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Saturday, May 03, 2003
posted by gbarto at 1:51 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Toward a Stabilization Force in Iraq. The US has started plans to stabilize the country, which will be divided into three sectors for the purposes of administering the stabilization. The first meetings were held today. The UN was not involved. Neither were France, Germany or Russia, a fact which troubles Le Monde, it would seem.
Ouest-France highlights questions about fraud on the part of the head of the Vendée Globe, with his Sail Com being liquidated. In international news, the lead is that Atypical Pneumonia [SARS] Has Killed 400, with cases of relapse reported in Hong Kong.
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posted by gbarto at 1:27 AM:
Sharp commentary on how the Hollywood elite fails to get that the 1st Amendment extends to its fans, too, from the great Neil Cavuto at FNC.* * *
Friday, May 02, 2003
posted by gbarto at 10:45 AM:
I found Jay Solo in my server logs and found his a very entertaining blog. Here's a post about newbie blogs getting started. What I want to know is how he's already made it out of the slithering reptile category with 93 hits a day; the TurkeyBlog was amoeba crap or something like that the last time I checked and we're running 300-500 hits a day.Still, blogger chatter aside, a good looking site from an affable guy. Drop by.
Update: It turns out I've made it to crawling amphibian in the ecosystem.
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posted by gbarto at 1:48 AM:
Hmm... A few days old, but a good question from Dr. Weevil regarding Assiz' turning himself in: does he have cancer?* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:33 AM:
What is it with these loony-tunes communists?N. Korea: Be Ready War With U.S.
North urges workers to be prepared to defend against U.S. invasion
Castro: U.S. Wants to Attack Cuba
Dictator speaks at huge May Day rally
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posted by gbarto at 1:31 AM:
Colo. Climber Amputates Own Arm200-pound boulder fell on man, who amputated his arm with his pocketknife
Sorry to hit you with that headline. Ouch. Times a million. I don't know if that's nerve, grit, determination or fanaticism about the task at hand, but I think that they would have found me dead at the site.
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posted by gbarto at 1:25 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: The US continues its antiterrorist fight, this according to George W. Bush himself, who was speaking from the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Le Figaro: Bush: Combat Essentially Over. It's worth noting that Le Monde shows the president at the podium in suit and tie; Le Figaro has him in the flight suit he wore to fly in:
This photo probably would have been better with the headline announcing that the antiterrorist struggle continued, but it's good that we're showing off a president who has worn flight suits for real and not just for the cameras.
While we're at it, Libération has this beautiful photo, labeled "Top Gun Bush":
The title is strange because it requires you to read the story to figure out what's going on. As I say, a beautiful photo, but the caption goes better with Le Figaro's pic.
Libé's top Bush headline, incidentally, is Israel: Bush descends into the arena, a piece which argues that the administration's new proposals are nice but more is required.
Finally, here's Ouest-France, with yesterday's news: Retirement issue at heart of May Day.
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Thursday, May 01, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:04 PM:
Cool.Bush Lands on Aircraft Carrier
President arrives on USS Abraham Lincoln, which is returning from record-long 10-month tour; commander in chief to deliver speech on Iraq tonight
Of course it would have been cooler if he'd done the landing, but the Republic can only take so many risks. Nonetheless, I'm sure the RNC is looking forward to using its footage of a president who, Vietnam questions aside, knows how to wear a pilot's uniform.
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posted by gbarto at 1:43 PM:
Cicero says the Iraq clean-up is still essentially UN-free. Good. (Btw, if permalinks aren't behaving, try the Cicero link at left).* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:32 AM:
Cicero references John Derbyshire's diary and the question of sexual morals and mores, but what struck me were the words of Rabelais peering out at me:Fay ce que voudres.
This was the motto of an 18th century libertine society called the Hellfire Club, but I think the parentage of the phrase is more august. Here's Rabelais on the rules at the Abbey of Thelemy (my English follows the 16th c. French):
En leur reigle n’estoit que ceste clauseThe needles on many the internal compass do not point in the right direction, and this the TurkeyBlog knows, but he still prefers the Abbey of Thelemy to any world in which the government and society have sufficient force to make sure that we all hold to the upright path. (With thanks to Professor Ehsan Ahmed for a 16th c. lit course that made me instantly think of the passage.)
FAY CE QUE VOULDRAS,
Parce que gents liberes, bien nayz, bien instruictz, conversants en compaignies honnestes, ont par nature ung instinct & aguillon, qui tousjours les poulse à faictz vertueux et retire de vice, lequel ilz nommoient honneur.
In their rules was only this clause:
DO AS YOU WISH,
Because these free men, well born, well taught, conversant with polite society, have by nature an instinct and internal compass, which always impels them to do the virtuous and draw back from vice, which they call honor.
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posted by gbarto at 2:12 AM:
I want to consult for the Philadelphia schools! A Dog's Life has the story on why.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:06 AM:
Steve Den Beste has thoughts on academia, and its being flushed into the open by the war. Having spent quite some time there, I particularly appreciate his comments on the software engineer who makes a living being understood by people outside his profession versus the prof who makes his living by not being understood. It's a problem that I run up against from time to time in writing this blog because there are shorthands I came to take for granted while closer to academe on a day to day basis. But shorthands carry the risk of being, to pull a term from the software engineer's bag, black boxes. That is, students and professors alike come to assume that if certain things are under consideration, certain conclusions must be drawn, though they do not know why, only that that is what always comes out of the process. (A black box - and I hope I remembered the right term - is a piece of code that you do not need to understand, or even see, just know what to put in and how to read the outputs; you might use one for temperature conversions, for example, to get a piece of software done more quickly rather than creating your own function for what is a rather standard procedure.) I am glad to report that some of the black boxes are being cracked and their contents inspected. For example, I had a historiography seminar a few years ago in which we looked at the practical ramifications of (jargon alert) postmodernism, post-modernism, environmentalist postmodernism, practical realism and the not so good old-fashioned way of doing history. However, while some grad students are being taught to do bullshit tests on the theories they're reading, the professions within academe (particularly in literature) have not done enough to rein in the freaks and lunatics.Contrary to the fears of many, however, academia is not getting a free pass. People are saying to hell with university educations and getting associates degrees, Sun and Microsoft credentials, trade school certificates and more while universities see enrollments dwindle. As an unemployed academic, I'm not happy about this, but as a free-market capitalist I have to admire the way in which the market is reducing funds from enterprises that have wantonly ignored their clients' needs. When we get academics as dependent upon explaining themselves as Steve's correspondent, I expect we'll see some pretty major shakeups. But we'll also see just how much value good academics offer in terms of thinking skills taught and life lessons shared, even in seemingly useless subjects. That would be a very good thing indeed, both for the profession and for students who wonder why an associates degree isn't enough.
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posted by gbarto at 1:38 AM:
Yay! Powell investigation Iraqi Oil Trust; scoop at Instantman.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:34 AM:
Be sure to sign the petition opposing the stoning of the Nigerian woman convicted of adultery under Muslim law last year in Nigeria. Info on the petition here. (via Instapundit)* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:25 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Violent Earthquake in Eastern part of Turkey. At least 50 dead. Numerous others trapped in collapsed buildings.
Le Figaro: May Day under banner of retirement. That's the issue unions are going to highlight at this year's May Day parades in France. The issue was chosen to coincide with government efforts to reform the system, which is in danger of bankruptcy.
Libération: Interestingly, Libération and Le Figaro have the same headline, word for word. Here's their May Day under banner of retirement.
Ouest-France is down, so for regional news, here's the top headline from La Nouvelle République in Tours: A New Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan, offered hours after the latest suicide bombing.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2003
posted by gbarto at 12:59 PM:
Reynolds refers Bill Hobbs, who says Tennessee is considering DMCA-style legislation. I understand that with Nashville there, there might be some pressure from recording companies, but my question is whether such a thing can even aspire to legitimacy. I don't know about the average Napster user, but in that glorious epoch of rampant downloading most of my files were not coming from the same state I was in. As for other forms of copying, what if I'm sending my sister - in another state - a copy of a CD? For that matter, if I'm manufacturing a DVD player without anti-copying chips in California, can Tennessee do anything other than forbid its sale in Tennessee.The nastiest thing we could do to Tennesse is to let them pass this measure. Because of the Interstate Commerce Clause, there's not much they can do with anything that crosses state lines. Here is where the electronics industry should make its stand: it should allow Tennessee to require the special stuff in electronics sold in Tennessee - without a peep. Then it should announce that because of the regulatory hassles, it is no longer shipping to Tennessee, but that in order to help out consumers it will offer Tennessee residents a small rebate for goods purchased in Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. In other words, let Tennessee decide whether it wants recording industry companies happy badly enough to forego all that sales tax revenue.
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posted by gbarto at 4:15 AM:
SARS 'Remains Severe' in BeijingMayor: Hospitals don't have room for all suspected cases of the deadly virus
All of this serves to remind that for all its pride, and in spite of the age of Chinese civilization, Chinese leaders lack the courage and vision, the Chinese political system lacks the flexibility and effectiveness, and Chinese society lacks the basic mechanisms necessary for China to be propelled into the family of grown-up nations. Their size and their possession of nuclear weapons make the Chinese a force to be reckoned with. But the paranoic "no problem here" actions make it clear that they are not ready to be taken seriously as a possible positive force in the world.
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posted by gbarto at 4:10 AM:
Al Qaeda Operative Nabbed in IraqLinked to top bin Laden aide
There's more to the Iraq-terrorism connection than some would like to believe. This latest arrest reminds that whether Saddam was directly supporting terror or not (he was, with his checks to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers), he certainly had turned Iraq into a place where anti-West terrorists could find refuge. This alone justifies our action.
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posted by gbarto at 4:04 AM:
It's time to withdraw from the UN and have done with it:U.S. Fumes Over U.N.'s Cuba Decision
Country re-elected to Human Rights Commission after mass arrests
The UN has outlived its utility and its credibility as an international institution. It is now a place for tyrants to hide behind one another while doing their best to use parliamentary maneuvers and backdoor scheming to purchase the silence of nations that love their own freedom but cannot find the resolve to defend such freedom for others. It was a proud moment when the US and Great Britain, among the freest nations, told the UN to take a hike on Iraq. It is now time to stop wasting dues money on this farce, and withdraw whatever prestige American membership may bring to an organization that is best characterized as an extended version of the Cuba-Libya alliance or the shared lip service between Syria, the Palestinian Authority and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
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posted by gbarto at 3:52 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Israel: Suicide Bombing at Tel-Aviv. 3 dead, 55 wounded, at a café-bar near the US embassy not long after the installation of a new Palestinian prime minister who is already being undermined.
Le Figaro: Sarkozy: "My immigration law". The Interior Minister's revisions have been approved by the Council of Ministers. They will make it harder to get into France and more bothersome to stay.
Libé: Flip at the Fac [university]: only one student in two believes his college education will get him a job.
Ouest-France: A Worksite in disorder. Ouest-France's lead editorial notes that joint defense planning between France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg is rife with problems, both in terms of its antagonizing the US, UK, Italy, Spain and the Eastern European nations soon to join the EU, and in terms of how to organize a force when only France and the UK, alone in Europe, have demonstrated a willingness to build up and maintain serious armed forces. Before those who laugh at French surrender brigades comment, it is worth noting that France has sent out a lot of Blue Helmets for the UN and has committed troops elsewhere. Questions of efficacy, utility, etc. may be raised, but France has demonstrated that it will maintain a force, whatever one thinks of that force, which makes it the military leader of the partnership under discussion. The editor at Ouest-France is not impressed with the new plans, hence the metaphor about a construction site not ready to build anything on; neither is Tony Blair. So, whither France? Only Chirac knows. If, in fact, he has any idea.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:35 AM:
Instapundit has stuff on the French and duplicity.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:23 AM:
French news headlines:Libé: Woman and mother: the double life of French women. A look at how work and family are to be balanced, within the context of the Family Conference.
Le Monde: Iraqi Oil Minister turns himself in. And at a useful time, helping the US consolidate power.
Le Figaro: Blair rejects Chirac's Europe. Says Blair, the quickest way to get dreaded US unilateralism is to pitch Europe as a rival.
Ouest-France: Households will be able to go bankrupt. Starting in 2004. Today, only businesses can get involved in this legal tangle, which allows the erasing of debt under certain circumstances.
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posted by gbarto at 2:10 AM:
Hmmm. The France-Iraq story has disappeared from Fox's website. So it didn't check out?* * *
Monday, April 28, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:20 AM:
How dismal:China Reports 21 New SARS Deaths
Asia uses fines, prison to curb spread
Hmm. And yet there was no problem whatsoever a month ago. Chinese officials bear direct responsibility for some of these deaths, as well as the disease's spread. And Canada is acting the same way now that China did, saying "no disease here, keep coming, tourists."
What do Canada and China have in common? Socialized medicine and governments that are defensive about the quality of care they offer. Fortunately, the cold, unfeeling American model only organizes some payments, rather than running hospitals. Therefore, federal bureaucrats have no interest in covering up what private or city-owned hospitals do but a large stake in proving that the information arm of the CDC is on the case and worth its congressional appropriations. Plus, the rules and understandings for protecting the people's institutions that exist in more socialistic nations are rather weaker here. Score one for democratic capitalism and private medicine - in a pinch, it's healthier, whatever its inadequacies.
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posted by gbarto at 2:05 AM:
Somehow not the headline in France:France Briefed Iraq on U.S. Plans
Documents reveal country gave Saddam's regime regular reports
Departing from usual policy, the TurkeyBlog will offer France a summary of US plans for the Gauls:
Relations may be chilly for a very long while.
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posted by gbarto at 2:02 AM:
French news headlines:Libération: SOS PS. That PS is the Socialist Party, which still has not recovered from last year's electoral drubbing. Will the party reunite behind François Hollande? Will anti-Hollande forces carry the day? Will we be forced to continue hearing names like Fabius and Strauss-Kahn? Nobody's certain. And in a world where Jean-Marie Le Pen, and not Lionel Jospin, proved to be the leading opponent of Jacques Chirac, who can blame them for uncertainty?
Le Monde: Argentina: Menem-Kirchner duel in second round. It's the first time in history that Argentinian presidential elections have gone to the second round, with former president Carlos Menem the top vote getter in the first round. Will the liberal (read "economic conservative" in Eurospeak) Menem get another shot? Could he possibly do any more damage than the current president?
Le Figaro: Family Policy: What Raffarin has in store. The prime minister is set to announce an extra billion Euros for children. Will he be hailed for the new money or criticized for how short it falls of what his campaign implied they'd come up with?
To answer that in part, here's Ouest-France: A new sort of aid announced at tomorrow's Family Conference - A unique allowance for children to be born. Basically, there's a lump sum before birth and a small monthly allowance thereafter. It will be given to most, though not all, mothers, but the criteria for receiving it have not yet been released.
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Sunday, April 27, 2003
posted by gbarto at 1:23 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Powell reassures France; Bush recounts his war.
Ouest-France: Editorial: We have only time. About Fillon's retirement plans (plans for retirees, not plans to step down)., etc.
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posted by gbarto at 1:15 AM:
Blogger's being goofy so I'm condensing to tell more and reduce the wait-time for posting. Here's the latest:Bush Honors Fallen War Journalists
Michael Kelly, David Bloom praised at annual Washington media dinner
One great, the other not half bad, but both of them terrible losses for the family of journalism. Kelly, especially, will be missed.
Explosion Rocks Indonesian Airport
Eleven injured, one seriously, in Jakarta bomb attack, police say
Another act for the religion of peace? That's what it sounds like.
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