Posted
7/13/2002 11:16:22 PM
by Edward Driscoll
PAT HOOKS UP WITH TAKI AND PRODUCES TACKY SOUNDING TAC: Pat Buchanan, with the aid of the deep pockets of Taki Theodoracopulos (or Taki, as he signs his byline), scion to a Greek shipping fortune, is launching a new magazine called The American Conservative, or TAC for short.
Given how alienated Buchanan's more-or-less anti-Semitic (or, to be charitable, anti-Zionist) paleoconservative anti-free trade views have made him, and how removed they are from mainstream conservative thinking, it's tough to see this one succeeding. And not surprisingly, The New Republic and National Review agree.
Posted
7/13/2002 09:49:05 PM
by Edward Driscoll
REDUCTION IN CIVIL LIBERTIES IN THE UK, on Group Captain Mandrake's Weblog.
Posted
7/13/2002 09:44:55 PM
by Edward Driscoll
BLACK MARKET SMOKES UPDATE: Back on Friday, July 5th, we linked to two Reason articles on how the astronomical (and rising!) taxes on cigarettes has created a thriving black market.
Today, AP ran an article on the same subject, titled States Brace for Cigarette Backlash.
Advantage, EdDriscoll.com! (Not to mention Reason.)
Posted
7/13/2002 09:40:01 PM
by Edward Driscoll
ICC IMMUNITY FOR AMERICAN PEACEKEEPERS: The USS Clueless has the European reaction.
Posted
7/13/2002 09:33:33 PM
by Edward Driscoll
IRAQI WEAPONS AT A GLANCE: Estimates of Iraq’s remaining stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, via Little Green Footballs.
Posted
7/13/2002 08:44:47 PM
by Edward Driscoll
LONGEST SERVIVING POLITICAL PRISONER IN CHINA, a Tibetan Scholar, Arrives in U.S.
AP says:
By all accounts China's longest-serving political prisoner, Jigme Sangpo, a primary-school teacher, was first sentenced to three years of "re-education through labour" in 1965, according to the London-based Tibet Information Network, a monitoring group. It cited "reliable reports" as indicating that he also served a 10-year sentence from 1970-1980 for political activities. Jigme Sangpo was arrested again in September 1983 and sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of "counterrevolutionary incitement and propaganda" for campaigning against Chinese rule in Tibet, according to Kamm. His sentence was extended twice after that and had been due to expire on Sept. 3, 2011, when he would be in his mid-80s. Prison authorities exempted him from physical labor several years ago because of his age, Kamm said.
Posted
7/13/2002 08:42:17 PM
by Edward Driscoll
EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE IS GEORGE W. BUSH'S FAULT, according to Rich Galen.
UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Ann Coulter agrees.
Posted
7/13/2002 05:12:02 PM
by Edward Driscoll
SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS: Reuters has a look at Dot-Coms Still Hanging on After the Gold Rush, and find a few.
Posted
7/13/2002 04:24:27 PM
by Edward Driscoll
Posted
7/13/2002 11:22:05 AM
by Edward Driscoll
C-SPAN SUPERSTAR: Patrick Ruffini looks at Brian Lamb.
For well over a decade, I've loved watching Lamb on Booknotes. I've been introduced to many fine books--and their authors--from that show.
Posted
7/12/2002 02:04:44 PM
by Edward Driscoll
NFL DYNASTIES A THING OF THE PAST? Kevin Holtsberry, on his Pigskin football blog, links to an article by ESPN.com's Gregg Garber that says "NFL Dynasties Are No Longer Possible." Holtsberry says, "Let's agree for the sake of argument that this is true. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If you have an opinion leave a comment, post an answer, send me an email, etc. I will post the results and/or links and then post my response."
My take? It's a bad thing. I grew up loving the dynasties of the 1970s--the Cowboys, Steelers, and Raiders, and reading up on the dynasties of the past (the Packers of the '60s, the Giants of the '50s. The Colts of the '50s and '60s). Dynasties brought a consistency to the league, and a certain amount of expectation. And when someone new arrived on the block to challenge those dynasties (the Oilers in the late 1970s, the Niners in the early 1980s), it made it fun to watch.
To my mind football is about consistency, teamwork and planning. And a rollercoaster league where a team is 4-12 the year before and goes the Super Bowl this year has something waaaaay out of whack.
Posted
7/12/2002 01:33:24 PM
by Edward Driscoll
BOBOS IN GRANOLA LAND: Rod Dreher has a fun article in National Review Online called "Birkenstocked Burkeans--Confessions of a granola conservative."
As someone who shares some cultural interests that might be considered a bit err, liberal by some (modern art and architecture, cool jazz from the 1950s and '60s, rock music, Philip Glass, and Stanley Kubrick), but whose politics are libertarian/Conservative/classical liberal, etc., I really enjoyed this piece. And judging by the responses that Dreher has posted in NRO's Corner Weblog, apparently, so have a lot other people.
Admittedly, a lot of these interests stem from my college days, when I was apolitical, naive, uninformed (hell, unformed!) but I'm not going to jettison them now, simply because I enjoy them. (But no Granola please. I'm allergic to nuts for one thing, and quite frankly, I'd rather have the crisp shrimp in mustard sauce at The Four Seasons.
Its funny--when I was a 20-something doing financial planning and investment advising in the South Jersey, people who didn't know me thought I was the token liberal. And now that I'm in California, I'm the token Ike-fan whose appearance is seemingly stuck in the 1950s (if not earlier).
Go figure.
UPDATE: In case the Bobos reference in the above title flies over your head, check out these review of David Brooks' Bobos in Paradise by Orrin Judd and Robet Locke. And then go buy a copy today--it's a fun read about a significant new class in America.
Posted
7/12/2002 01:25:46 PM
by Edward Driscoll
HEY, NO KIDDING: the safety board and the Transportation Department released a report saying that Transportation Deaths Rose in 2001.
Terrorists slamming passenger aircraft into buildings will tend to do that.
Posted
7/11/2002 11:49:50 PM
by Edward Driscoll
THE RUSSIANS HAVE LANDED!! And they've brought 2 million barrels of crude oil with them.
Posted
7/11/2002 09:51:43 PM
by Edward Driscoll
MORE ON THE PLEDGE: Instapundit.com has links to an interesting new development in the case. Orrin Judd also weighs in with very apropos Tawana Brawley reference.
Posted
7/11/2002 06:43:07 PM
by Edward Driscoll
CITIZEN DVD: Back in November, I wrote about the then-recent DVD of Citzen Kane for Spintech, with an emphasis of the film's sociological impact, both then and now.
The Digital Bits has recently posted their review, with an emphasis on the content of the discs. Bottom line: Every movie buff needs this DVD in their collection.
Posted
7/11/2002 06:34:41 PM
by Edward Driscoll
IT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE: Little Green Footballs says that "according to new calculations by a Swarthmore College physics professor, the hijacked jets came very close to toppling the World Trade Center Towers on impact."
Posted
7/11/2002 06:24:55 PM
by Edward Driscoll
WHY ISN'T PRESIDENT BUSH IN FAVOR OF ARMING PILOTS? Reason wants to know. Their article includes this stinging line: "As one conservative wag put it, while pilots fighting back is verboten, 'allowing them to be stabbed in the back with box cutters seems to be okay.'"
Ouch.
Posted
7/11/2002 03:22:57 PM
by Edward Driscoll
BLACKS AND JEWS: Howard Fienberg of Kesher Talk has an update on the Congressional Black Caucus, their support of anti-Israeli terrorists, and the political flak they're receiving from it.
Posted
7/11/2002 02:30:42 PM
by Edward Driscoll
ACTIVISTS PLAYED ROLE IN FOREST FIRES, says the US Forest Service.
Posted
7/11/2002 01:11:23 AM
by Edward Driscoll
TORONTO IS FILTHY, and in the midst of a rancorous garbage strike, according Erynn Dineen-Porter of the Breakfast of Champions blog.
Posted
7/11/2002 01:07:57 AM
by Edward Driscoll
RECENTLY DEPARTED GIANTS: Roger Ebert has essays on John Frankenheimer and Rod Steiger.
Posted
7/11/2002 12:58:09 AM
by Edward Driscoll
END GAME: Roger D. Carstens, an Army Special Forces officer at Fort Bragg, N.C., has some thoughts on what happens next between the US and Iraq.
Meanwhile, Arnaud de Borchgrave, UPI's Editor-at-Large, has some thoughts about Saddam Hussein's war plan. While I don't doubt that Saddam could have some truly nasty aces up his sleeves, pant legs, and I don't-want-to-know-where-else, it sounds like de Borchgrave has really fallen for Saddam's bluster and bull_ _ _t.
Posted
7/10/2002 11:35:25 PM
by Edward Driscoll
Dear Concerned and Responsible members of the Blogosphere, I am calling on you to use the power of the Blogosphere, such as it may be, to start a totally inaccurate, completely unsubstantiated, and just plain made up out of thin air, rumor. Why, you may ask, am I asking responsible people to do this? Well, it is for a good cause. And if you hear me out, I think you’ll agree. I have come up with a way to stop young men (and it is mostly younger men who do this) from playing their car stereos with the subwoofers turned all the way up. I would like to start the rumor that the vibration caused by sitting in a confined space, like a car, with the subwoofer blaring, causes, after a period of time, sudden and irreparable impotence in men. There is one thing that everyone young man wants more than having the loudest subwoofer on the block. So, as they say – “when you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds follow.” The fear of impotence is strong enough that even an unsubstantiated rumor that these vibrations might cause it is enough to start a trend of behavior modification. In fact, the terror of failing hydraulics may be so great that this rumor might even become a self-fulfilling prophesy, which could be very amusing to think about. After all, impotence is one of those things that can be caused by worrying about getting it. I know you are all thinking…. but what can I do? I agree overactive subwoofers are a blight on my neighborhood. But no one who rides around with their subwoofer turned all the way up reads my weblog. Well, that’s where the challenge is. Think of it as an experiment in the power of the Blog – how do you reach the unwashed masses? And while you’re at it, how do you explain the difference between sterility and impotence? My guess is that there is at least some minimal crossover between the Blogosphere and SubwooferWorld, and that if you will all just put your blogging noses to the grindstone, and your blogging shoulders to the wheel, that collectively we can start this rumor and give it legs. To jump start things, I have created a modest license place holder that says, simply “subwoofers cause impotence.” They can be purchased at the Stop Road Noise Store at Cafe Press. The rest I leave to you. Won't you please help? A little mention in your Blog could bring so much peace and quiet to your neighborhood.(I can't believe I let her talk me into posting this. Say, I wonder if the French Foreign Legion will accept humiliated ex-bloggers...)
Posted
7/10/2002 05:36:33 PM
by Edward Driscoll
LAW SUITS WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE: So, Sony and Tommy Mottola decide to sue Michael Jackson for slander. Since Mottola was slandered in his profession, he doesn’t even have to prove actual damages (says my wife the lawyer). So it would be sufficient to say that being called racists in a business with that many black artists would, on its face, "tend directly to injure him in respect to his office, profession, trade or business, either by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects which the office or other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing something with reference to his office, profession, trade, or business that has a natural tendency to lessen its profits." In non-legalese, Sony and Mottola have a good case.
Then Jackson’s attorneys come up with the only defense possible--the "who would believe anything Michael Jackson says anyway" defense. OK, it’s not on the books yet, but more than one slander action has been defending on the lines that the statements were pure hyperbole and not meant to be taken seriously. So why not a "who would believe anything Michael Jackson says anyway" defense?
Either way – the lawsuit is a winner. Either Sony wins and that’s probably a good thing, considering Sony is the successor to Columbia Records, who brought the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Cab Calloway, Charlie Christian, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Barron, etc., etc., into our homes. Or Jackson is forced to admit he’s become a laughing stock. Either way the public is served.
Posted
7/10/2002 03:04:13 PM
by Edward Driscoll
JIVING WITH THE JACKSON TWO: Jonah Goldberg's latest syndicated column in The Washington Times takes on the Jackson Two: Jesse and Michael. Here are a couple of excerpts:
The first Jackson, the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at the 93rd annual meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People this week. He called President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft "the most threatening combination" to civil rights in his lifetime. Now, Jackson was born in 1941. In the last 61 years we've seen some daunting combinations: Hitler and Tojo, Captain and Tennille, Darth Vader and the Emperor - oh wait, that Star Wars stuff happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, long before Jackson was born. I know, I know: I'm deliberately misinterpreting Jackson's point. He was talking about African-Americans and the threats they face here at home. But, you know what? That assertion is batty too. George Wallace and J. Edgar Hoover formed a pretty daunting combo. So did Bull Connor and his dogs. Meanwhile, the tag team of Bush and Ashcroft have done exactly nothing to threaten African-Americans - unless of course you think fighting terrorism, appointing blacks to the highest levels of government and letting Ted Kennedy write the administration's education policy is somehow the same thing as siccing German shepherds on black kids in Selma.In the words of the immortal Gary Cooper, yup.* * * While it's tempting to be outraged by the cynicism of the Jackson Two, the more appropriate response is relief. You see, such desperation is a clear indication that the battle for civil rights has been won. These tired has-beens have to imagine transgressions because there are no real ones to complain about. It's sad for them, but happy news for the society as a whole.
Posted
7/10/2002 02:53:21 PM
by Edward Driscoll
HOUSE OKs BILL TO ARM PILOTS: But...
Despite the strong House support, prospects in the Senate were not good for the legislation. Besides the White House, those opposing it include Ernest Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat who heads the Senate Commerce Committee.
Posted
7/10/2002 02:44:04 PM
by Edward Driscoll
REVIVING THE TECH SECTOR: Jeffrey A. Eisenach says its the key to reviving the economy as a whole--and I tend to agree with him.
Eisenach is right to be a big proponent of broadband in his article. I just finished a reasonably detailed article on PVRs for Home Automation magazine. Both Sonicblue (aka ReplayTV) and TiVo have big plans to allow their broadband-enabled PVRs to download (and possibly upload as well) movies, TV shows, rock videos, self-published Wayne's World-type shows, etc., via a broadband connection. But it's all down to getting broadband in as many homes as possible. And that won't happen without a consistent regulatory policy set in place by people who get the technology, what it can do, and what it will lead to.
Posted
7/10/2002 02:07:44 PM
by Edward Driscoll
ORRIN JUDD INTRODUCES MAUREEN DOWD TO "THE RED STATES", on the Brothers Judd Blog.
Posted
7/10/2002 01:51:15 PM
by Edward Driscoll
IT HAD TO HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER: The Onion says that the Death Star is adding a day care center.
Posted
7/10/2002 10:52:31 AM
by Edward Driscoll
BLOGGER ARCHIVES: While Blogger Pro doesn't seem affected (at the moment), regular Blogger archives are royally screwed up. I haven't been able to link to specific posts of GC Mandrake or the Brothers Judd, or most of the Blogger-based, err bloggers all week.
Anybody have any idea when this will be resolved?
Posted
7/10/2002 10:50:05 AM
by Edward Driscoll
PASS THE DUCHIE, MANDRAKE: Group Captain Lionel Mandrake reports on the plans by the English government to reclassify cannabis (we call it maize--err, marijuana), as "a less dangerous drug to free-up police resources to fight hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine".
While I'm not one to light up spliffs of the chronic (a little reggae and rap lingo cross-pollination there, to pretend that I'm hip), for fear of getting hooked on Teletubby reruns, I do think that freedom also includes the freedom to do questionable (not to mention stupid) things, so long as you don't hurt others.
UPDATE: NRO's Andrew Stuttaford also weighs in.
Posted
7/10/2002 09:46:19 AM
by Edward Driscoll
CLASSROOM CRIMINALS: Joanne Jacobs has several examples of why it's damn-near impossible for a teacher to get fired, even if he's sued, or found guilty on criminal charges!
Posted
7/10/2002 09:07:11 AM
by Edward Driscoll
YOU WILL BELIEVE A CHEESE-EATING SURRENDER MONKEY CAN FLY: An Air France pilot arbitrarily declares Palestine a state over his plane's intercom.
(Link found via Jonah Goldberg on NRO's The Corner. Jonah, with a little help from Groundskeeper Willie, launched the "cheese-eating surrender monkey" epithet on the Internet.)
Posted
7/10/2002 09:03:07 AM
by Edward Driscoll
LET THE INVESTIGTIONS BEGIN: LA. Policeman "Jack Dunphy" on Police Brutality on National Review Online.
Posted
7/10/2002 02:14:16 AM
by Edward Driscoll
GNUTELLA DEVELOPER COMMITS SUICIDE, according to this Reuters article. (Gnutella is a Napster-style file sharing system, incidentally.)
Posted
7/10/2002 12:53:23 AM
by Edward Driscoll
WHAT ARE YOUR CHILDREN LEARNING IN SCHOOL THESE DAYS? A California school gets sued over Islamic drills after September 11th.
Posted
7/10/2002 12:45:22 AM
by Edward Driscoll
HOW'D YOU LIKE TO DISCOVER AN ORIGINAL MICHELANGELO? This fellow apparently did.
Posted
7/9/2002 10:31:55 PM
by Edward Driscoll
CRYING WOLF: Al-Qaeda member says bin Laden's alive and well.
Obviously, if he is alive (and I doubt it, and so does Steve Den Beste, incidentally), then some fresh video would help their case. These boys have cried wolf about 100 times too many.
Posted
7/9/2002 10:27:55 PM
by Edward Driscoll
TURKEY'S NEBULOUS OUTLOOK: Analysis from The Washington Times.
Posted
7/9/2002 04:51:30 PM
by Edward Driscoll
FIRST DIAMOND DAVE, NOW THE MRS: E! Online says that Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli have split up:
The couple is requesting "their family's privacy be respected at this time" and refused to divulge any further details, including whether a divorce was in the works or who would retain custody of their 11-year-old son, Wolfgang. The two tied the knot on April 11, 1981, when both were at the height of their popularity--she the cute youngest daughter Barbara Cooper on One Day at a Time, he the guitar whiz behind one of rock's most popular bands. And, pretty much ever since, tabloids have been writing the post-mortem on the Van Halen-Bertinelli union.
Posted
7/9/2002 02:18:19 PM
by Edward Driscoll
WARD KIMBALL, PIONEERING DISNEY ANIMATOR DIED TODAY AT AGE 88. Orrin Judd has the story.
Posted
7/9/2002 01:52:45 PM
by Edward Driscoll
REQUIRED READING: At the risk of sounding like Stephen Green, aka VodkaPundit (not a bad blogger to sound like, actually!), this excellent essay by Victor Davis Hanson on the Saudis is today's required reading.
Posted
7/9/2002 01:12:02 PM
by Edward Driscoll
HATING WHITEY: Jesse Jackson and Julian Bond attack Bush and Ashcroft, the Brothers Judd fight back.
Meanwhile, Rod Dhrerer says that "even Al Sharpton, who stuck by Tawana Brawley through thick and thin, has disassociated himself from [Michael] Jackson's bizarre racial charges against Sony music chief Tommy Mottola. When Rev. Al, who never saw a get-whitey cause he couldn't attach himself to, turns tail and runs the other way, you know you're as isolated as isolated can be."
Defending Michael Jackson and fighting against school choice. This is the apparent state of the civil rights movement today.
Posted
7/9/2002 11:25:42 AM
by Edward Driscoll
HAVE YOUR CAKE: Stocks, bonds, and what to invest in right now, from Tech Central Station's James Glassman.
For a savvy long term investor, with just a little emotional fortitude, this really is a good time to buy. As Glassman says, "the stock market does not fall very much -- despite the way it seems today. Since 1938, the S&P has declined, after dividends, in only two out of 60 overlapping five-year periods -- just 3 percent of the time. The S&P hasn't dropped in any of the 62 overlapping 10-year periods since 1931."
Posted
7/9/2002 11:21:41 AM
by Edward Driscoll
ROD STEIGER DIES AT AGE 78. See this Yahoo! News article for details.
Posted
7/9/2002 10:50:50 AM
by Edward Driscoll
DON CORNELIUS, YOU'VE GOT COMPETITION! Janet Reno Makes 'Dance Party' Reality.
(Insert any one of a number of jokes here.)
I wonder what Rockin' Mel Slirrup would say about this?
Posted
7/9/2002 01:32:20 AM
by Edward Driscoll
MAD MAX AND CROCODILE DUNDEE, CALL YOUR LAWYERS: Reason magazine says that Australia is outlawing fun. Who’s next?
Posted
7/9/2002 01:13:48 AM
by Edward Driscoll
GROUP CAPTAIN MANDRAKE MOVES TO L.A.! Well, not really, but he does have two articles on the latest misadventures of the L.A. Police.
Jack Webb must be turning over in the grave over their latest escapades.
Posted
7/9/2002 01:05:40 AM
by Edward Driscoll
PRIME REAL ESTATE: Patrick Ruffini has a map of that great new, extremely unplanned community...Bloggerville!
I'm not sure where we're located, but I hope it's as far away from Chomskyville as possible!
Posted
7/8/2002 10:56:38 PM
by Edward Driscoll
GEEK HEAVEN, PART II: Nuts and Volts' July 2002 Issue has my latest bi-monthly "Micro Memories" column. This month is on the Apple I. Far cruder appearing than its successor, the Apple I was based on a PC that Steve Wozniak designed in 1975 when he couldn't afford an Altair 8800.
Buy lots of copies today! (But save a few pennies for the August Poptronics and the Atari article.)
Posted
7/8/2002 10:51:32 PM
by Edward Driscoll
HUSBAND KILLINGS: The hot new trend in Iran, where divorce is (basically) not an option for women, but bigamy is for men. Little Green Footballs has the story.
Posted
7/8/2002 10:19:12 PM
by Edward Driscoll
SORRY FOR THE LACK OF POSTING TODAY--doing transcribing and prep work for a couple articles due later this week. Hopefully things will return to normal tomorrow.
Posted
7/8/2002 03:34:19 PM
by Edward Driscoll
Posted
7/8/2002 12:34:38 AM
by Edward Driscoll
THE GEORGE LUCAS / NORMA DESMOND CONNECTION REVEALED, in Spintech.
Posted
7/8/2002 12:16:38 AM
by Edward Driscoll
GULF WAR II: Stephen Green, aka VodkaPundit, has some predictions about what to expect--and what not to expect.
Posted
7/8/2002 12:13:26 AM
by Edward Driscoll
THE DEHUMANIZING APOLOGISTS: Paul Palubicki (aka the blogger formally known as the blogger formally known as Sgt. Stryker) is really on a roll, now that he's set-up shop in California. Read this, and then scroll down to read the posts under it. Lots of good new stuff.
Posted
7/7/2002 07:51:40 PM
by Edward Driscoll
THIS IS THE GREATEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY SINCE MAN LANDED ON THE MOON.
Posted
7/7/2002 06:54:41 PM
by Edward Driscoll
ANDREW SULLIVAN has some background on Hesham Hadyat, the terrorist (why mince words?) who killed two people at the El Al terminal at LAX on the Fourth of July.
And Glenn Reynolds links to a report that Hadayet met with an Osama bin Laden deputy "in 1995 and again in 1998".
UPDATE: Matt Welch and Ken Layne's LA Examiner Web site is all over this story. Start here, and then scroll down. And by the time you read this, scroll up as well--they'll probably have more details.
Posted
7/7/2002 06:43:53 PM
by Edward Driscoll
THE CO-DESIGNER OF THE BOEING 747 DIED on July 2nd, at age 80, according to this UPI article.
Posted
7/7/2002 04:23:56 PM
by Edward Driscoll
DO WE UNDERSTAND THEIR HATE? Both Sgt. Stryker and Group Captain Mandrake have written about the folks who hate us. Mandrake says:
I am utterly convinced that, in order for the US to lead a successful fight against terror, there is one question they must ask themselves, and fully understand the answer to: Do they understand why some people/nations/groups might hate them so much that they want to carry out attacks like that of September 11th? In my experience (both personal and by watching their media coverage of it), many Americans don't even think of that as a valid question, and certainly not one they should be considering.I think reading about this fellow, as well as the father of much of this insanity, Sayyid Qutb (bin Laden's original inspiration--read the article linked to by my post) answers a number of questions about why they hate us. The real question is, what do we do about it? Sure, we can invade Iraq and other large swatches of the Middle East, and know that we have a 99.9% chance of either winning, or turning whichever country we invade into what one reporter once described as "a self-lighting parking lot" (which of course, is victory, only far messier.) But assuming we don't rely on the latter option, then what? Do we really have the nerve (and we'll need a lot of it) to commit to the same scale of political re-education that we applied to the belligerent nations of Japan and Germany after World War II? Because otherwise, all we've done is achieve a temporary victory. A good one--one that benefits the people of whichever country or countries we liberate, but a temporary victory nonetheless. Was it the Powell Doctrine which said don't attack without having an exit plan? I hope Bush has one in mind, otherwise, our war on terror will be one of those "wars on" wars that never ends. UPDATE: While I was writing this, Sgt. Stryker has also responded to Group Captain Mandrake's response to his original post. (Sgt. Rock and General Ripper remain sadly unresponsive, however.)
Posted
7/7/2002 03:56:13 PM
by Edward Driscoll
THE MAN BEHIND BATMAN: Mark Evanier has written several interesting articles about Bob Kane, who's name not coincidentally, rhymes with Bruce Wayne.
(Batman was my childhood comic book hero. Much cooler than Superman. And a much better businessman than Spider-Man.)
Posted
7/7/2002 12:47:10 PM
by Edward Driscoll
ISRAELI WHILE ACADEMIC: The Telegraph says that a British academic has sparked worldwide protests after sacking two scholars from her highly respected international journals because they are Israeli:
Mona Baker, a professor at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), admitted yesterday that she had dismissed Dr Miriam Shlesinger and Prof Gideon Toury because of their nationality. Despite a storm of complaints raised by her action, Prof Baker stood by her decision, telling The Telegraph: "I deplore the Israeli state. Miriam knew that was how I felt and that they would have to go because of the current situation." Prof Baker asked Dr Shlesinger and Prof Toury to resign from the boards of two academic journals she owns, after signing a website petition last month calling for academics to boycott Israel. When they refused to resign she sacked them.UPDATE: InstaPundit links to some good material related to this story, which in turn leads to this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. Way to go, MLK!
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