hits the Israel mess on the head.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:30 AM:
Camper Arrested in Calif. WildfireHundreds battle to save sequoia trees from out-of-control blaze
Just saw this on FNC; finally the Forest Service is complaining that the eco-freaks kept them cleaning out underbrush. So they're trying to take the right measures. The TurkeyBlog is therefore provisionally reducing the charges of idiotic endangerment to unfortunate ineffectiveness for the Forest Service; the environmental movement, however, remains on our bad side pending further notice.
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Wednesday, July 24, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:09 PM:
Traficant ExpelledHouse votes 420-1 to remove the nine-term Democrat — in just the second time since the Civil War — with Condit casting the sole vote in his support
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posted by gbarto at 10:55 PM:
French news:Le Monde leads with the financial world: The Authorities in the Face of the Financial Crisis. Says Le Monde, European markets were on their fourth rough day in a row before picking up a little in response to the American rebound. Incidentally, what we are experiencing is a "krach" and in case you're wondering, yes, that's pronounced just like the English word "crash".
And here's an interesting development: Jaques Chirac is calling for more volunteerism. Wonder where he got that idea.
Le Figaro, meanwhile, is taking off the gloves, trumpeting "Anger focused on Israel after a Murderous Raid in Gaza". This is just like after the Passover Massacre when they ran "Anger focused on Al-Aqsa after Murderous Attack on Passover," with all its details about the Jewish people marching in the streets, burning Palestinian flags and vowing to kill every last Palestinian. There's no link, of course, because there was no such headline, and indeed no such story to be written. But I suppose that's just splitting hairs. The TurkeyBlog, needless to say, is not impressed with Le Figaro's lead.
On the economic front, Le Figaro of course mentions the Bourse, but also the big fiscal debate: Should taxes or fees be cut first?
Speaking of the taxes/fees debates, Libération leads with "Higher Costs for Public Services," noting that France Telecom and now SNCF (the national railroad) are increasing their prices.
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posted by gbarto at 2:25 PM:
Right on, Eric. Eric Alterman (I'll send you to Instapundit, where I found the link) explains that Hamas is at war and that in war there are civilian casualties - as has certainly been the case for Israel. So what to say about the raid the other night? Tough luck, Hamas.He's right. The Palestinians, if Arafat is to be believed, is on Israel's side in this war - they're all for the peace and all opposed to the continued killing of innocents. So why is it that whenever Arafat's enemies, keeping him from the path to peace, are dealt with by Israel he's outraged rather than grateful?
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posted by gbarto at 2:19 PM:
Israel Says Some Troop Pullout PlannedThis among the measures taken to win back public opinion after a raid that was tactically a success but diplomatically not very pretty. As far as I'm concerned, Israel overstepped but with some justification. And the hypocrisy of the world has been plainly shown by the manner in which they condemned Israel's actions, even as they forever seek to explain away Hamas and Hezbollah, suggesting that because Israelis live within the norms of civilization, they're fair targets for the marginalized but that the Palestinians are - we'll say it again - uncontrolled savages who can't contain their impulse to lash out at what they perceive to be harming them.
Israel should be pleased that more is expected of them, but also wary: There are too many in the West who, unless and until confronted with another Holocaust, will prove all to willing to write of the death of Jewish people. Let's hope they either wake up or get moved out of power before we have another wake-up call of the sort that came in the forties.
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posted by gbarto at 1:21 PM:
Awesome:Dow up sharply; J.P. Morgan rises
Up sharply as in around 490 points. It's about time! Of course we'll see some backing and filling for a while yet, but it's nice to see a little green on the ticker.
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posted by gbarto at 10:56 AM:
Did the back and fill yesterday on the heels of Monday's meltdown constitute - shhhh, must whisper the word - capitulation on Wall Street? The Dow is up 165, but yesterday "bullish" money managers were revising their Dow targets downward; suddenly thinking we might break even this year is the height of optimism. It's hard to say where all this is going, but in the long term, it should be upward. As my broker says, the next 8,000 point move will be upward - he was saying this before the drop below 8,000 made it a mathematical certainty that it wouldn't be a downward move. Still, the example is instructive: Unless you're prepared to believe we're going back to zero, believing that even GE, Microsoft and Procter and Gamble will cease to exist or have value, there is a bottom somewhere, however low it may be. And when we find it, we're going to do what we always have: Building on what worked and leaving behind what didn't. There was an editorial in the Journal today which pointed out one of the beautiful things about this country: WorldCom and Enron - as we knew them - are gone. Having failed, their shareholders are out, their workers are out, their execs are out. Which means - forgive the cold rationality here - amid the billions of dollars lost, billions remain, ready for better use; among the idiotic executives were some bright ones now free to work for better bosses; among the sadly laid off employees, there are now a plethora of people ready to work for effective energy and telecom firms. As I sit here typing, I'm using the products of WorldCom and Enron - energy and telecom. So are you if you're reading this. And all the signs indicate we're going to keep using them - in one form or another. When WorldCom goes away, its customers will have to go somewhere, which means either something new is coming or something old is going to grow. This will sort itself out in the long term - a much shorter long-term than the one that only comes when we're dead, thank you, Dr. Keynes.In Europe, stocks are down 40%. But they aren't having this healthy shakeout. God willing, the emerging conservative leaning governments will in time allow bad companies to fail so that the workers and shareholders can stop hanging onto them and go somewhere they can do some good. But the fact you can't fire bad employees, can't let bad companies sink, etc., doesn't bode well. So when WorldCom's bankruptcy goes through, acknowledge the folks it's rough on. Then celebrate. Better things are coming.
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Tuesday, July 23, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:43 PM:
French news round up:Le Monde leads with "Gaza: Condemnations and Promises of Vengeance". Here's the summary paragraph, just to give the French tone:
Fifteen people, among them Salah Chehade, head of the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and eight children, were killed by an Israeli air raid the evening of Monday, July 22, in a heavily populated quarter in the center of the city of Gaza. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, called the operation "a big success" for the Jewish State. The president of the United States and the European Union condemned the raid, which the Arab world considers "savage aggression" and a "war crime".In the story we learn that
At Ramallah, Yasser Arafat wondered "how the whole world can remain silent and not make these crimes stop" while "positive initiatives for movement" toward peace were being entertained with the renewing of contact between Israelis and Palestinians".If Mr. Arafat had read the paragraphs before this one, he would have seen all the condemnations Israel suffered over this, though to their credit France and England acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself before saying this was not the way. But Mr. Arafat has grounds to worry: Europe and the United States might in fact do just as little in seriously controlling Israeli aggression as they did in helping Israel deal with Palestinian aggression. There is as yet no word as to why Arafat is shedding crocodile tears over a man who to all accounts was undermining Arafat's ability to make peace and indeed his ability to claim he actually has any authority in the "nation" he purports to lead. Perhaps because it's now clear Israel's ability to act surpasses his.
Le Figaro also leads with the Israeli raid. Let's have a look:
The Rough Appraisal of the Israeli Raid in GazaLe Figaro does have this one bit, which I would say is instructive. Who's criticizing Sharon, you ask?
The head of the military wing of the Islamic movement Hamas and at least 14 other Palestinians were killed Monday evening in Gaza in an Israeli air raid, a "liquidation operation" that undermined the faint hopes for detente that had come at the beginning of the week...
The head of the leftist opposition in Israel, Yossi Sarid, denounced the raid, judging that the killing of innocent victims was unacceptable and that the raid had come "at a moment where a certain calm could be felt".We'll refrain from hitting our readers over the head with the fact that in Israel there is an opposition.
Strangely, the most avowedly political of our newspapers, Libération, presents the most measured coverage, which was also for the most part true of the elections (though when it does take a stand it takes it with full vigor). Here's the lead:
An Israeli Army attack against a leader of Hamas leaves 15 dead and 145 woundedLibé alone gives any serious detail about who Israel was trying to kill, noting that according to the Israelis he was responsible for "hundreds of terrorist bombings". It's also alone in noting Sharon's comments about fighting terrorism; the others patched up quotes so that it seemed he was celebrating the deaths and wounding of Palestinian civilians, not the successful elimination of a man he believes is responsible for killing hundreds of Israelis.
Tsahal launched an air raid Monday evening in Gaza on the home of the head of the armed wing of Hamas. - Sheik Salah Chehada died in the operation, as well as fourteen civilians, among them eight children. - Ariel Sharon celebrated the success of the operation Tuesday - The head of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassine threatened the Hebrew state with a violent response.
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posted by gbarto at 8:38 PM:
Group Fights for Student Caught Taping Tipper Gore SpeechWetmore was grabbed by police during the arrest, convicted in a trial by the university's Office of Judicial Affairs, and removed from his position as president of his residence hall.He also has a website which is rather critical of the American University - where all this transpired. The speech, incidentally, was not to be videotaped because copyrighted pictures were being shown. Sounds to me like an angry university staff again showing their regard for self-exploration and trying out new ideas when they're not the ones spoon-fed by the faculty.
University officials placed Wetmore on disciplinary probation for a year and warned that another offense could lead to his expulsion.
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posted by gbarto at 8:29 PM:
Too Scared to CareWall Street closes down again as jittery investors continue selloff
I dunno. It wasn't a good day, but it didn't strike me as being nearly as panicked or confused as yesterday. And losing 80 beats the hell out of losing 280.
The story today was that Citigroup and JPM/Chase were skating a little too close to some fine lines; the question is whether they were pulling the same shenanigans with all their clients that they were pulling with Enron. I doubt it for the simple reason that even if they're crooks, they wouldn't need to. That is, some firms do fairly well on their own and wouldn't need the kind of propping Enron did because they don't have to keep so many balls in the air. Take Microsoft and Intel, for example. Sure, business sucks. And the stocks are, alas, in the tank. But they have a lot of cash on hand and have for years. Which means if they need money for a new venture, they'll dip into their own funds. The same is the case for a lot of older, more stable companies. They may not have cash on hand, but they've got longstanding credit lines that are well maintained. It's only when you've got a company with seemingly explosive growth - yet no money around, curious, that - that there emerges this need for more and more revenue streams and newer stranger ways to reassure the markets that they're looking at magic, not smoke and mirrors.
Does this mean all is well? Of course not. But nor is it all worthless. WorldCom, Enron, Anderson and others are going bye-bye. AT&T, lousy bastards that they are, will survive. Mr. Softie and Intel will survive. Hell, even Cisco might survive. And other wonders - Walmart, P&G, and Phillip Morris - God love 'em - will likewise continue on. Which means that as with all blows, we need to work on recovering from the blow and preparing for a future that will come no matter how hard we try to talk it into not coming. If you've got cash to lose, the next week or two will present some good opportunities for buying - for five years from now.
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posted by gbarto at 8:15 PM:
Good news!Police Find Abducted Philly Girl
Cops say 7-year-old appears unharmed after she freed herself from her bonds, broke a window and summoned other kids to come help
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posted by gbarto at 12:26 PM:
Hamas Vows RevengeIsraeli rocket attack killed militant leader, civilians in Gaza City
And so the cycle goes, and here at least there's some parity: Hamas thinks Israel shouldn't exist and Israel thinks Hamas shouldn't exist.
Of course one hopes the dynamic is different between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. And it seems the Israelis have acknowledged the right of the Palestinians to exist. So now we're just waiting to find out which side Yassir Arafat is really on - will they ever fix the PLO charter? And explain the change to the Al-Aqsa wing of Fatah?
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posted by gbarto at 12:19 PM:
That's a Lot of Jet FuelAmerica West pilot settled $122 bar tab six hours before flight
Oops. Asks John Gibson: Did they buy everyone a round? In any case, you're not allowed to drink before flying and there weren't any Cokes on the tab.
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posted by gbarto at 12:16 PM:
Of course the scary thing about the below is that if you go to the post office, you'll find flyers for hundreds of cases like this; not sure why it's more high profile this year, but I don't think the raw stats are that elevated. In any case, let's hope the higher attention levels will do some good.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:14 PM:
And another one; let's hope that with the ransom demand, etc, they'll keep the girl unharmed:Philly Girl Reported Abducted
Two men apparently grab 7-year-old from street, make ransom demand
This one's scary; she was pulled off her bike by two guys in a car. In broad daylight. Here's the picture; keep your eyes out in the Philadelphia area:
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posted by gbarto at 12:08 PM:
Carl Levin having a tizzy about Chase and Enron, which he declares shameful. But yesterday's Journal notes that Citigroup also had a pretty big role to play, which leaves us wondering when the oh-so-concerned Democratic senators are going to berate their old pal, Bobby Rubin, who moved from being Clinton's Treasury Secretary to Vice-Chairman of Citigroup in the middle of these shenanigans, and who made a few calls to former associates on Enron's behalf. Whoever's sitting in for Limbaugh was also wondering earlier today why we're slamming Bush while failing to notice that most of Enron's actual fraud was committed from '99 to 2000.By the way, we're down 70 at the moment; it was 10 five minutes ago. And it's looking more and more like the biggest threat to the market is not the execs - who have been severely punished by the markets - but a Congress that (as Jonathan Karl pointed out in yesterday's Journal) is ready to implement whatever it can get thrown together even as it presides over the least financially sound entity in the world of any importance .
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Monday, July 22, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:58 PM:
Israeli Strike Targets Hamas BigAt least 11 killed in attack on home of founder of Hamas' military wing
And it's a damned shame, but it's also a damned shame that Israelis keep getting killed for being Jewish too. And the bottom line is that heretofore the heads of Hamas, Hezbollah and Al-Aqsa have been sending other people's children to die for their glorious cause. And their own kids? I had (but can't find) a good link for this one. In any case, a Hamas bigwig has now experienced what too many Israelis and Palestinians have. And it's a tragedy - but of his own making.
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posted by gbarto at 9:19 PM:
Economic/finance news leads in Le Figaro, as Le Monde (see below):Vivendi keeps Canal+
and
Financial markets: Paris drops again.
(NB also that Le Figaro credits Powell for helping resolve the conflict over Persil.)
Libé also leads with WorldCom, and follows up with an interview with CNRS director Elie Cohen's who notes that "We must learn to live with the markets and tame them" (Good luck!) and an article on the falling French market.
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posted by gbarto at 8:55 PM:
Oh my God! It's just like America:Who will profit from the tax cuts?
That's the headline from Le Monde, which tells us that the Democrats, er, Socialists, are carping that the new tax cuts will most benefit...
Did you guess, "The Rich" ?
Get yourself a popsicle. Of course the rich also pay the most taxes, but we've had this debate before. It's just refreshing to see France at long last broach the revolutionary ideas that Reagan and Thatcher brought 20 years ago. Our hat's off to Francis Mer, Minister of the Economy (... of the Economy? - it's still France). Let's hope he can get it done.
I know my EuroPacific fund is rooting for him.
Secondary headline: WorldCom: The Biggest Bankruptcy.
Ok, at least there's good news in France.
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posted by gbarto at 3:29 PM:
Following up on the post below, check out the leftist solution:Both sides agree on one solution. Because the city mandates the living wage, providers and living-wage proponents say, the city should supply the child-care centers with the money to pay it.Apparently Santa Cruz has a money fairy to help out. Boston, unfortunately, can only get such monies from taxpayers, which contrary to liberal opinion, are not the same thing as money trees. In fact, they're the same people who at the bottom end are fussing with this whole problem to begin with.
Such is the case in Santa Cruz, Calif., where city officials earlier this month voted to spend $250,000 to boost the wages of child-care providers under contract with the city.
Boston officials say the city is not fiscally able to pick up the cost, which is estimated by providers at $1.8 million.
''We just don't have the funding,'' said Carole Brennan, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino. ''It's easy to say the city should be funding this, but things are just tough. This is not just the only issue we are balancing.''
Summary:
- Santa Cruz has a weaker hold on reality than Boston. Isn't that disturbing?
- Government programs cost money.
- That money comes, one way or another, from taxpayers. No matter how you fudge it.
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posted by gbarto at 3:22 PM:
A perfect picture of how the well-meaning left works at Common Sense and Wonder. Up next, a plan for fairer health care that leads to hospital closings. (Oops, that one already happened.)* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:15 PM:
The post below could apply to a million different things, alas. Why not click and see which it is?* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:14 PM:
Question here. Answer: Congressional stupidity is the bigger threat.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:10 PM:
All hail the INS. I thought this had been worked out but apparently they're still beating 9/11 widows. Here's a thought: Since the INS and US State Department contributed to the killing of the woman's husband, why don't we deport the case officers in question in her place?* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:44 PM:
It's not easy being cleanGov. Gray Davis' groundbreaking bill to lower tailpipe emissions became law on Monday. Environmentalists want automakers to employ "clean" technologies already used abroad. But auto industry reps say it isn't that easy.
Better keep an eye on this one, America. It looks like it's just crazy California ratcheting up emissions standards, but they're one of the largest automobile markets. Which means if this sticks the Big 3, Honda and everyone else will at best have to produce a second run of cars - presumably passing some of the costs along to us - or more likely standardizing which means your car in Michigan, Delaware or whatever will be more expensive because - remember this - Gray Davis needed to burnish his credentials with the environmentalists for the election campaign of 2002.
Which is why the governor's race is about more than who seems like a nice guy and people counting on the environmental lobby in their campaigns need to be watched just as closely as those beholden to big business.
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posted by gbarto at 2:36 PM:
3 dead in Palestinian neighborhood in Gaza after Israeli bombing intended for a house inhabited by Hamas militants. So says Fox News Channel.Upsetting, of course. As is the murder of Israelis by Hamas. One would think the peace seeking and peace loving Palestinians would turn in the militants so they could enjoy peace.
Oops. Except the peace loving, peace seeking Palestinians have been known to slaughter those who turn in terrorists to the Israelis.
Which means either they aren't so peace seeking and peace loving or they've failed to realize there's a war on in which - better sit down if you're not - the Palestinians and Israelis are on the same side. One wishes Arafat would recognize this possibility and treat the elimination of Hamas and Hezbollah operatives as the destruction of his own enemies, as they undermine his ability to bring peace. Instead, he treats it as an affront, which suggests that for all his empty pieties, the Chairman's heart favors the slaughter of Jews and not cooperation with them.
Update: Now 6.
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posted by gbarto at 2:31 PM:
Hillary Not Happy With Campaign Finance ReformSen. Clinton angry that Democratic party may face liabilities under new law
Um... Why didn't she lobby harder against it with her colleagues? One would think she would at least have voted against it.
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posted by gbarto at 12:07 PM:
Senator Advises Caution on IraqDem Carl Levin says he wants to attack Saddam — with good reason
At first glance, the thought that comes too mind is: Too bad he's never been worth a damn for funding the military or supporting the men and women whose lives will be put on the line.
Of course on reading the article, you'll note that the "with good reason" is a caveat; this is really about more stalling.
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posted by gbarto at 11:57 AM:
Scary number: The NASDQ is down 73% from its highs (according to Power Lunch).* * *
posted by gbarto at 11:56 AM:
Does Joe Kernen control the markets? It's kind of silly, but lately there's been a disturbing correlation between the times the market starts to bounce back intraday and his time on the treadmill at the gym. Of course CNBC doesn't realize what ultimately controls the market: TurkeyBlog buys, market goes down; TurkeyBlog sells, market goes up. In an effort to raise cash, the TurkeyBlog is announcing a new initiative: For $50 a year, I'll put you on an e-mail list and every time I make a move in the market you'll know right away. There are no guarantees, but it's as good a contrarian indicator as any.Incidentally, I'm right now in it for the long term. Those desiring a good upward move may however purchase my departure from the market if the price is right. Again, no guarantees.
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posted by gbarto at 12:12 AM:
Israel May Exit West Bank AreasWithdrawal of troops would be meant to test Palestinian security
Of course this is not so much a test for the Palestinians, who are almost certain to fail, but for a West that is forever calling on Israel to give the Palestinians one more chance while doing nothing when the Palestinians blow it. If the PA still can't get its act together, will the West finally accept that Israel must be allowed to protect itself? Of course not.
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posted by gbarto at 12:02 AM:
Le Monde leads with WorldCom's Bankruptcy and the end of the Spanish-Moroccan war.Le Figaro leads with the news that on the 60th anniversary of the round-up of the Jews in Paris, Raffarin renders hommage to the martyrs of "Vel d'Hiv" and vows to crack down on anti-Semitism; says Raffarin, "aggression against a Jewish person is aggression against France."
Libération, differing from the first two, leads with efforts to improve traffic safety.
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Sunday, July 21, 2002
posted by gbarto at 11:42 PM:
The TurkeyBlog returns at day's end to wrap up. As to the day's activities, we have a translation and commentary for Magnitudo parvi just added to the Hugo pages.* * *
posted by gbarto at 4:48 PM:
It's official:WorldCom Inc. Says It Will File for Bankruptcy
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