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Saturday, January 11, 2003
posted by gbarto at 1:51 PM:
Ryan Vacating Illinois Death RowBlanket pardon by outgoing governor will spare 156 inmates
A pretty bold move. As an opponent of the death penalty, though, I'm a bit bothered by this. Some are no doubt heralding Ryan for this act of moral conscience, and I lean toward doing the same. However, in my view, the problem isn't that there were people on death row. The problem is that laws were written to put them there, presumably in accordance with the will of the people of Illinois at the time. Understand: the purpose of the death penalty is to put people to death for certain crimes. The purpose of the pardon power is to make sure the wrong people aren't among those put to death. The pardon power is not intended to let the governor decide whether the death penalty laws will apply during his term or not.
From the Fox story:
Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of every inmate on Illinois' death row in an unprecedented action, saying the "demon of error" makes the state's death penalty process immoral.I'm inclined to agree with his reasoning. But George Ryan hasn't corrected the error. He's merely released 156 people from its consequence.
To understand where I'm coming from, consider this (also from the story):
Ryan's decision prompted an explosion of protest from prosecutors and incoming Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, who called blanket clemency "a big mistake." Blagojevich said cases should be considered individually, adding "You're talking about people who've committed murder."George Ryan has not been, these past few years, a monk in some cloistered cell praying for guidance. He's been the governor of Illionois, a guy with the power to take a microphone and tell the people of Illinois why the law must be changed, a guy with the power to send legislators bills removing the death penalty from the sentencing options for different crimes, a guy who might have even had the clout to propose changing Illinois' constitution to ban the death penalty in the state.
Blagojevich said he doesn't intend to lift the moratorium on executions, but he also doesn't plan to intervene if courts impose death sentences in new cases.
If George Ryan is sincere in his actions - and I believe he is - he has only taken the first step. As a political actor, he should have been pressing to eliminate the death penalty by the political process ever since his change of conscience on the matter. That chance is gone, but he can still use his status as former governor to lobby fellow Republicans to consider his thinking, to send the message that maybe Republicans are more compassionate than Democrats like incoming governor Blagojevich, and to push the people of Illinois to push their legislators to remove this infamy from their judicial system.
We salute Governor Ryan for his act of conscience. We wish he'd had the nerve to take on this challenge more fully, more directly, more honestly, from within the sphere where he had - but lost - the opportunity to possibly effect real and lasting change.
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posted by gbarto at 3:20 AM:
Oops. I suppose I'd be cross with others for missing my blogiversary, but I missed it myself. The TurkeyBlog debuted on a blogspot site on January 10 of last year. January 27 marks the site's debut at the gbarto.com domain.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:08 AM:
Here's Den Beste on North Korea and why we shouldn't be falling over ourselves to get the situation settled.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:05 AM:
Our condolences to A Dog's Life for Knight.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:54 AM:
Wandering through Barnes and Noble today, I stumbled upon Fernando Pessoa's Book of Disquiet (click link to purchase), translated by Richard Zenith. Having heard the author's name, I looked out of curiosity. The book is the "autobiography" of a bookkeeper who considers himself to have no life and writes a great deal about this fact. The cover blurbs hail it as a deconstructionist work years ahead of deconstruction. In spite of this, it's not bad at all. For some reason it reminds me of Flaubert's Bouvard and Pecuchet, though I cannot put my finger on why. Here are a few quotes that amused; the numbers after refer to chapters.We never know self-realization.
We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky. -11
Whether or not they exist, we're slaves to the gods. -24
To give each emotion a personality, a heart to each state of the heart! -26
To express something is to conserve its virtue and take away its terror. -27
To go from the phantoms of faith to the ghosts of reason is only to change cells. Art, if it frees us from the abstract idols of old, should also free us from magnaminous ideas and social concerns, which are likewise idols. -34
I envy all people, because I'm not them. -38
I particularly like the quote from chapter 34, which speaks to a problem that persists today - the conviction of those with "scientific" minds that they have access to a higher truth. They can be every bit as embarrassing as Jerry Falwell - and as clueless as to how much fanatical self-righteousness has crept into their thinking. If Dante were writing the Inferno today, it would be fitting for him to have Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Noam Chomsky and Carl Sagan sentenced to spend eternity in the same discussion group, nestled in some circle of smugness.
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posted by gbarto at 2:46 AM:
North Korea Considers Lifting Missile Test BanCiting tensions with the Washington's 'hostile policies', N. Korea announces they may end a self-imposed moratorium on ballistic missile testing
Having a loony-toon maximum leader doesn't help matters either. We know about regime change. But what do you do when the only hope for rehabilitating a country is mass psychotherapy?
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posted by gbarto at 2:42 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde: "The US reinforces their troops" (in the Persian Gulf, of course).
Le Figaro: "Nukes: Pyongyang raises the stakes." This is, literally, yesterday's news - specifically about the diplomatic (?) machinations of North Korea of late.
Libé is leading with "The new market in surrogate mothers." It says French couples are going abroad - notwithstanding legal questions - to find surrogate mothers.
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posted by gbarto at 2:27 AM:
Just got a look at the Grammy nominations. Some bloggers like Avril Lavigne, who picked up five nominations. The marvelous Norah Jones also appears all over the place. Ditto for the not so marvelous Eminem. And it's a good thing they're in there or I would think that I had accidentally boarded a time machine to the past. What are these names doing in Grammy nominations in the years 2002?Elton John? I guess he'll be around forever. He had his first big hits about a year before I was born. - Sting? - James Taylor? C'mon. Elton John may have become easy listening in the last 30 years. James Taylor's been easy listening as long as I remember. - Bon Jovi? - Don Henley? - Rod Stewart? Though in fairness, it's a pretty good album. - Barbra? blech - Aerosmith?
And check out the nominees for best male rock vocal: Bowie, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant and Springsteen. There's not a one of them that hadn't hit the charts before I was in junior high.
There are a few more, but you get the point. I think it's the male rock vocal category that really astonishes me. And shows just why the music industry is in a helluva lot of trouble: There may be a few new stars with the talent to be more than a flash in the pan - Norah Jones is my top nominee; whether Avril, Eminem and Nelly will stick around or burn out remains to be seen - but the music industry is mostly coming up with Britneys and Aguileras (though the latter at least can sing) who become overexposed (in every way) and move from yesterday's big story to today's celebrity joke. Of course some of this has always been true, but like I say, there are an awful lot of old names in here for an industry that tries to cater to youth culture.
So the music industry isn't totally shot. But why is it that the sharpest CD I've come upon in quite some time features not the music biz's latest discovery but Renee Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere (the Chicago soundtrack) - and all three sing better than a lot of this year's nominees?
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posted by gbarto at 1:52 AM:
Another new poem at The Hugo Pages, making seven translations from Aurora.* * *
Friday, January 10, 2003
posted by gbarto at 3:32 AM:
Five (!) new poems up at The Hugo Pages. They're all under Contemplations, Book I (Aurora).* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:47 AM:
Cicero notes but questions my Clinton/Nixon test. I stand by the test, and the assertion that detaining American citizens without granting them fair trials is a dangerous precedent to set - even if it has already been set. Does this mean I favor leniency for terrorists? No. It means I don't like letting the government decide - outside the judicial process - who is a terrorist. If the government needs to take special precautions to make sure that the information in government evidence can't get back to terrorists - if the suspect is in league with them - procedures can be devised. Including fairly stringent sequestering. But to send an American citizen into a trial without the same opportunities to defend himself that are granted any other citizen is dangerous. Not so many years ago, another president implied that people with my opinions were silent cohorts of Timothy McVeigh and that Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy bore direct responsibility. The American people subsequently re-elected him president. So long as people like William Jefferson Clinton can become president, allowing the executive branch to bring this much influence to bear upon judicial processes is a bad idea pernicious to our liberties.Some will suggest the dangers of not being sufficiently oppressive of potential, even probable, terrorists. But - as a family in Cookeville, Tennessee found out - giving too much authority to those charged with our protection ever augments the possibility of bureaucratic bungling, tragic incompetence and the gradual encroachment of things distinctly un-American into our liberty and fairness centered American way of life. Like airport security lines and all the other nonsense, we must appreciate that if we screw up what makes this country work in pursuit of idealized security we might as well pack it in.
A note: While those who are captured and are safely under control should have the same rights and protections in being tried for treason as any other likely felon, this does not mean that our soldiers should be put at risk to protect these nitwits. An American identifying himself as such when the battle turns against him ought be given the same deference as a Saudi shouting that he's from Riyadh.
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posted by gbarto at 2:24 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with the "New provocation by North Korea," namely its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Libé puts labor developments up top: "EDF-GDF checks off 'no'". Specifically, these unions have rejected the reform retirement plans settled upon in negotiations in December for electric and gas workers, which could put the entire question of retirement back up for negotiation. This is really big news because internal polls at the beginning of the week indicated at least one of the unions would vote yes to the tune of 80%. What did all the mucky-mucks miss? We'll have to wait to see what the unions propose next for clues.
Le Figaro, finance and business minded, also leads with "EDG-GDF: workers say "no" to reform."
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Thursday, January 09, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:42 PM:
Iraq in 'Material Breach'U.S. ambassador blasts declaration, Blix reports no 'smoking guns'
But even Blix says there have been violations of UN resolutions; he's just trying to get the proof of it and Iraqi proof that they're back in compliance. It doesn't look likely, and things will probably get ugly with Iraq sooner or later.
But lest Iraq get the headlines for nastiest nation around, here comes North Korea:
N. Korea Pulls Out of Nuke Nonproliferation Treaty
Pyongyang says withdrawal from treaty will free it from safeguard obligations to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency
But is military action called for? Or the mass administration of anti-psychotics? North Korea seems hell-bent on isolating itself from the world and blowing even the goodwill that it might gain from some nations for standing in opposition to the US.
The thing to watch here is who backs North Korea and denounces US "bullying," a line North Korea is trying to get people to follow. As with Afghanistan, we have here a chance to tell the difference between principled leftists, however misguided, and those who are simply, dogmatically anti-American. Anyone on the left standing with North Korea and for its right to participate in nuclear proliferation can safely be assumed to be in the latter camp.
Does Patty Murray have any speeches scheduled?
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posted by gbarto at 11:29 PM:
Not good times for flying:Peruvian Airliner Reported Missing
Tans Air Fokker 28 disappears over Amazon with 46 aboard
In the meantime, here's the latest update on the N.C. crash:
Plane's 'Elevator' Moved Erratically
Equipment determines whether airliner goes up, down; 21 killed in N.C. crash
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posted by gbarto at 3:12 AM:
Police Shoot Family's Dog During Stop
One place I won't be going is Cookeville, TN. They shot a dog that was wagging its tail! When the police showed up after my fiancee had a car accident, the dog promptly came up to see who was approaching his owner - naturally - then licked the officer's hand when it was clear it was ok. Thank God she wasn't pulled over by this stupid sh--!
The internal affairs department decided, surprise, surprise, that pulling someone over erroneously - yes, the stop was unwarranted - and killing the family dog wasn't use of excessive force. Instapundit (where I came across this story) says this police department didn't have a stellar reputation to begin with (PutnamPit has more on the stupid SOBs in this police department - among other things, there was a kerfuffle over police pagers being used to send sexually suggestive messages). But now the department has outdone itself. As one commenter noted, "It's a good thing the son didn't twitch."
If you're looking for a place to vacation, don't go to Cookeville, don't go through Cookeville, don't go near Cookeville. Who knows who or what they'll shoot next.
In the meantime, let's hope the lawsuit gives Cookeville some incentive to clean up its act. Nothing will replace the lost pet, but the loss of some treasure may remind the town and its citizenry that they have to do a better job of minding the store, keeping an eye on elected officials and the people they employ.
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posted by gbarto at 2:49 AM:
Interesting thoughts from the etiquette conscious A Dog's Life.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:45 AM:
Cicero wonders why with 3000 dead in attacks by Muslim extremists, Hollywood's villains are still middle-aged white men. Excellent question. Maybe he should write Rob Long at National Review, conservatism's man inside Hollywood.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:37 AM:
Here comes your French news round-up of what the average French person is seeing above the fold this morning:Le Monde: Curiously, Le Monde is fronting a Figaro poll. "3 French in 4 oppose war in Iraq." They have the related story, "M. Chirac prepares public opinion for an eventual war with Iraq." Comes the question for France: Can a nation prove itself to be the conscience of Western Civilization by standing with Saddam? Chirac knows better. How long will it take le peuple to catch up to him?
Le Figaro: Not surprisingly, Le Figaro also front its poll, "3 out of 4 French hostile to war in Iraq." There's another angle, though:
But, for Jean-Francois Doridot, director of the "Opinion" department of the polling institute, Ipsos, "everything depends on context." "We had already posed a similar question last September," he specifies. "The results were exactly the same. But the UN has not yet said if there was a material breach (violation patente) of Security Council Resolution 1441! One might think that if the Council declares itself in favor of a military intervention, the French will be much more divided. It's thus a matter of opposition on principle, which can evolve in a few days, after a decision by the UN or the taking of official positions by French authorities."
At the time of the War in the Gulf, a CSA poll, published January 8, 1991, showed that 79% of the French thought "no cause, even a just cause, was worth going to war over." And 69% of them felt that it "is out of the question for a French person to die for Kuwait City." January 18, according to the first poll after the beginning of hostilities, 67% of the French, reassured by the precision and technological superiority of the Allies, approved of the war against Iraq. "Once the intervention had been decided upon, opinion came around," comments Jean-Francois Doridot. "That's perhaps why Jacques Chirac is preparing public opinion today..."
Libé: "Buffalo Grill: Gray Zones in the Dossier." The restaurant chain financial mismanagement scandal continues.
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posted by gbarto at 2:06 AM:
India Tests Nuke-Capable MissileReport: Agni ballistic missile test-fired as tensions run high
Leave it to the world's largest democracy to continue in its bid to make Pakistan look like the good guys in their disputes. Though I'm sure that's not how India sees it. The question is whether the leaders of either country can pull it together enough to back down on the nationalism and actually better the plight of those in disputed territories.
The TurkeyBlog suggests creating an independent country between Pakistan and India - we'll call it Pak-India. Once the boundaries are drawn and a constitution is written, we'll send the Pakistanis in the region the finest consultants the Democrats have to offer; the Indians will get Republican consultants. In five years, government mucky-mucks will run the show for their own benefit while the Pakistanis and Indians live together in peace, satisfied that though their own interests aren't represented, neither are those of their enemies.
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posted by gbarto at 1:55 AM:
U.S. Can Hold Citizens as CombatantsAppeals Court: Constitutional rights don't always apply in wartime
WASHINGTON — U.S. citizens overseas who take up arms against their country can be held as enemy combatants without the constitutional rights afforded other Americans, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.While we agree that it is going over the line for a US citizen to fire on American troops and then demand his Constitutional protections as guaranteed by the country he was fighting, there's a problem here: The person in question is said to have fought against the US - by the US government. But that has not been determined by a jury of his peers and he is being denied the right to see the evidence against him in order to defend himself before such a jury. This is wrong, for it allows the government's presumption that a person is guilty to take precedence over what our legal system prescribes for making such determinations. Now, the TurkeyBlog's libertarian instincts are not so strong that he thinks that the country should embark on a suicidal course lest an i be left undotted or a t left uncrossed in the protection of civil liberties. But if there's a concern that this citizen is disloyal, could he not be sequestered such that he couldn't leak potentially dangerous information in the evidence against him? Making sure that someone who is potentially a traitor can't continue to conspire is one thing. Letting the government create a situation where the innocent may not be able to defend themselves is another. The appeals court is wrong.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., affirms the government's authority to detain indefinitely American citizens captured in foreign battles or those who participate in terrorist attacks against U.S. interests.
But the ruling stopped short of approving those same powers over Americans arrested on U.S. soil, which legal experts said leaves a major question for courts to settle in the future.
The big problem here is that this ruling doesn't pass the Clinton/Nixon test. Here in this moment many will see the ruling as helping us in the war on terror. But appeals court rulings aren't just about how this president and this administration will use power at this time; they set standards on which the government and the law operate. Which means that liberals must ask themselves if they would have wanted the Nixon administration to have this discretion while conservatives must ask themselves if they would have wanted Janet Reno empowered to make decisions in this venue. In those terms, I think anybody with any passion for politics or governance at all ought be wary.
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posted by gbarto at 1:37 AM:
Both of Commuter Plane's Data Recorders FoundAll 19 passengers, two crew killed aboard US Airways Express Flight 5481 in Charlotte, N.C.; pilot reported emergency before impact
I never like airplane disaster stories. I really don't like them just days before or after I fly. But today was a rough day with both this and the crash in Turkey, both of which I saw go across a news ticker, the second just as I was processing the first.
FAA records show that the plane had experienced technical problems before.Which sounds pretty scary. But...
The six-year-old Beech 1900 twin-engine turboprop was involved in five in-flight incidents that the NTSB said could affect safe operations. In one incident, the right engine lost oil pressure in November 2000 and the crew had to shut it down. The plane landed safely and the engine was replaced.
The aircraft also reported eight service difficulties, most of them minor. In November, the company reported a leaking fuel pump that was replaced. In May, a hydraulic power pack was replaced after the left main landing gear wouldn't retract during takeoff.
There have been eight fatal accidents involving Beech 1900s in 40 years, according to NTSB records. Three people were killed in the most recent crash of a Beech 1900C, in Eagleton, Ark., on Dec. 9.The Fox story also notes that this is the first fatal crash for a commercial airliner in the US since Nov. 12, 2001. That crash killed 265. Still, compared with cars, 286 deaths in the 13 months doesn't look bad statistically. No consolation, alas, to those affected. We offer our prayers and sympathy.
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posted by gbarto at 1:16 AM:
A little amusement:You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect man (or) woman you have been dreaming about.
Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car.
Think before you continue reading.
This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.
You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could
take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back.
However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.
The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.
WHAT DID HE SAY?
He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital.
I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams."
(from the TurkeySister)
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Wednesday, January 08, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:10 AM:
Here's Den Beste on the French and preparations for war in Iraq.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:07 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde: "Unions united around retirement." Big protests planned for February 1st and today the unions issued their statement about what they think about what retirement should mean, when it should start and how the state ought to help. Gray panthers, eat your heart out! Nobody can shake up their country over socioeconomic issues like the French.
Le Figaro: "Bush rearms his economy, Europe skates along." Le Figaro highlights the President's economic plan and efforts to keep the economy going in the face of the recession and the war on terror. As for Europe's skating along, that just means there's no new locomotive for growth, no plan for bigger things.
Libé leads with the war on Iraq presumably to come, noting that in a public conference Chirac seemed resigned to war, affirming that French forces were getting ready and - as always - underlining that this should be a world decision and a world action, not a US move, but indicating that apparently the world will so decide.
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posted by gbarto at 1:55 AM:
First Couple Loves Long Drives on the RanchBoy, there's a headline you wouldn't have seen 3 years ago.
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posted by gbarto at 1:54 AM:
Brits Bristling at Filmmaker's ShowMichael Moore accused of mocking Sept. 11 victims during London act
It's good to see this outrageous so-and-so getting something other than the fawning to which he's become accustomed. The rest of the world may not be rah-rah, USA! but it's not as callous and anti-American as some in the American left.
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Tuesday, January 07, 2003
posted by gbarto at 3:22 AM:
The TurkeyBlog is now off to sleep (waking up on Michigan time and crashing at 3:30am California time makes for a long day). Thanks again to the TurkeySister for the French news. Back tomorrow.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:21 AM:
A Dog's Life has some words for Hollywood, land of the double standard. The TurkeyBlog holds to his theory that the reason businessmen are portrayed as crooks, lawyers as sharks, all people as superficial, etc., is that this is what one encounters in Hollywood. And the reason they toss aside actresses over 30, etc., is because they think we are as small-minded as they are.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:14 AM:
The TurkeyBlog is back in Silicon Valley after a loooooooooooong day of travel and thus will not have a lot to say. But a few words:First, thanks to the TurkeySister for getting out the French headlines.
Second, the same TurkeySister e-mails regarding the surprising death of Monique Wittig on January 3. Monique Wittig apparently collapsed and died after a walk in Sabino Canyon. For those who don't follow Francophone lit, Wittig was a French-Canadian feminist literary theorist and novelist best known for The Lesbian Body (original title, Le Corps lesbien). Of late, she had been teaching at the University of Arizona (where TurkeySister is working on her second MA). The TurkeyBlog knows of her work from a paper on gender roles and socialization in fairy tales that he wrote way back in undergrad (even conservative Republicans wind up working on some pretty curious stuff in the lit biz).
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Monday, January 06, 2003
posted by turkeysister at 6:33 PM:
The turkey is on his way home in the air, so turkeysister is reporting today. Le Monde says "Credit Lyonnais: No report from the proceedings". La Liberation says "American plans for a post-Saddam Iraq". Le Figaro informs us that "Chirac confirms lower taxes and retirement reforms". Fox News says "Troops, Families say goodbye" regarding those shipping out for the Persian Gulf. Commentary returns with the turkey tomorrow!* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:17 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with "Tel Aviv Bombing; Israeli Response."
Le Figaro leads with "The Nightmares of the Snow-Stranded," about the numerous motorists trapped in their vehicles along the road after big snowstorms hit while transportation workers were slow to clear the streets or dig them out. It focuses on highway A-10 in the Marne.
Libé leads with the black tide and the people of the coast who had to watch it approach, unable to stop it.
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posted by gbarto at 1:50 AM:
Delightful piece on Sixpence None the Richer in National Review Online. The band has done a lot more than just "Kiss me" and "There she goes." Have a read. Then buy a few CDs. (The TurkeyBlog is, incidentally, a fan with a few of their CDs in his collection.)* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:15 AM:
I see Little Green Footballs is as cynical about the "religion of peace" as the TurkeyBlog. Scroll through for the references. And for far more in depth coverage that the TurkeyBlog provides. As always, if something big is happening in the Middle East, LGF is the place to go to learn more.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:17 AM:
Here's Den Beste dealing with a problem for the Palestinians: While many people (especially of the European anti-Semitic stripe) persist in demanding justice for them, their unjust treatment of innocent Israelis has left many in the US disgusted with them, President Bush among their number. In extreme cases, like Den Beste's, this can even lead to their dehumanization.Steve differs from those on the other side of the spectrum, however, in that he recognizes the dangerousness of such feelings and does his best to sort them out, rather than taking them as something upon which to act.
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Sunday, January 05, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:58 PM:
For the record:Twin Homicide Bombings Kill 23 in Tel Aviv
More than 100 injured in blasts near city's former central bus station, Israeli attack helicopters fire at target in Gaza City
Not to worry. When we're done, it will all be Israel's fault and this will serve as further proof Israel needs to negotiate in a way that makes the Palestinians hapy.
The President generally gets asked to "do something" in these situations. He should start by asking Mr. Arafat if there is any peace deal whose terms don't include the eventual end of Israel that he and his Jihad buddies should get behind.
I still think U.Thant has proposed the only reasonable solution for giving the Palestinian people both a state and incentive not to continue the terrorism in hope of getting more:
The Palestinians formally get control of all 2,165 square miles of the West Bank, with full autonomy, open borders, and if it turns out that there are any civil rights that come with being citizens of an Arab nation, they can have those too. It's up to them. No questions asked.(not sure if UThant is still functional, the link where TurkeyBlog first posted is here)
In return, the Israelis get to take back 20 square miles of land every time an Israeli dies at the hands of a Palestinian. No questions asked.
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posted by gbarto at 12:45 AM:
South Korea Launches Diplomatic OffensiveWith an official in Russia and another bound for the U.S., South Korea may be looking to push for concessions from both Pyongyang and D.C.
It's gotta make 'em nervous that below that appears this story: "South Korea: Friend or Foe?"
South Korea no doubt suffers from being cut off from its northern half. And I can respect its desre to do something about it. South Korea is a friend and one with the best of intentions. But Pyongyang, for all its insanity, understands a little bit about how people and nations work. It knows enough to realize that if it plays this right, it can make South Korea its useful idiot, with South Korea giving it aid, comfort and the resources to concentrate on weapons production even as North Korea's pesky problem of feeding the people is somewhat alleviated. But the Korean people know better, right? Wouldn't trade security for the simple satisfaction of pretending diplomacy could solve everything. Wouldn't delude themselves into thinking that they have the one country with which the North could form a true partnership regading these matters. Would it?
The Clinton administration swallowed Pyongyang's promises, hook, line and sinker and sent Bush the task of cleaning it up.
Has North Korea changed enough to enter the civilized world?
... No.
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posted by gbarto at 12:31 AM:
French news round-up:Says Le Monde of the Ivory Coast: "Cease-Fire confirmed." It was negotiated by French Foreign Minister Dominique Villepin.
Elsewhere, in Venezuela there have been "Murderous Clashes in Caracas."
And we learn that the Prestige's stuff has been showing up on the French coast.
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