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Saturday, January 18, 2003
posted by gbarto at 3:04 AM:
Den Beste here and here on when war is likely to come. Answer: Damn soon.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:58 AM:
Cute story at A Dog's Life about the widsom of birds and other things.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:53 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with Chirac's "Oh crap" moment of the day, that being the moment when "Bush declares himself ready to go into battle alone" (presumably he'll bring the Marines). And thus, as Den Beste concluded (scroll down a few), Europe's choices are to work with us or not matter.
Le Figaro leads with "Chirac hopes to give the UN more time." They have warheads ready to deliver chemical agents. They handed a crap declaration to the UN and were basically unrepentant about doing so. Iraq has repeatedly given the implication by its actions that it takes the UN for craven fools more interested in having a smiley face on the top of the report than actually doing anything. Does Chirac really want to prove them right?
By the way, for all those yearning for the civilized European way of doing these as opposed to America's hick, backward, outdated customs:
"The intolerable vengeance of the rapists."
Briefly, a junior high school girl (now 14) was gang-raped last year. Because of the young age of the rapists, some of the five will be out at the end of the month. Which promises to make things even harder for the girl who is constantly taunted, targeted in graffitti, etc. by friends of the rapists who think she should have kept her mouth shut rather than messing up their buddies' lives. The rapists, for their part, told her that if she turned them in they'd rape her little sister. Her family wound up moving because of the threats they were receiving. And the city, the school, and the police seem powerless to do a damn thing about it. Perhaps because France is as backward as anywhere else and nobody wants to get involved in protecting a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks from rapists better placed in society. Check out what some people said about this 13 (!) year old:
Nadia, 16: "She consented. She smiled when she was out walking with them, all proud. Me, if I'm with a guy alone my father raps me upside the head... You know what the guys had in mind. Me, I'm with [the guys], they're from my area, they're good."
A seventeen year old and his twelve year old brother: "Even in winter, she wore skirts and sandals. It's a shame what happened... but she was asking for it." Shame they didn't identify those two. Probably a few fathers of young girls in the neighborhood who could use the info.
"Tease" and "bitch" were among a few of the adjectives offered by other teens interviewed.
This is in Roubaux by the way. Must be a great source of pride to live there.
Libé leads with "A new pacifist generation in the US." It's younger. More net savvy. And much much much smaller!
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posted by gbarto at 2:28 AM:
Incidentally, no link yet but AOL says the anti-war folks are running an updated version of the "Daisy" ad that implied Barry Goldwater would lead the world into nuclear war. I hear tell they're as sleazy, self-important and downright megalomaniacal as the last guy to run one of these ads, Lyndon Johnson. So the next time you see an anti-war demonstrator, ask him or her about the ad and about how it feels to be using the same playbook as the guy who led us into the Vietnam war.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:22 AM:
Scandal Rocks D.C . Teachers' Union
Audit alleges 3 former officers looted more than $5 million of union funds
While union rent and utility bills often went unpaid and union teachers allegedly weren't receiving promised services, the AFT investigation concludes that Bullock wrote $381,000 in checks to herself, Hemphill diverted at least $492,000 through unauthorized credit-card charges or unauthorized checks and Baxter diverted at least $537,000 to buy himself art, clothing and sports tickets.What can you say that's funnier or more outrageous than the simple facts behind this one? A mink for me, a couple thou for Hills and screw the teachers. So goes the thinking of a former official. But don't worry about the Dems going on the march for these little people betrayed by a big corporation - if part of the reason you rob ordinary people is to give their money to the Dems, why that's just protecting their interests when they don't know enough to do it themselves.
The three also allegedly made $12,000 in political contributions — charged to the WTU's American Express credit card — to the Democratic National Committee and to the 2000 senatorial campaign of Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Other political donations charged to that account totaled $4,200, made to groups including the National Political Congress of Black Women and the (former D.C.) Mayor Marion Barry Constituent Services Fund.
So, anyway, we'll repeat that: Hillary Clinton, the Democratic party and mink coats - that's where thieves spend their loot!
Incidentally, the Dems and Hillary have returned the money.
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posted by gbarto at 2:12 AM:
Powell: Iraq's Lack of Cooperation Will Be ProvenSecretary of state says there will be a 'persuasive case' showing that Baghdad has not aided weapons inspectors by U.N. deadline on Jan. 27
But will it be persuasive enough for those who have decided they're not going to be persuaded no matter what. Of course not. And so the US may wind up going it alone. But not without the silent understanding of an impotent Europe that will be at once angered that we didn't follow their line and ashamed because they knew they had chosen the wrong path out of weakness of will.
One of those about whom we have questions is the leader of the inspections:
Blix 'Not Worried' About Warheads Found
PARIS — Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix said Friday he was "not worried" that the inspectors' discovery of 12 warheads designed to carry chemical weapons in southern Iraq could trigger a U.S. attack.What planet is this guy on? The people pooh-poohing the warheads are the same people who want to collect all the guns. If they found a guy with an AK-47 but no ammo, would they say, "Fine, carry on"? Of course not. But having the ability to potentially deliver chemical weapons into Israel, or into American bases in the Persian Gulf? No biggie.
But the White House described the discovery as "troubling and serious."
The warheads, Blix said, were empty. "There are no chemical weapons inside them. However, clearly they were designed to carry chemical weapons. I think we should destroy them, that's the rules," Blix said at a press conference with French President Jacques Chirac and IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
And then we get this headline:
Monitors Must Glean Warheads' Purpose
If ever there were a place for bad jokes about "It doesn't take a rocket scientist..." and yet the best and brightest of the UN need time to work out the details? It's a f---ing warhead, people! They don't use 'em to deliver food to the starving Iraqi people, just in case you were wondering.
Ah well, Scott Adams said the only constant in a chaotic universe is human stupidity. And how!
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posted by gbarto at 1:59 AM:
A cute joke from the e-mail:Two bored casino dealers were waiting at a craps table. A very attractive blonde woman arrived and bet twenty-thousand dollars on a single roll of the dice. She said, "I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I'm completely nude." With that she stripped from her neck down, rolled the dice and yelled, "Mama needs new clothes!"
Then she hollered..."YES! YES! I WON! I WON!"
She jumped up and down and hugged each of the dealers. She then picked up all the money and clothes and quickly departed.
The dealers just stared at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them
asked, "What did she roll?"
The other answered, "I don't know I thought YOU were watching!"
Moral: Not all blondes are dumb, but all men are men.
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Friday, January 17, 2003
posted by gbarto at 3:11 AM:
Den Beste says to look for a late January surprise, probably in the State of the Union, regarding Iraq.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:58 AM:
Cosmo the Wonderdog meets with Kim Jong Il.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:56 AM:
Leonard Pitts on the death penalty.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:53 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde: Rough night for the "leave Iraq in peace crowd" : There's a "Controversy over Warheads" found by UN inspectors. Apparently they could be used to deliver chemical weapons. Iraq says that their agreement to disarm doesn't forbid warheads, somehow.
Libé, as usual, takes the prize for best headline, though: "Iraq: discovery of empty heads." Warheads, we'll remind.
Le Figaro: "Germany threatened by recession," which is why French officials were raising concerns about Schroder's economic policies some time ago.
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posted by gbarto at 2:44 AM:
Seoul Readies 'Worst-Case Scenario'Defense chief: South Korea can't avoid being drawn into U.S.-North war
Has it occured to the South Koreans that a North with nukes is a greater threat to their safety and happiness than American opposition to a North with nukes?
* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:42 AM:
Blix Warns Iraq: Cooperate or Go to WarHas he warned Chirac that he might be there to do inspections, not just put up a facade behind which Europe, miserable old Europe, can retreat?
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posted by gbarto at 2:39 AM:
Saddam Vows to Defend Iraq, Defeat EnemiesPresident Hussein rallied his nation in a scathing speech, saying all enemies will be 'defeated at the gates of Baghdad'
I'll bet the people outside Baghdad were really cheered to hear the news. I think repelling us at the borders would look even more heroic. Ah well, ain't gonna happen anyway. If the US moves, it will go where it pleases. If it holds off or backs down, Saddam may publicly crow, but he and everyone else will know that it's Europe's meddling, not Saddam's strength, that brought the situation to a close.
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posted by gbarto at 2:34 AM:
gbarto.com's book section has expanded with a new page for difficult or unusual languages. So far, there's Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Uzbek. Coming soon, Old English, Old Norse, Irish and more!* * *
Thursday, January 16, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:16 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde: "The US flies to the aid of the UN." We gave 'em a couple spy planes so they can inspect better and faster. Iraq isn't happy. Nor about the inspection of a presidential palace yesterday, sayeth Le Monde. Tant pis. Mr. Bush will give the UN what it needs to build the case against Iraq whether it wants to or not. The real coup here is that Le Monde's headline shows us helping the UN, rather than forcing it to do what it would rather not.
Le Figaro leads with "Pacifist mobilization around the world."
Libé leads with "The Fight Against Cancer, A Political Priority," about a new government report and Chirac's pushing for it.
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posted by gbarto at 2:00 AM:
N. Korea Rejects U.S. OfferPyongyang declares it won't accept dialogue with conditions attached
Maybe, then, we shouldn't bother talking to it. Kim may get nukes, but if he can't feed his people or heat their homes that may be irrelevant. What's he gonna say when the regime can no longer afford to buy the people off to keep its power: Let them eat nukes?
North Korea had best be careful. It's making a great deal of fuss over the US. But what happens when it threatens China's title as superpower of the region? China has supported North Korea for years because it p----ed of the US. But when it ticks off China it will be completely isolated and whatever arsenal it has amassed will be good for little more than the closing fireworks after a poorly played show.
I hope the damage done as North Korea heads for the ash bin of history won't be too great. But there is where it is headed, which is why the country is acting so ridiculously to prove it's still worthy of speaking of. Like the Taliban regime, it can create nothing, build nothing; it cannot grow. It can only destroy. And so it will perish, one way or another.
Question: With Iraq and North Korea acting as they are, will we soon have a phrase, "national suicide by US/UN action"?
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:56 AM:
Bush Blasts 'Quotas' in U. Michigan CasePresident says administration will challenge school's affirmative action program being tested before Supreme Court
And here's the speech, which seems pretty well crafted to explain the difference between integrating society and creating a new form of racial injustice.
I'm glad to see the Bush administration taking this line with U of M. It couldn't happen to a nicer university. When all this started, Lee Bollinger, now president of Harvard, was U of M's king. Er, I mean, president. Among other things, his administration spent a pretty hefty dime on lawsuits designed to limit students' free speech rights. That he was using their tuition money bothered him not in the least. Lee Bollinger knew better. But then again, Lee Bollinger always viewed the university as his personal fiefdom for his wonderful ideas and had little other than disdain for the sort of people who paid his salary. U of M and its board are now getting what they deserved for keeping a man of his ilk around so long.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:41 AM:
Forced Prostitution Ring UncoveredDetroit cops say girls, women were kidnapped, worked against their will
And if I know Michigan politics, this will be blamed on suburban white flight and outstate Michigan's antagonism to Detroit sooner or later.
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posted by gbarto at 1:38 AM:
Education . . . or Indoctrination?Public schools in Oakland, Calif., hold citywide anti-war teach-in
Not to worry. The Merc ran a story on Bay Area school district achievement a few months ago that left little worry that these kids would be affected by anything said in class. Perhaps because the board members and staff are more interested in their '60s pasts than their students' futures.
For all its leftism, I don't think this will happen a few miles north in Berkeley. Placing their kids in good universities takes precedence up there.
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Wednesday, January 15, 2003
posted by gbarto at 3:05 AM:
A little new linkage: Columnists Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online and Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald are now linked with newspapers and such in the left hand column. I'm more likely to agree with Goldberg, but they both usually make for good reads. Click and have a look. And if you want to click on the advertising links on the left and buy something, the TurkeyBlog certainly wouldn't object.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:59 AM:
Natalie Solent favors Bill Clinton for the top job at Oxford. Read why.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:57 AM:
Here's A Dog's Life on Bobby Byrd's life as a Klansman (Byrd says he participated in no lynchings and was not racist!): "I dunno. Maybe he joined to hate Catholics and Jews."Robert Byrd is the eight wonder of the world, given his remarkable ability to serve cordially alongside Democrats whose personal ethos is offended by having to share a chamber with Trent Lott.
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posted by gbarto at 2:48 AM:
The Great and Good Gregory Hlatky of A Dog's Life weighs in on the death penalty. And makes its points better than I. Says he, the death penalty should be eliminated:My views are as follows. I dislike the death penalty and wish that states and the Federal government would do away with it. My reason is that it is no longer needed to maintain the safety of the public. A criminal, once caught, can be quarantined and incarcerated for life (and I mean life) and no longer threaten the lives of any citizen...But that's for the states and the people to decide, not Governor Ryan:
What irritates me about Governor Ryan’s action is that it comes close to an abuse of his pardoning power [which is] not subject to any check or balance by another branch of government...Follow the link and read the whole thing.
... In calling the death penalty “arbitrary and capricious,” Governor Ryan acted in no less an arbitrary and capricious manner in emptying Death Row, with results just as final.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:17 AM:
Here's Rod Dreher, supporting Governor Ryan on the death penalty question. John O'Sullivan doesn't agree. He's right on this point (which the TurkeyBlog made the other day):And those cheering, finally, must have been aware — uneasily, one trusts — that Mr. Ryan was abusing his power of commutation not to save innocent men but to repeal a law passed by the Illinois legislature and supported by the voters of Illinois that he and his political allies are unable to repeal by democratic debate and electoral struggle. We might call that a miscarriage of democracy.The TurkeyBlog agrees with O'Sullivan's analysis but laments that Illinois won't come around to Dreher's views. Which brings me to this conclusion: In theory, the people of Illinois deserve to live with the ugly mess they've made of their political and judicial systems, score for O'Sullivan. But in practice, there's a risk of innocents dying for it, for which reason I'm with Dreher. If you'll forgive the bizarre phrasing, in a perfect world the death penalty might have its place. In our imperfect world, though, there's too much risk of adding to rather than redressing the wrongs of life. The government shouldn't be entrusted with this power.
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posted by gbarto at 2:01 AM:
Two good Leonard Pitts columns. The first is on the question of rights. The TurkeyBlog has already opposed locking up citizens without counsel, without being charged, et cetera. Pitts isn't quite ready to cry foul but does say we the people ought be giving some attention to what's going on with our civil liberties:Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures, yes. We are all desperate to feel safe again, yes. But that's precisely why we the people need to be more vigilant and more skeptical of our government. We must pay close attention as corners are cut and rights abridged in our names.Too often, the same people who otherwise complain about government - too much money, too many regulations, et cetera - turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. But a well-educated electorate - necessary for self-governance - doesn't just have a base of knowledge about the world; it needs to know what is happening with government from day to day, week to week, in order to assure that its will is being followed, its interests served. Says Pitts:
Not from lack of patriotism or need to be blindly adversarial. Rather, because the citizenry of a democratic nation is the most important check on the potential excesses of government. And because it's in a time of emergency that excess is most likely.
Think about it for a moment. I could call the FBI tomorrow and tell them you're involved in terrorist activities, maybe manufacture some evidence against you. And that's it. You're gone. No lawyer, no ''one phone call,'' no Miranda rights, no compulsion for the government to account for your whereabouts or lay out the case against you, no chance to tell your side of the story.If this is correct, it sure as hell affects our interests. And I don't see a whole lot of reportage - even by advocates for the war on terror - explaining why expressing such fears is a canard. After what we did with the war on drugs, it would be pretty difficult in any case to claim the government can be trusted not to overstep boundaries.
The second Pitts column speaks to an uglier time in our history that seem people would just as soon forget. In question: Emmet Till, a young black boy who in '55 made eyes at a white woman. He was 14. Family of the woman gouged him in the eye, shot him in the head and dumped him in the river. See if you can guess what state it happened in.
Did you guess Mississippi? Full o' wonders, ain't it? Anyway, the killers boasted about what they did and walked out of their trial free men. One of the jurors said it wouldn't have taken the full half hour to acquit but one of them wanted a soda pop and they had to wait for him. By the way, it's the sainted jury that in many states determines the punishment in capital cases where the prosecution has asked for the death penalty. Hopefully, everyone (other than Trent Lott) has gotten past those days and has a more grown-up attitude about things. But we need to remember Emmet Till in order to remind ourselves of what people are capable of and of why, for all the mockery that Jesse Jackson and friends have made of it, the Civil Rights struggle and its aims must not be forgotten. Says Pitts:
We're always so eager to hide the horror. Close the casket, turn your eyes, use euphemism to obscure truths too obscene.With the death of Till's mother last week, we remember Till. Let us not forget.
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posted by gbarto at 12:36 AM:
North Korea Threatens New 'Options'China offers to mediate nuke standoff as Pyongyang warns it's running out of patience with Washington
Good thing it's them running out of patience with us. It could get ugly were it the other way. As it stands, I thinks North Korea's biggest real threat would be: Stop it or we'll keep being an isolated, freakish, dysfunctional society that makes vaguely ominous noises. If they get better missile technology it could be otherwise, but I gather by then we would lose patience and then we'd be where this paragraph started. By the way, kudos to Orson Scott Card, whom Instapundit linked yesterday, for his analysis.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:25 AM:
Here's some French news for you:Le Monde leads with "Resolving the Ivoirean crisis at Paris," about a planned conference with all the principals to settle matters in the Ivory Coast.
Le Figaro has the same lead: "Ivoireans in Paris to find Peace."
And Libé makes it three! "Closed doors for Ivory Coast."
As for Sacré Coeur, it may be all over the US media - I've seen it on Fox and AOL - but this Reuters dispatch at Libé is all I've found in the French newspapers. I must be I missed it last night and it was already old news by this morning. Still, I'm surprised a bigger fuss wasn't being made last night if that's the case. I guess the French take potentially devastating attacks on their landmarks with more equanimity than do we.
* * *
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:23 PM:
Sacré Coeur evacuated for a bomb threat and what's Le Monde's headline? "Antiterrorism vs. the rights of man," on the excesses of the war on terror.Incidentally, a cursory glance indicates this isn't on Le Monde's site yet; if it is, they sure haven't made a very big deal out of it.
Hmm. I guess France is less impressed than Fox; it shows up in the Reuters dispatches at Libé as "Sacré Coeur evacuated on account of suspicious package" but hasn't shown up on their main page either. The nut quote from the Paris police? "It's not, strictly speaking, an explosive weapon. There's no detonator... It's little bottles of gas [chemistry sense] and gasoline." Oh well, then, continuez, continuez.
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posted by gbarto at 2:12 PM:
Paris Landmark EvacuatedExplosive device found inside Sacre Coeur church; no one hurt
Not to worry, though. There's no war on terror in which the French need risk getting its hands dirty alongside those craven Americans.
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posted by gbarto at 2:09 PM:
The aol headline is a slip in Bush's approval ratings. Specifically, he's fallen to a 58% approval, higher than Reagan's, Carter's or Clinton's at this point, but ominously about the same as his dad's. Of course Bush is still in the middle of the war, not coming off the triumph of one, so that may be a factor. In any case, the online community, typically more affluent and more likely to vote, seems to have relatively positive feelings. I took aol's poll. Here's the breakdown at the moment:Do you approve or disapprove of how George W. Bush is handling his job as president?That looks to me like 69% approval in that portion of the aol community that is interested enough in politics to do these things. Not sure where the numbers would be for the larger online community.
37% Strongly approve 139,518
32% Strongly disapprove 118,811
16% Disapprove 58,582
14% Approve 52,184
1% No opinion 4,136
Total votes: 373,231
Do you think President Bush understands the problems of ordinary Americans?
50% No 187,557
45% Yes 169,270
4% Not sure 15,813
Total votes: 372,640
NOTE: Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:47 AM:
Teachers don't live in the real world? Natalie Solent has a delightful story.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:41 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with "Iraq: march toward war slowed." Says Le Monde, logistics, diplomatic matters, a slow but resolute inspection team and more are slowing the move to deal with Iraq.
Libé tells us that "The right hardens, the left softens," this with respect to crime and interior security. The left's softening, by the way, means it's going along with the right, not that it's taking a lighter attitude toward crime.
Says Le Figaro: "The UN wants to give an extension to Iraq." Because Iraq's uncooperativeness is making inspections take longer than expected, the UN wants to give it more time to clear its name! Boy, I'll bet every outlaw would like to be treated like this. Can't you just hear the sheriff on the bullhorn: "We know you're in there. If you don't come out in ten minutes... we'll give you twenty minutes to come out! You hear me?"
Tonight's French news brought to you by the UN: If you need Useless Nonsense, you need us.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:29 AM:
Dems Plan to Stall Judicial NomineesBush resending Charles Pickering to Senate for consideration
This wouldn't be happening if the Republicans were in charge!
Oh.
Let's hope Bill Frist is a better leader than Trent Lott was.
* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:27 AM:
Here's Cicero on the death penalty. He raises a lot of valid points, but has one or two problems. The biggest of these is in his efforts to demonstrate that the death penalty isn't dramatically different from any other. While it is true that the government can no more return twenty years of life to someone wrongly imprisoned than return life in its entirety to someone executed, this doesn't mean that they are errors of the same measure. Marcus goes an awfully long way out of his way to try to make killing someone as unremarkable as possible, but there is nothing unremarkable about it. Every other punishment carries in it the possibility of paying one's debt to society - doing one's time, as they say. Every other punishment - including life in prison - carries the possibility of redemption, of putting one's soul aright if nothing else. To say that a person needs to spend the rest of his life in prison may mean that he simply will never be fit for the outside world - or that it will take a lifetime to repay his debt. The death penalty, on the other hand, simply turns a person into a non-person. It puts government in charge of determining who is a human being and who is merely an animal to be destroyed.I'd like to repeat that: The death penalty puts government in charge of determining who is a human being and who is merely an animal to be destroyed. That's a point I should have mentioned in responding to Cicero's query last night, for it also speaks to why the president should be able to send men into combat where they may well die but not petition for citizens of his own country to be killed: Men and women going into battle are unquestionably human, unquestionably treasured and every effort is made to keep them safe to keep our country safe. They are not only human; they represent the humanity from which they come in the starkest manner possible. Their lives may be lost depending on how fate plays out; their humanity however is unquestioned. On death row, on the other hand, what is at issue is not the protection of and elevation of humanity; rather it is the nullification of humanity.
The death penalty should go.
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Monday, January 13, 2003
posted by gbarto at 1:46 AM:
Cicero makes a damn good point:Should not a man who thinks "death is too great a power to entrust to imperfect and often outright incompetent governments" be much more worried about the power of "imperfect and often outright incompetent governments" to go to war, thus potentially inflicting death on hundred of thousands, or even millions, than about the mere hundreds killed by administration of the death penalty?Indeed, I am much more worried about the potential problems involved in letting governments make war. Anyone who's heard of Vietnam should be. But we really don't have a choice in the matter. A nation state of our size and wealth cannot remain viable without having the means to defend its interests, including (dig this buzzword) proactively. There is no point in being the United States if the states don't in fact unite in trusting a government to keep them secure.
On the other hand, quite a few states are managing quite nicely without the death penalty, thank you very much, including my native Michigan. When we can lock up people who threaten society indefinitely - but release them with heartfelt apologies if they've been held in error - the state can survive without the power to execute its citizens. Not having the power to defend interests or borders is another matter.
Marcus' questions are good ones. The only answer is that we must risk the tragedies of war to function as a state; we don't need the risk for tragedy involved with the death penalty to function as a state. It's not about trusting government in one place but not another. It's about trusting government in as few places as possible but resigning oneself to the fact that in some places one cannot escape relying on government.
Given the good points he raised, it's disappointing that instead of ending his query with the citation above, Marcus dropped in this parting qestion:
Should he not support complete and unilateral disarmament far more urgently than abolition of capital punisment?This implies a) that giving up capital punishment is equivalent to unilateral disarmament - it's more like getting rid of the hydrogen bombs but maintaining classic fission weapons and b) that capital punishment is as necessary to our society's protection as having an army. Even if one believes in the deterrent power of the death penalty (I do), it's a bit ridiculous to argue that only being able to lock people up for life is on par with leaving the world's wealthiest nation open to attack. Marcus ought to know better.
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posted by gbarto at 12:56 AM:
A Dog's Life is not impressed with Gov. Ryan. The TurkeyBlog, for those keeping score, gives Ryan two cheers. The death penalty, in our humble opinion, is not something with which government can be entrusted. That said, Gov. Ryan's exercising of the pardon/commutation power went contrary to what that power was created for - instead of using his power to correct errors within the system, Ryan simply eliminated a major part of the system. It was an overreach of exactly the sort that shows why public officials cannot be entrusted with such matters. Had Ryan roused his passions to try to convince the people of Illinois that the death penalty was a bad idea and sought out a legislature that would help him to eliminate it from Illionois' judicial system we would be offering him three cheers for having both his heart and his head in the right place.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:43 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde: "American deployments; Arab disquiet." I presume we can all figure out what this refers to.
Le Figaro is still, mysteriously, leading with its poll on French opposition to war in Iraq. But they did take the trouble to note Gov. Ryan's pardons yesterday.
Libé: "The Elf machine laid bare." Now, it's not an exposé Santa Claus' labor practices. That's Elf-Aquitaine, an oil conglomerate that has faced criticism not unlike that heaped upon an American energy company in recent memory. That may be headed in the same direction as it wends its way throught the French legal system.
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Sunday, January 12, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:52 PM:
I remember the flap over Crayola introducing new colors so that non-Caucasian children could make accurate self portraits. Not a bad idea, I would say. On the other hand, turning around and marketing "Multicultural Markers" seems a bit over the top. They're under "Markers - Institutional" in the product search.
Crayola® 8 Ct. Washable Markers - Multicultural
These washable markers have broad tips and come in eight multicultural colors. Colors include Tan, Mahogany, Tawny, Golden Beige, Terra Cotta, Beige, Bronze, Sienna.
Recommended for Kids: 5 and up
Multicultural colors? Maybe they could throw in a "peach" (which never looked like my skin) and call it the "fleshtone" series or "people" and get away from the p.c. jargon.
Note that the markers are in the institutional market - these are being marketed to schools and businesses, not individuals.
(Note that the TurkeyBlog does not want a fight with Crayola. So let me encourage those who disagree with me to purchase the markers at the link - and no, I don't get a commission on this one.)
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posted by gbarto at 11:36 PM:
The TurkeySister forwards U of A French chair Marie-Pierre Le Hir's bio of Monique Wittig. Wittig's surprise death - apparently from a stroke - was mentioned here last week:In Memoriam
Dr. Monique Wittig
The University of Arizona academic community is deeply saddened by the sudden, unexpected death, on January 6, 2003, of Dr. Monique Wittig, Professor of French and Women’s Studies. Wittig received her Doctorate from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris after completing a dissertation on Le Chantier littéraire under the joint directorship of Gérard Genette, Louis Marin and Christian Metz. Prior to joining the University of Arizona in 1990, she held appointments at the University of California at Berkeley (1976-77 and 1987-1988), the University of Maine (1977-78), New York University (1981-82), the University of Southern California (1983-84); Duke University (1986-87); Vassar College (1988-1989).
Monique Wittig was known internationally as a writer, poet, and social theorist. Her first novel, The Opoponax (1964), brought her major critical acclaim and the coveted Prix Medici. As a founding leader in the French feminist movement, Wittig’s literary and theoretical works were recognized as essential contributions to feminist thought in Europe and the U.S. and to the emerging movement for lesbian and gay rights.
Wittig’s work has had a fundamental impact upon feminist theory and lesbian and gay theory worldwide. Her novels, including Les Guérillères (1969), The Lesbian Body (1973), Lesbian Peoples: Materials for a Dictionary (co-authored with Sande Zeig, 1975), and Virgile, non (1984, translated as Across the Acheron in 1987) combine a sensitivity to the nuances of language and style with a powerful illustration of her philosophy of lesbian materialism, a theoretical position she set forth in a series of essays collected in The Straight Mind (1992), a term she coined. Her work has been translated into a dozen languages, including German, Dutch, Finish, Japanese, and Spanish. Her collaboration with Zeig resulted in the imaginative staging of her play The Constant Journey (1985) in the U.S. and in Paris, and most recently a feature film based on her short story, The Girl (2001), directed by Sande Zeig. She was currently working on a screenplay centered on life on the Mexican border.
A First International Colloquium around the work of Monique Wittig was organized by Columbia University in Paris in 2001. At the University of Arizona, Monique Wittig taught courses on the theory and practice of writing, LGBT literature and culture, lesbian paradigms, and graduate seminars in French literature.
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posted by gbarto at 3:50 AM:
Trying to get blogger to post...Update: It worked at the older version. If you haven't looked at your blog after posting, do so just in case. If it's not there, pick the old version and repost.
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posted by gbarto at 3:27 AM:
French news round-up:It's Saturday, which means we're focussing on Le Monde.
The lead story is the same as the TurkeyBlog's today: "Death Penalty: America Doubts." Nothing in the article to raise eyebrows. The one interesting thing is the photo Le Monde chose to run:
Here's the caption: "Demonstrators against the death penalty, Houston, Texas, 15 March 2002." Why a photo from Texas and not Illinois?
Le Monde's lead editorial, meanwhile, is "Death up close." Needless to say, it concerns Gov. Ryan's actions. The editorial begins:
THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN death up close, it is said, have a different perspective on life. It's the same, clearly, for those who get a close look at death administered as a punishment, a punitive approach still in vogue in a good part of the world, including the United States: the closer they look at how the death penalty is applied, the less they favor it.The editorial reflects Le Monde's editorial stance opposing the death penalty and commends those who have helped bring greater scrutiny upon how the death penalty really works. The TurkeyBlog found nothing objectionable, but then again the TurkeyBlog is also opposed to the death penalty on precisely the grounds that death is too great a power to entrust to imperfect and often outright incompetent governments.
Elsewhere, "The Greens get themselves a new leader."
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posted by gbarto at 3:05 AM:
North Korea Sends Mixed SignalsWhile envoy assures N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson that N. Korea doesn't intend to build nuclear weapons, defiant rhetoric persists in Pyongyang
Let's hope Richardson does better in North Korea than he did in the Energy Department.
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posted by gbarto at 2:43 AM:
Wild site: "AsciiRock" has been sending visitors so I thought I'd visit. Have a look. Neat web design and postings on all sorts of topics.* * *
French Elections, 1st round
Second round special page
Second Round Results Map
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