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Saturday, May 24, 2003
posted by gbarto at 12:55 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Algeria: New Earthquake Assessment. They're now estimating more than 1600 dead.
Le Figaro: Bureaucrats: Is all the anger justified? This with respect to the ongoing and upcoming anti-retirement-reform marches, etc.
Libé: Retirement: French on Strike Footing
Ouest-France: François Fillon: "We will take this to its limit." He's the guy pushing the reform everybody is marching against.
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Friday, May 23, 2003
posted by gbarto at 10:57 AM:
Great thoughts on the importance of political thought at the Corner.* * *
posted by gbarto at 10:42 AM:
Great math joke at the Corner. It involves alGebra.* * *
posted by gbarto at 5:51 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: France Worried About US [corrected from UN] Resentment. As well it should be.
Libé: I'll translate liberally - "We've been given no way to deal with this." That's a comment on post-earthquake conditions in Algeria, where they're digging through rubble with shovels and pails.
Ouest-France: In Algeria, Earthquake Kills More Than A Thousand.
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posted by gbarto at 5:36 AM:
Marcus had a very long piece the other day (June 18, last/first entry before June 17) on the latest in the saga of Jean-Marie Le Pen. I can't get the specific link to work; you might just visit his page and scroll down. In any case, Marcus has assembled a hell of a lot of info about the question of whether Jean-Marie Le Pen is just a narrow-minded bigot or was in fact a torturer. A couple observations:1) Maybe Le Pen tortured. Maybe he didn't. Numerous other French did, even if Le Pen didn't. Bottom line: An arrogant France was very shaken by Algeria because it had always prided itself on having brought a superior civilization to a backward wasteland. It had even taught generations of North Africans to recite prattle about "Our ancestors, the Gauls," as though there were so little native culture for them to inherit that identifying with their European conquerors was their only ticket to a meaningful history. Algeria woke a part of France to its racist, self-satisfied tendencies. The other part was so convinced of France's good intentions and superior conception of humanité and fraternité that it was prepared to bludgeon any human beings who couldn't appreciate it. Unfortunately for Le Pen's detractors, torture was widespread enough that the ultimate indictment lies with Jacques Chirac's hero, Charles de Gaulle, a former military leader and rather martial president who was at the top of the list of those who would kill every last Algerian if that's what it took to convince them how lucky they were to have been conquered by the French and brought French civilization, or at least its table scraps. We've seen shades of this attitude of cultural superiority quite recently, and again, not in the guise of the odious Le Pen but in the Gaullist Chirac's insistence that somehow France had to have final say on what happened in Iraq. We in the US would do well to study France's handling of Algeria in order to know what not to do in Iraq, particularly in terms of getting too arrogant about the nobility of our intentions. We should constantly remind ourselves that we're there for our purposes, though we're delighted when those purposes benefit them too, and should make a point of satisfying our purposes so we can get the hell out of there and let them build their own nation once they've recovered enough from Saddam's dictatorship to understand that it is theirs to build.
2) Le Monde's article was embarrasing in myriad ways. The first was in its timing, which clearly indicated they were trying to influence the election. The second is in how little confidence that newspaper apparently had in the French public. We know, they seemed to say, we'll show that Le Pen was a torturer. After all, you can't count on these people to know better than to vote for his program. The third is that Le Monde's actions boiled down to an effort to push up Jacques Chirac's vote totals. I don't have anything specific to say about that except that when Le Monde is shilling for Chirac, it has strayed so far from anything it has ever stood for that it ought to have to retitle itself En quelque sorte, une espèce du Monde (Kinda sorta Le Monde) and acknowledge that either it or France is just too far out of whack for the traditional relationship between the two to obtain.
3) The actual evidence in the Le Pen case is moderately convincing... on both sides. I certainly believe Le Pen might have been capable of such things. I'm not sure Chirac wouldn't have been. But, let's face it, rumors of an SS past didn't stop Mitterand's political career. Why should "Sig heils" draw lighter criticism than serving la Patrie overseas? I hope, in a way, that Le Pen is proven innocent, or at least that the charges prove inconclusive enough that Le Monde has to back down. For years, the political elite in France has been trying to stigmatize as subhuman members of the Front national in exactly the way that the Front stigmatizes anyone not of Western European extraction. Trying to prove Le Pen was a torturer, while not getting so excited about Mitterand, or about other potential torturers in Algeria, shows that this is above all a campaign to demonize the Front. But the Front's ideology alone should be enough for that... if the establishment can come up with a real program designed to meet the people's needs, rather than satisfy the criteria of their poli-sci profs at ENA for being a "serious" leader. That the left was too busy navel-gazing to put together a coherent program and that anyone perceived that Chirac needed Le Monde's help in defeating Le Pen is proof of France's political bankruptcy. If in any way I am rooting for Le Pen, it is in this: It is time that the leaders of France face the Front's criticisms head on, time that they spent as much time addressing the concerns of the 10-12% who vote FN as they do for the unquestioningly respected 3-4% who vote communist (!). Le Pen may deserve to have his head handed to him, but the leaders of the UMP and the PS alike do too for not being able to come up with a better answer to Le Pen's program than to indict the man.
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posted by gbarto at 4:25 AM:
Marcus is being silly again, thinking life ought to be fair, make sense or at least fail to make sense consistently. Those of a conservative temperament should know better.Writing about women in men's golf, Marcus asserts:
Then I thought, after a decade or so of getting creamed all the time, the women would likely want so split off again and have their own competition.So? It is said that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. The hypocrisies in this situation also constitute a tribute, an unspoken acknowledgment of the fear felt by starry-eyed idealists of uniform equality that Marcus may have a more accurate read on gender differences than they. So long as the LPGA exists independently, Marcus can take satisfaction in knowing that even those who disagree with him on paper can't bring themselves to take the risks involved in putting their ideals into full practice. What's called for, Marcus, if you want to come off well in this, is not moral outrage but a condescending shrug of "there they go again." Your vindication won't make the front pages, but you'll know it when you see it. And that is about as much as a conservative can ask for, or for that matter, should want to.
As for me, I'm enjoying the story and like seeing one woman's particular achievements acknowledged. But as for how the PGA and LPGA organize, my number one emotion is indifference. They are private associations that must maintain an interest in their game if they are to continue. Not being a golf fan, I'll leave it to golf fans to decide the issue as they should - by tuning in or turning off their sets until the free market has tallied up the results and rendered its verdict.
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Thursday, May 22, 2003
posted by gbarto at 8:16 PM:
Critics: Report Could Fry Fast Food BizStudy ties obese patients to skyrocketing Medicare, Medicaid costs
This will, I'm sure, prove devastating to the five people who though capable of reading newspapers or even remaining sensate while standing in fast food lines hadn't figured it out.
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posted by gbarto at 8:13 PM:
Hmmm.... I've been having trouble getting to a lot of blogspot sites lately. I assume it's not just me. Those on blogspot may want to doublecheck after posting to see if there page is indeed there. Not sure what you do, however, if it isn't.* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:14 PM:
Cicero is looking at the best way to read Anselm.And Natalie has homemade guns from Ghana.
Just a few of the more interesting items the blogosphere is serving up today.
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posted by gbarto at 1:06 PM:
Israel Intercepts Arms ShipmentInstructions for homicide bombers on boat; Palestinian PM talks with Hamas
More evidence, perhaps, that it's time for Yassir to be gone?
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posted by gbarto at 1:05 PM:
U.N. Lifts Sanctions on IraqSecurity Council vote OK's U.S. control
Good. The concessions we had to make will prove to be a pain in the neck, and the TurkeyBlog does favor at some point jettisoning the UN altogether, but as long as we're playing ball with them, it's nice to get things to work out.
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posted by gbarto at 1:00 PM:
Annika Sorenstam Makes Her PointFirst woman to play PGA Tour in 58 years finishes first round 1 over par
Good for her and good for the Tour. Purists and others have mucked about, but this finish, while not stellar, is pretty good, certainly good enough to play on the Tour, else everyone lower than her (technically higher, I know) needs to start packing. Which means pro golf just got itself a ratings shot in the arm while correcting a defect in its approach.
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posted by gbarto at 12:57 PM:
More Than 1,000 Killed in AlgeriaNearly 7,000 injured after quake hits near capital; many feared buried
Much more of this and Mother Nature will have done more in a month than Al-Qaeda's managed in three years.
We offer our condolences in this, as in all, tragedies, while noting that this is less a tragedy, per se, than one of those awful things life visits upon us at times - it wasn't preventable. But I wonder: it was the earthquake at Lisbon that caused Voltaire to lose faith in a loving god. How would he have dealt with 9/11? Probably laughed, then cried, at the gross foul ignorance.
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posted by gbarto at 1:18 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Algeria: Hundreds dead after earthquake.
Libé follows that lead with, "More than 500 killed in Algeria"
Le Figaro: Officials: Chirac waiting for right moment to intervene. Says the paper, don't worry about the current situation, no need to worry about political situation.
Ouest-France: Blue Helmuts of the UN, which group may be underutilized.
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Wednesday, May 21, 2003
posted by gbarto at 8:29 PM:
Here's the ever sagacious Neil Cavuto with words of wisdom for the Stooge of Omaha:Buffett says the dividend tax cut is a big mistake and that since he stands to make at least $300 million off of it, it's not fair either. Well, maybe not to you, Warren. But I think a whole lot of people might disagree.
He dismisses the few hundred or few thousand bucks typical investors will get back. No doubt chump change it’s him, but that's very real dough to them.
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posted by gbarto at 8:23 PM:
Materials Missing From Iraq Nuke SiteSome barrels unaccounted for
We'll prove the WMD thing yet!
Also note:
Poland to Lead Iraq Peacekeeping
Having read about secret messages being hidden in images on the internet, the TurkeyBlog ran a scan on this headline, and here is what he found in the background:
France and Germany aren't.
I know that's a little faint. Let's enhance it.
France and Germany aren't.
Still a bit weak, I know, but here's the maximum I can bring it out:
France and Germany aren't.
Highlight the text if you're still having trouble reading it.
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posted by gbarto at 8:02 PM:
Large Quake Rocks Algerian CapitalAt least 250 people killed, 1,600 injured; several power failures caused
Just to remind again of the nastiness of Mother Nature, who hasn't been interrogated though she's responsible for well over ten times as many deaths and dislocations as terrorists in the last few weeks.
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posted by gbarto at 8:01 PM:
Hmm...Bomb Damages Yale University Law School
No injuries, no claims of responsibility; students in building at time of explosion being questioned by FBI
I'm leaning against this being an Al-Qaeda attack, though it is the president's alma mater and his daughter goes there. Still, it's exam season. More likely a disgruntled student or staffer. Still, one hell of a headline. The last bombing there, incidentally, was committed by the Unabomber. No world on whether Homeland Security has started questioning local environmental extremists.
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posted by gbarto at 3:39 AM:
French news headlines:Libé: Bosses: During Crises, Their Salaries Climb. Notes Libé, their pay is not tied to results.
Le Monde: The US fears terrorist attacks. Hence, we back at code yellow.
Le Figaro: Strikes: Luc Ferry [Education Minister] takes hard line against teachers.
Ouest-France: Minister Gilles de Robien asserts that not a single project has been abandoned - Fast Trains, Highways, Airports: All Open for Debate
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Tuesday, May 20, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:55 PM:
My fiancée says she heard the end of a report about a single suicide bomber in Ankara, but I can't find anything. Not sure whether it's too old, too new or the end of the segment badly characterized what was at the beginning.In the meantime, here is some good news:
Palestinians in Gaza Turn Anger on Militants
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posted by gbarto at 11:49 PM:
from the turkeysister:Jimmy Kimmel's new talk show tonight featured Terry the Clam, the new spokesperson (spokesclam?) for the dept of homeland security. The bit was called Terry's terror alert, and Terry the Terror Prevention Clam sang us a song about terrorists wanting to kill us, then broke out the security level charts and explained what each color stood for and ended his schtick with "try not to die".Strange times, indeed, and Kimmel's bit put a finger on the problem. We might as well have a clam running our frontline defense. Law enforcement and our military actions can find terrorists one by one or rout them out on a larger scale, but we cannot realistically stop every attack... trying not to die is the number one thing we can do defensively.
These is strange times....
Offensively, thank God, we have other options. It has been pointed out that the latest bombings were all on home territory. It's being reported that one of the suicide bombers in Morocco killed fellow Muslims instead of hitting a Jewish cultural center because he screwed up the directions. That's a far cry from the organization that went into 9/11. Single suicides require no organization; the bombings in Riyadh and Morocco could have been managed with synchronized clocks or with cell phones. Which means that yes, attacks may continue for quite some time, and there may even be another one to match 9/11, but we are not looking at a 9/11 every week, every month or even every year. The U.S. has done a lot to slow up terrorism by taking away two terrorist playgrounds; whatever becomes of Iraq, it won't be hosting an Al-Qaeda camp any time soon; the same is true of Afghanistan. And, in the meantime, we've sent pretty strong signals to those who would support terrorism that that's not a good idea. All of which is to say that the war on terror continues, and will continue, and whoever runs our government is going to have to deal with it. But it is, for the moment, manageable, so long as we remind ourselves us this instead of panicking.
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posted by gbarto at 2:55 AM:
A few days old, but Joanne Jacobs has the follow-up to something we mentioned a while back: U-Mass is keeping the Minutemen.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:42 AM:
Common Sense and Wonder has a weird example of robbing Peter and Paul to pay... Peter and Frank. Or something like that. At issue, fining WorldCom (hence its shareholders) to pay those defrauded by WorldCom execs, i.e. its shareholders. Didn't think anything outside the US tax system got this cockamamie.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:35 AM:
Glenn Frazier is wondering what causes crime.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:32 AM:
Here's Bjørn Stærk on whether the US needs to find WMDs to justify the Iraq operation. He says they're not absolutely necessary, but that if they don't turn up there'd better be a damn good reason why.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:22 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: UN Resolution Revisited by Washington. A revised resolution calling for the lifting of sanctions which gives the UN a greater role in postwar Iraq was presented by the US.
Le Figaro: Blocking Exams: The Threat Grows. We're in the middle of yet another national education strike, the sixth since Sept. 2002, with some year end exams already ruined and others in danger of being messed up. Teachers actively interfered with students trying to take exams in some cities. This is France: for "the good of the students," tests that will affect where the kids place in the universities, whether they get into advanced programs, etc., are being canceled, postponed and disrupted in progress so that teachers can make their points about Chirac and Raffarin. Nothing so selfish as a Frenchman with a cause.
Libé: Ferry [setup for public education, named for a former education minister] headed downhill. See above.
Ouest-France: Teachers keep up the pressure.
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Monday, May 19, 2003
posted by gbarto at 12:56 PM:
Bomber Kills Three Outside Israeli MallAt least 47 hurt after woman blows herself up at shopping center in northern town of Afula; Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack
I know a lot of people don't hold Arabs in high esteem, Arab women in particular. But it still seems striking that it is certain Arabs themselves whose worldview boils down to this:
The best kind of Arab is a dead Arab.
If he took a few Jews with him.
And:
How can an Arab woman give her life meaning? Die.
If she takes a few Jews with her.
Pretty sick.
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posted by gbarto at 12:51 PM:
Ari Fleischer Checking OutWhite House press secretary plans to resign in July to enter private sector
Good for him. Hope he makes a few bucks.
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posted by gbarto at 12:50 PM:
Something Fishy About This ArtJudge says 'Fish Blender' not cruel
I can understand not fining the museum director because he's not the one who actually pressed the button and no one knows who is. But the exhibit was stupid and should not have been plugged in. And should not have been accepted. Judge TurkeyBlog sentences the gentleman to a sharp rap upside the head.
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posted by gbarto at 4:19 AM:
There is too much good stuff at Den Beste's site to recommend one feature. Nonetheless, I am recommending the latest in the atheism debates, here. The debate is an important one, for both atheists and Christians seem to spend too much time fumbling for their proofs, which leaves me wondering what's so noble about faith on either side. For my part, I shall be clinging to my faith, as does Den Beste to his. But I shall be asking myself about the particulars, for I am disturbed by the idea that a just God would allow the accidents of his life to keep so open and thoughtful a man as Mr. Den Beste from heaven. Especially with some of the crowd that I'm told is getting in.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:15 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Public Workers on Strike to Protect Retirement. In fact, they want to improve benefits at a time when the rest of France is tightening its belt. Save for the public servants, of course. Not to worry, the fog of May 1968 still sufficiently clouds France that the people march right along instead of wondering how much they'll have to pay in taxes to keep it going.
Le Figaro: Morocco Caught By Islamist Terrorism.
Libération: After Dijon, take a hard left... Directions for the Socialist Party (PS) with half the country on strike over reforms proposed by Chirac's Union for a Presidential/Parliamentary Majority.
Ouest-France: Hollande: "The Socialists are back". Hollande is the head of the Socialist Party.
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posted by gbarto at 3:05 AM:
Mideast Peace Effort HaltedHamas targets Israelis four times in two days, says attacks won't stop; Yasser Arafat denies Israel's charge he encouraged bombings that killed nine civilians
It's really a damn shame that when you see a headline like "Bombings in Israel" you can't even try to hope that yesterday's headline was just left up by mistake. It's the world we live in though. It's a world created by Yassir Arafat. It's a world continued by Hamas. It is a world that won't go away until either Arafat or every vestige of Arafat that got him where he is today has disappeared from the scene. And where he uses every scrap of his power, both real and in terms of influence, to eliminate, rather than seek understanding for the perpetrators of these acts. When Arafat declares, "Today I am a Jew, for like the Jews I today feel my dreams and hopes for peace failing and my spirit being shattered" and takes the risk that these guys will take a shot at him for it, I'll believe it. But right now, I'm just a tad cynical, because the extremists of Hamas and Hezbollah aren't lining up with declarations that he needs to go, aren't declaring his vision a threat to theirs. Sure, they'll embarrass him and denounce his administrative decisions. But they don't seem to fear that Yassir Arafat will bring peace or destroy their cause. Not a reassuring sign.
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Sunday, May 18, 2003
posted by gbarto at 1:22 PM:
Saw L'Auberge espagnole, sometimes billed as the new Audrey Tatou movie. She does have a fairly important second-tier role, but in a side plot. This means, of course, that the film cannot achieve the charm of a genuine Audrey Tatou movie, but to be fair, not all movies starring her do either.L'Auberge espagnole is, nonetheless, a pretty good film, sort of like The Graduate meets Barcelona, only it's entertaining. And it's in French, Spanish and English. Its subject is a young Frenchman who goes to Spain for a year to learn Spanish and Spanish economics in order to get a job in the burgeoning industry of European government. The film is about the year in Spain and the wacky (and ordinary but somehow wacky even so) people he meets, hangs out with and lives with.
I won't give plot details, but I do want to mention the closing montage. Having lived with a variety of nationalities (English, Italian, Spanish...), he's feeling truly European, and so we get what sounds like a hokey commercial for European unity.
I am French. But I am also Spanish. I am German. I am Danish... I am Europe...
(and the punchline)
I'm a complete mess!
It's "Je suis un bordel" in French. Seems fitting to me, though the EU dreamers probably aren't happy.
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posted by gbarto at 1:09 PM:
The TurkeyBlog? A superhero? Maybe, thanks to Lee's Useless Superhero Generator. (Found at Natalie Solent's place)And I am... here it comes...
The dumbfounding Wonder Walker
Power(s): Water control, Amphibious, Laser vision
Weapon: Walker Zip Gun
Why not get your profile?
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posted by gbarto at 1:02 PM:
Natalie Solent wants to nuke Venn diagrams back to pre-Platonic geometry. Must read for all you set (sett?) -theorists out there.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:53 PM:
Four Saudi Bomb Suspects Linked to Al QaedaMen connected to terror attacks on Riyadh compounds that killed 25, including eight Americans, in custody
Seven Killed in Jerusalem Blasts
Sharon postpones U.S. trip to discuss Mideast peace after homicide attacks
Islamists Detained in Casablanca
Investigators questioning militants in homicide bombings that killed 28
Totals: 60 dead, a few hundred profoundly affected
84 Feared Dead in Sri Lanka Floods
150,000 people evacuated from homes in small tropical island country
Totals: 84 dead, 150,000 affected.
We need to remember this. Death, even mass death, looms far larger from living with the forces of nature, particularly in countries without the disaster relief and recovery infrastructure that the US has, than from living in a world with Al-Qaeda.
Granted, Al-Qaeda could get WMDs; it's a possibility for which we have to be prepared. But that said, they are a force of the past, fighting on the side of the past, and what shocks is not the awful possibilities they open up in physical space but their vulgar corruption of the moral realm.
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posted by gbarto at 1:38 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde sporting a nice, clean look that will hopefully stay. The headline is Double Suicide Bombing in Jerusalem.
Ouest-France: When the Socialist Party turns left - At the Congress of Dijon, Socialists celebrated the Secretary General - of the [union that led the anti-retirement reform protests, called] CGT.
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posted by gbarto at 1:28 AM:
Peace Talks Marred By More AttacksAriel Sharon postpones trip to U.S. after summit with Palestinian PM Abbas bookended by series of terrorist attacks, including Jerusalem bus bombing that killed seven, wounded at least 20
While it won't get the same coverage, it is worth noting that this comprises still more efforts by Islamists to kill in the name of their causes and that Israel deserves the same understanding as Morocco and Saudi Arabia and more still, having gone through this a long time.
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