Europe day - Moldova
Ah, beautiful Moldova! I remember well writing the condominium law for Moldova back in the Nineties. Or helping, anyway. And I didn't ask any awkward questions, like why Moldova needed a condo law. Here's Ungheni city's web page, in, notice, Romanian, the un-Cyrillic side of Moldova. Well, since Ungheni's right on the Romanian border, one can understand why they speak Romanian there. Unlike the silly trans-Dniester folks, some of whom insist on sticking to Russian. More info here. IQ number not available, but Romania's is 94.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Blogging Blog
Read Hugh Hewitt's Blog this week. I wonder how this book is going to look in ten years? HH does a good job of explaining why blogs are important and in documenting blogdom's coming of age in the 2004 elections. The book will certainly be a valuable historical resource. Maybe in 2014 its message that individuals can affect how whole cultures view political and social events will seem obvious. Strikes me, though, that the nature of blogging - idiosyncratic, iconoclastic and skeptical - fits far better with the self-reliance and rebelliousness that characterizes the libertarians and objectivists than it does with either wing of the mainstream political spectrum. If there's a story Hugh missed, perhaps that's it. Bloggers don't believe anything until it's been critically examined by thousands of knowledgeable observers with no ax to grind. In this way, blogdom at its best resembles the world of open source software versus the big MS/Apple combines, as laid out in Eric Raymond's The Cathedral and the Bazaar. The Cathedrals, of course, would be NBC, ABC, CBS and around the world the BBC and other governmental media tyrannies.
Blogdom's refusal to take any truth as proven separates bloggers from conventional religions as well as conventional political and cultural authorities. HH compares the rise of the blogs to Luther's confrontation with the Catholic hierarchy in the 1500s. It's well to remember, though, that the Protestant upwelling did not lead to a cohesive theology, but to innumerable schismatic sects. And Luther at the end of his life, like Marx, seemed to regret the chaos he had instigated. I just hope that HH and the religio-bloggers don't turn against free thought when they see their ideas losing out in the new ideological bazaar. Belief as an end in itself is entirely at odds with the freedom we now find within our grasp.
Read Hugh Hewitt's Blog this week. I wonder how this book is going to look in ten years? HH does a good job of explaining why blogs are important and in documenting blogdom's coming of age in the 2004 elections. The book will certainly be a valuable historical resource. Maybe in 2014 its message that individuals can affect how whole cultures view political and social events will seem obvious. Strikes me, though, that the nature of blogging - idiosyncratic, iconoclastic and skeptical - fits far better with the self-reliance and rebelliousness that characterizes the libertarians and objectivists than it does with either wing of the mainstream political spectrum. If there's a story Hugh missed, perhaps that's it. Bloggers don't believe anything until it's been critically examined by thousands of knowledgeable observers with no ax to grind. In this way, blogdom at its best resembles the world of open source software versus the big MS/Apple combines, as laid out in Eric Raymond's The Cathedral and the Bazaar. The Cathedrals, of course, would be NBC, ABC, CBS and around the world the BBC and other governmental media tyrannies.
Blogdom's refusal to take any truth as proven separates bloggers from conventional religions as well as conventional political and cultural authorities. HH compares the rise of the blogs to Luther's confrontation with the Catholic hierarchy in the 1500s. It's well to remember, though, that the Protestant upwelling did not lead to a cohesive theology, but to innumerable schismatic sects. And Luther at the end of his life, like Marx, seemed to regret the chaos he had instigated. I just hope that HH and the religio-bloggers don't turn against free thought when they see their ideas losing out in the new ideological bazaar. Belief as an end in itself is entirely at odds with the freedom we now find within our grasp.
Asia Day - Macau
I've always loved colonialism. One of the best things about it is wondering how a little place like Portugal could hang onto a beautiful prosperous city halfway around the world in the days of sailing ships. Yet Macau was a focus of Portuguese trading efforts in Asia from before 1600 until 1999. You could argue it wasn't a real colony, because millions of Portuguese didn't ship out from Lisbon to take up residence there. Of course, China never needed more people! Macau was, like Hong Kong, its sister city just forty miles away, a port of entry into the China trade. From what I've been able to see on the web, though, the Portuguese presence in Macau is of much longer standing than the Brits' in HK. Oh, some may kvetch and call Macau "South China's Sin City" but such a moniker didn't hurt Las Vegas. I wonder if Macau is still a transition point where travelers from China can get a flight to Taiwan, which is impossible directly from China?
This cool slideshow made me feel like I was walking around the city. Bet it's hot and humid in the summer.
I've always loved colonialism. One of the best things about it is wondering how a little place like Portugal could hang onto a beautiful prosperous city halfway around the world in the days of sailing ships. Yet Macau was a focus of Portuguese trading efforts in Asia from before 1600 until 1999. You could argue it wasn't a real colony, because millions of Portuguese didn't ship out from Lisbon to take up residence there. Of course, China never needed more people! Macau was, like Hong Kong, its sister city just forty miles away, a port of entry into the China trade. From what I've been able to see on the web, though, the Portuguese presence in Macau is of much longer standing than the Brits' in HK. Oh, some may kvetch and call Macau "South China's Sin City" but such a moniker didn't hurt Las Vegas. I wonder if Macau is still a transition point where travelers from China can get a flight to Taiwan, which is impossible directly from China?
This cool slideshow made me feel like I was walking around the city. Bet it's hot and humid in the summer.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Ambivalent about snow
It's snowing in the Northeast and Midwest. I look out my Tallahassee trailer window and see only fog in the morning, clouds all day. Right now it's over seventy inside and the heat hasn't been on for several days. Oh, sure, it's supposed to go down to twenty degrees tomorrow night. But no snow. Every now and then I would like to walk out on crunchy crusty snow like up in Concord, New Hampshire. But then I think about scraping ice off windshields and ordering a new tank of heating oil every couple of weeks. That's when I realize I had a reason to move down here. My envy of snow is somewhat less powerful than my envy of warm weather was when I lived in New England. So I guess I've improved my status in life, my Happiness Quotient (HQ). The question is, in what direction do I move to make it even better?
It's snowing in the Northeast and Midwest. I look out my Tallahassee trailer window and see only fog in the morning, clouds all day. Right now it's over seventy inside and the heat hasn't been on for several days. Oh, sure, it's supposed to go down to twenty degrees tomorrow night. But no snow. Every now and then I would like to walk out on crunchy crusty snow like up in Concord, New Hampshire. But then I think about scraping ice off windshields and ordering a new tank of heating oil every couple of weeks. That's when I realize I had a reason to move down here. My envy of snow is somewhat less powerful than my envy of warm weather was when I lived in New England. So I guess I've improved my status in life, my Happiness Quotient (HQ). The question is, in what direction do I move to make it even better?
Finished Pepys overview
Just finished reading Claire Tomalin's biography, The Unequalled Self of "old Pepys", as Samuel Johnson called him. Very well done, with a minimum of feminist finger-wagging. Tomalin does cluck about how Pepys hardly ever mentioned his women except to boast about his pleasures. But she doesn't let this obvious annoyance get in the way of a fully-realized portrait. I've been reading about Pepys for years, including all the Diaries, but I learned quite a few things. It's good to get a fuller idea of what really happened after SP stopped keeping the diary, in the exciting years leading up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. I know have a much better appreciation of SP's historical importance beyond that of a daily record-keeper. Some day I'll get around to reading John Evelyn's Diaries, too.
Just finished reading Claire Tomalin's biography, The Unequalled Self of "old Pepys", as Samuel Johnson called him. Very well done, with a minimum of feminist finger-wagging. Tomalin does cluck about how Pepys hardly ever mentioned his women except to boast about his pleasures. But she doesn't let this obvious annoyance get in the way of a fully-realized portrait. I've been reading about Pepys for years, including all the Diaries, but I learned quite a few things. It's good to get a fuller idea of what really happened after SP stopped keeping the diary, in the exciting years leading up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. I know have a much better appreciation of SP's historical importance beyond that of a daily record-keeper. Some day I'll get around to reading John Evelyn's Diaries, too.
Weekly World Tour continues - Africa Day again - Malawi
Our survey of net resources for relatively obscure places focuses today on Malawi, the former Nyasaland, for all you philatelists out there. It's a reportedly beautiful country wrapped around Lake Nyasa between Mozambique and Zambia. I've heard it called the Switzerland of Africa. But, hey, why isn't Switzerland the Malawi of Europe? Stats and other info are available easily (thanks again, Myway.com!) IQ is not given, but Zambia's is 77 and Zimbabwe (a near neighbor) sits at 66. Tanzania, on the other side of the lake, comes in at 72. Mozambique's doesn't seem to be available, either. So have a guess. (All data from IQ and the Wealth of Nations, as always.) Here's a U of Texas map in .jpg format.
On our grand tour of the world, I would like to find at least one interesting fact or highlight one noteworthy feature of each of these countries, localities, islands or regions. For Malawi, I found a remarkably open-minded cartoon, Taxina, which the properly-trained academic could probably interpret so as to shed light on Asian/native cultural dynamics. As for me, I'll just enjoy.
Our survey of net resources for relatively obscure places focuses today on Malawi, the former Nyasaland, for all you philatelists out there. It's a reportedly beautiful country wrapped around Lake Nyasa between Mozambique and Zambia. I've heard it called the Switzerland of Africa. But, hey, why isn't Switzerland the Malawi of Europe? Stats and other info are available easily (thanks again, Myway.com!) IQ is not given, but Zambia's is 77 and Zimbabwe (a near neighbor) sits at 66. Tanzania, on the other side of the lake, comes in at 72. Mozambique's doesn't seem to be available, either. So have a guess. (All data from IQ and the Wealth of Nations, as always.) Here's a U of Texas map in .jpg format.
On our grand tour of the world, I would like to find at least one interesting fact or highlight one noteworthy feature of each of these countries, localities, islands or regions. For Malawi, I found a remarkably open-minded cartoon, Taxina, which the properly-trained academic could probably interpret so as to shed light on Asian/native cultural dynamics. As for me, I'll just enjoy.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Brave Old World?
Is it me, or does this New Yorker article (via Arts and Letters Daily)purposely ignore that great Aldous Huxley book, Brave New World? I can remember a time when the present back-and-forth about the heritability of intelligence would bring up Huxley's book immediately. It's still a presence in my mind. This trenchant passage in Jim Holt's appreciation of Francis Galton could have been right off the back cover of Brave New World:
Is it me, or does this New Yorker article (via Arts and Letters Daily)purposely ignore that great Aldous Huxley book, Brave New World? I can remember a time when the present back-and-forth about the heritability of intelligence would bring up Huxley's book immediately. It's still a presence in my mind. This trenchant passage in Jim Holt's appreciation of Francis Galton could have been right off the back cover of Brave New World:
It is the goal of the new eugenics that is morally cloudy. If its technologies are used to shape the genetic endowment of children according to the desires—and financial means—of their parents, the outcome could be a “GenRich” class of people who are smarter, healthier, and handsomer than the underclass of “Naturals.” The ideal of individual enhancement, rather than species uplift, is in stark contrast to the Galtonian vision.I'm sure the Epsilon-minuses of the world would never mind, (they're too interested in "roof!") but all those on Alpha Island have the right to feel unjustly slighted.
Vast frozen wasteland day
So here we are at the end of our world tour standing in a vast frozen wasteland, today having been projected as Antarctica-day but craving diversity in iciness, one has liberated one's thoughts to subsume the essence of Antarctica and identify it anywhere it appears around the world. Or, even, if one expands one's horizons, on other worlds, like Titan or Neptune. Now the usual frozen wasteland entry should look like something like this:
So here we are at the end of our world tour standing in a vast frozen wasteland, today having been projected as Antarctica-day but craving diversity in iciness, one has liberated one's thoughts to subsume the essence of Antarctica and identify it anywhere it appears around the world. Or, even, if one expands one's horizons, on other worlds, like Titan or Neptune. Now the usual frozen wasteland entry should look like something like this:
Bouvetøya , 54°25'S : 3°22'EThe important part of course is "93% glacierized". The fact of no habitation with no wintering population is also to be carefully noted. The Norwegians seem to specialize in this sort of place, looking desperately around the world, no doubt, for some environment that makes good old Trømso look habitable by contrast.
Also known as Bouvet, this island is a single volcanic island with an offlier. The island covers 54 km² with its highest elevation being Mt. Olavtoppen at 780 m. It is 93% glacierized. Discovered by Jean Baptiste Charles de Lozier Bouvet on January 1, 1739, the first recorded landing was by sealers in 1822. The island is uninhabited with no wintering population, and is a dependency of Norway (claimed in 1927).
Elevation envy?
Peggy Noonan's cautious review of the President's Inaugural speech has to bring up the possibility that she really, really would have liked to have written the speech for W. I never thought of her as an old grump, but this:
Peggy Noonan's cautious review of the President's Inaugural speech has to bring up the possibility that she really, really would have liked to have written the speech for W. I never thought of her as an old grump, but this:
This is--how else to put it?--over the top. It is the kind of sentence that makes you wonder if this White House did not, in the preparation period, have a case of what I have called in the past "mission inebriation." A sense that there are few legitimate boundaries to the desires born in the goodness of their good hearts.comes pretty close to grumpiness. Aren't inaugural speeches for visions of perfection? Remember, W is right up there battling with the Washingtons, Jeffersons and Lincolns of the earth, as well as the bin Ladens. I say go for it.
One wonders if they shouldn't ease up, calm down, breathe deep, get more securely grounded. The most moving speeches summon us to the cause of what is actually possible. Perfection in the life of man on earth is not.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Lord Howe Island Day
Thursday was going to be Australia Day, but I realised there was only one government in the smallest continent, so I could only learn about its currency and culture once. That may be simple-minded, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to make Thursday "Australia, Oceania and other little interesting islands-day" And Friday, which was going to be Antarctica Day, could be Frozen Wasteland Day, since there's no government and precious little culture in Antarctica. But there are plenty of frozen wastelands out there.
Anyway, here's a link to info about Lord Howe Island, an isolated nature park about halfway between Australia and New Zealand in the sunny South Pacific. Politically, it's part of New South Wales, but it looks like it might be a cool place to spend a vacation week if you really really liked birds and plants.
Thursday was going to be Australia Day, but I realised there was only one government in the smallest continent, so I could only learn about its currency and culture once. That may be simple-minded, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to make Thursday "Australia, Oceania and other little interesting islands-day" And Friday, which was going to be Antarctica Day, could be Frozen Wasteland Day, since there's no government and precious little culture in Antarctica. But there are plenty of frozen wastelands out there.
Anyway, here's a link to info about Lord Howe Island, an isolated nature park about halfway between Australia and New Zealand in the sunny South Pacific. Politically, it's part of New South Wales, but it looks like it might be a cool place to spend a vacation week if you really really liked birds and plants.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
North America Day Focus: St. Pierre et Miquelon
You would think it might be hard to find an obscure political entity in North America. The US, Canada, Mexico, that's about it? Not quite. A few historical remnants persist, like this shadow of the great-a-long-time-ago French Empire in North America. Not too hard to get too, either, with multiple ferries and airports. French electrical system, the Euro and no cybercafés, though. Yuck. Well, I guess one wouldn't go there to sit in front of a computer. OK, then, why would you go there? Give me a minute. To say you went there? To fish?
You would think it might be hard to find an obscure political entity in North America. The US, Canada, Mexico, that's about it? Not quite. A few historical remnants persist, like this shadow of the great-a-long-time-ago French Empire in North America. Not too hard to get too, either, with multiple ferries and airports. French electrical system, the Euro and no cybercafés, though. Yuck. Well, I guess one wouldn't go there to sit in front of a computer. OK, then, why would you go there? Give me a minute. To say you went there? To fish?
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
23 degrees in Florida
It's a bit chilly tonight, although not unprecedently so for Tallahassee. My poor Peugeot has to endure another cold night. I really need to get it going for good. Or at least for as long as a 1987 Frenchiemobile is supposed to last. It's a great car when it's running - smooth, powerful and luxurious. Perhaps someday I'll ship it over to the Massif Centrale. Or sell it to a Cairo (Egypt, not Georgia!) cabbie. They charge twice as much for a ride in a Peugeot. And they can probably find parts and mechanics who know something about Pugs. Unlike in chilly Tallahassee.
It's a bit chilly tonight, although not unprecedently so for Tallahassee. My poor Peugeot has to endure another cold night. I really need to get it going for good. Or at least for as long as a 1987 Frenchiemobile is supposed to last. It's a great car when it's running - smooth, powerful and luxurious. Perhaps someday I'll ship it over to the Massif Centrale. Or sell it to a Cairo (Egypt, not Georgia!) cabbie. They charge twice as much for a ride in a Peugeot. And they can probably find parts and mechanics who know something about Pugs. Unlike in chilly Tallahassee.
It's those darn dancing robots again!
First they take away my factory job, then they outperform me at math and chess, now they're dancing away with all the women! (via Slashdot) Somebody's got to do something about these robots. Give a fat old white guy a chance! There's no use applying for that job driving a backhoe. They've got that covered (scroll down). It wouldn't be so bad, but do they have to be better dressed and with flashier sunglasses, too!? And I bet they don't get gout.
First they take away my factory job, then they outperform me at math and chess, now they're dancing away with all the women! (via Slashdot) Somebody's got to do something about these robots. Give a fat old white guy a chance! There's no use applying for that job driving a backhoe. They've got that covered (scroll down). It wouldn't be so bad, but do they have to be better dressed and with flashier sunglasses, too!? And I bet they don't get gout.
South America Day. Focus: Paraguay.
The Weekly World Tour continues, with a look at the overlooked, such as this alluring and temperate refuge. (Rumor has it certain Teutonic refugees took advantage of its obscurity in, oh, just coincidentally, 1945 or thereabouts). The only problem with the web resources I'm finding is that a good number of them have an odd habit of being written in Spanish! Go figure! I mean, "Contactico Turistico"?! Why can't they just say "Tourist Contact" so people can understand them? Stubborn Spanish-type South Americans!
Finally! A page in a civilized language, via the Hotel Westfalenhaus (Westphalia? Hmm. What country is that in?) Hey, the calendar says only one day of the year is a "Day of Work"! My kind of country! (pais?)
Unfortunately, Paraguay isn't listed in this table, taken from Lynn and Vanhanen's IQ and the Wealth of Nations, so I can't tell you the national IQ. Perhaps you can make a guess from the recorded 96 IQs of Argentina and Uruguay, though, since they are somewhat similar, I believe, in ethnic composition and climate. The only divergence might be traceable to Paraguay's interior position, implying a larger Indian population. Peru, for instance, with a heavily Indian population, comes in at 90. Keep in mind that the Nazis may have actually increased the IQ, and the national susceptibility to martial music and mustached haranguers. It's always good to know the cognitive status of a country's people before you trust them with your money and time.
The Weekly World Tour continues, with a look at the overlooked, such as this alluring and temperate refuge. (Rumor has it certain Teutonic refugees took advantage of its obscurity in, oh, just coincidentally, 1945 or thereabouts). The only problem with the web resources I'm finding is that a good number of them have an odd habit of being written in Spanish! Go figure! I mean, "Contactico Turistico"?! Why can't they just say "Tourist Contact" so people can understand them? Stubborn Spanish-type South Americans!
Finally! A page in a civilized language, via the Hotel Westfalenhaus (Westphalia? Hmm. What country is that in?) Hey, the calendar says only one day of the year is a "Day of Work"! My kind of country! (pais?)
Unfortunately, Paraguay isn't listed in this table, taken from Lynn and Vanhanen's IQ and the Wealth of Nations, so I can't tell you the national IQ. Perhaps you can make a guess from the recorded 96 IQs of Argentina and Uruguay, though, since they are somewhat similar, I believe, in ethnic composition and climate. The only divergence might be traceable to Paraguay's interior position, implying a larger Indian population. Peru, for instance, with a heavily Indian population, comes in at 90. Keep in mind that the Nazis may have actually increased the IQ, and the national susceptibility to martial music and mustached haranguers. It's always good to know the cognitive status of a country's people before you trust them with your money and time.
Monday, January 17, 2005
IQ - in a nutshell
You don't really have to read The Bell Curve to understand the state of thinking about intelligence, although I highly recommend the experience. This "public statement" makes most of the points Herrnstein and Murray make, in one page. I don't pretend that it answers all the questions, but it certainly presents them clearly and honestly, along with the contentions that have stirred up so much controversy in the last ten years. Now if you want something controversial, but still coherent and logical, try La Griffe du Lion. Don't worry, you can get past the Frenchiness.
You don't really have to read The Bell Curve to understand the state of thinking about intelligence, although I highly recommend the experience. This "public statement" makes most of the points Herrnstein and Murray make, in one page. I don't pretend that it answers all the questions, but it certainly presents them clearly and honestly, along with the contentions that have stirred up so much controversy in the last ten years. Now if you want something controversial, but still coherent and logical, try La Griffe du Lion. Don't worry, you can get past the Frenchiness.
Svalbard Day!
Who knew there was a Radisson in Svalbard! I didn't even know Svalbard and Jan Mayen were considered part of Europe (this being Europe Day) but they are owned by Norway. I guess there wouldn't be any other category to put them in, other than "Frozen Wastelands". If you like snowmobiles, polar bears and Northern Lights, this is your kind of place. Judging by the number of hotels and guest houses, a good number (and I use that word advisedly!) of Norwegians get up to this Ultima Thule every year.
Who knew there was a Radisson in Svalbard! I didn't even know Svalbard and Jan Mayen were considered part of Europe (this being Europe Day) but they are owned by Norway. I guess there wouldn't be any other category to put them in, other than "Frozen Wastelands". If you like snowmobiles, polar bears and Northern Lights, this is your kind of place. Judging by the number of hotels and guest houses, a good number (and I use that word advisedly!) of Norwegians get up to this Ultima Thule every year.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Titan Day!
Some images (via Instapundit) of the surface of Titan from the European Space Agency have been manipulated by amateurs to produce interesting mosaics and panaromas. As the compiler says:
Just think of the trouble that could have been avoided if Mary Mapes had taken the faxed documents she got from the Kinko's in Plano (or wherever it was), scanned them to a webpage, emailed the link around the blogosphere and said, in effect, "Hey, fellows, what do you think of this?" before she jumped to any conclusions! I'm sure amateurs would have taken that raw data and come to far more appropriate conclusions far sooner than CBS News did.
Some images (via Instapundit) of the surface of Titan from the European Space Agency have been manipulated by amateurs to produce interesting mosaics and panaromas. As the compiler says:
This work has been done by amateurs with no extensive scientific background, publishing the first images in under 8 hours. We'll have to wait for ESA/NASA to deliver us the correct images, so please, take the resulting images on this page with a grain of salt (that was a disclaimer). We have shown, however, to be able to bring composited images online earlier than ESA/NASA! It was an amazing night, these results have been gathered in about 8 hours time starting with the raw images and having no idea of what to expect, or what goals to reach.Astonishing! They said the rivers were of liquid ethane, but just for a minute I thought they said "ethanol". The mountains were of some foamy stuff that might - just possibly! - be peppermint flavored. Rivers of whisky, seas of gin in the Big Rock Candy Mountains. When does the next probe leave?
The images that have been used are the same images that ESA/NASA is using, and we expect that the resulting images created by the professionals will be more extensive than those on this page, but they will be based on the same quality raw images as used in the pictures below, so do not expect higher resolutions from ESA or NASA.
Just think of the trouble that could have been avoided if Mary Mapes had taken the faxed documents she got from the Kinko's in Plano (or wherever it was), scanned them to a webpage, emailed the link around the blogosphere and said, in effect, "Hey, fellows, what do you think of this?" before she jumped to any conclusions! I'm sure amateurs would have taken that raw data and come to far more appropriate conclusions far sooner than CBS News did.
Kyrgyz-what?
Perhaps we should lower our sights a bit. At least we can get the name of the country right. But then why be so boring as to have just one name? The US is also USA, America, United States, Les Etats-Unis, Los Estados Unidos, The Land of the Big PX (only service brats would understand that!) ZI (Zone of the Interior) and others that can't be repeated, usually used by those losers being out-competed, out-invented, out-fought and out-hustled by the world's greatest yet most humble nation!
The y/i distinction changes the Kyrgyz Republic into the Kirgiz ethnic minority in China. Google's quite adamant about that. But why!? The Weekly World Tour, as usual, raises more questions than it answers.
Perhaps we should lower our sights a bit. At least we can get the name of the country right. But then why be so boring as to have just one name? The US is also USA, America, United States, Les Etats-Unis, Los Estados Unidos, The Land of the Big PX (only service brats would understand that!) ZI (Zone of the Interior) and others that can't be repeated, usually used by those losers being out-competed, out-invented, out-fought and out-hustled by the world's greatest yet most humble nation!
The y/i distinction changes the Kyrgyz Republic into the Kirgiz ethnic minority in China. Google's quite adamant about that. But why!? The Weekly World Tour, as usual, raises more questions than it answers.
Asia Day!
Focus: Kyrgyzstan. Problem: not too much is available in the way of local sites in Kyr-stan. I'm not really looking to link to USAID or other NGO-supported sites. The idea of this Weekly World Tour is to identify web resources cobbled up by local residents on their own initiative. That said, this Freenet site, though it appears to be a USAID project, looks to be a good intro to places where locals might contribute real stuff. The fact that the Kyr-stan freenet links to an article about Uzbekistan that originated in Moscow, from Nezavisimaya Gazeta, tells you how thin on the ground net resources are in Kyr-stan. I'll keep looking.
Update
Jackpot! I found a Kyr-stan site funded by George Soros, with a link to a cartoon by Ted Rall, who has "traveled extensively in Central Asia"! Of course, I'm not going to link to anything by either of these spawns of the devil. I just hope the two of them, traveling together, get caught up in a revolution in Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan and someone points out to the soldiers capturing them the cartoons Rall has drawn mocking the local governments. If I could only be there to see it, I would die happy!
Focus: Kyrgyzstan. Problem: not too much is available in the way of local sites in Kyr-stan. I'm not really looking to link to USAID or other NGO-supported sites. The idea of this Weekly World Tour is to identify web resources cobbled up by local residents on their own initiative. That said, this Freenet site, though it appears to be a USAID project, looks to be a good intro to places where locals might contribute real stuff. The fact that the Kyr-stan freenet links to an article about Uzbekistan that originated in Moscow, from Nezavisimaya Gazeta, tells you how thin on the ground net resources are in Kyr-stan. I'll keep looking.
Update
Jackpot! I found a Kyr-stan site funded by George Soros, with a link to a cartoon by Ted Rall, who has "traveled extensively in Central Asia"! Of course, I'm not going to link to anything by either of these spawns of the devil. I just hope the two of them, traveling together, get caught up in a revolution in Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan and someone points out to the soldiers capturing them the cartoons Rall has drawn mocking the local governments. If I could only be there to see it, I would die happy!
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Asia day a little early?
Maybe tomorrow should be Asia Day. This article showed up on Instapundit, dated tomorrow, about the Japanese preparing to defend their islands from the Chinese. Gee, wasn't there some kind of unpleasantness between the Japanese and Chinese in the Thirties and Forties? Wasn't that one of the times we had to save a disorderly chaotic regime from Fascism? Just like France? Didn't we lose a lot of men and have to resort to the atomic bomb? I just hope this time we don't have to save the Japanese from the Chinese.
Maybe tomorrow should be Asia Day. This article showed up on Instapundit, dated tomorrow, about the Japanese preparing to defend their islands from the Chinese. Gee, wasn't there some kind of unpleasantness between the Japanese and Chinese in the Thirties and Forties? Wasn't that one of the times we had to save a disorderly chaotic regime from Fascism? Just like France? Didn't we lose a lot of men and have to resort to the atomic bomb? I just hope this time we don't have to save the Japanese from the Chinese.
Africa Day
I've decided to expand the reach of my blogging beyond Dean's World, Instapundit and The Corner. Each day of the week I plan to link to a blog or other site from some interesting but little-known part of the world. Saturday, for instance, could be Africa Day. And so, here's the Eritrean Ministry of Information webpage with some pictures of the capital, Asmara. I don't wish to be patronizing, but perhaps it would be a good idea to provide a bit of info on the places I link to. Eritrea, for instance, is a former Italian colony. It was part of Ethiopia for decades after WWII and just recently (1991) became independent, after a long and bloody war. This site has much more, clearly organized. Here's the national symbol.
I've decided to expand the reach of my blogging beyond Dean's World, Instapundit and The Corner. Each day of the week I plan to link to a blog or other site from some interesting but little-known part of the world. Saturday, for instance, could be Africa Day. And so, here's the Eritrean Ministry of Information webpage with some pictures of the capital, Asmara. I don't wish to be patronizing, but perhaps it would be a good idea to provide a bit of info on the places I link to. Eritrea, for instance, is a former Italian colony. It was part of Ethiopia for decades after WWII and just recently (1991) became independent, after a long and bloody war. This site has much more, clearly organized. Here's the national symbol.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Last word on the liberation of Iraq
As so often happens these days, Victor Davis Hanson has supplied the last word on the successful liberation of Iraq for which George W. Bush will go down in history as a political mastermind. Hanson invokes valuable historical context and stubbornly points out the reality that lies before everyone's noses but which none of the mainstream media is willing to acknowledge:
As so often happens these days, Victor Davis Hanson has supplied the last word on the successful liberation of Iraq for which George W. Bush will go down in history as a political mastermind. Hanson invokes valuable historical context and stubbornly points out the reality that lies before everyone's noses but which none of the mainstream media is willing to acknowledge:
There are many constants in all this pessimistic confusion — beside the fact that we are becoming a near hysterical society. First, our miraculous efforts in toppling the Taliban and Saddam have apparently made us forget war is always a litany of mistakes. No conflict is conducted according to either antebellum planning or can proceed with the benefit of hindsight. Iraq was not Yemen or Qatar, but rather the most wicked regime in the world, in the heart of the Arab world, full of oil, terrorists, and mass graves. There were no helpful neighbors to keep a lid on their own infiltrating jihadists. Instead we had to go into the heart of the caliphate, take out a mass murderer, restore civil society after 30 years of brutality, and ward off Sunni and Baathist fomenters in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria — all the while keeping out Iranian-Shiite agents bent on stopping democracy. The wonder is not that there is violence and gloom in Iraq, but that less than two years after Saddam was removed, elections are still on track.It needs to be pointed out every day, and remembered insistently, how the collectivist press utterly refused to lend moral support to the Afghan people when it became obvious that they would win their battle against medieval jihadism. It is greatly to the credit of this administration that they did not follow the media's lead, as Clinton or Gore or Kerry surely would have. And it must dismay the Zarqawis and bin Ladens of the world no end that Bush's steadfastness in Afghanistan is being followed up, for all its mistakes and delays, with equal determination in Iraq.
Drugged driving en françaisThe French have come up with a new way to intrude on people's liberties by having saliva tests for drivers, to make sure they're not driving under the influence of "stupéfiants". I'm glad the new test is so eagerly awaited by the forces of "order":
Le test salivaire, qui permet de se passer d'un médecin mais pas du contrôle sanguin postérieur au dépistage, était donc très attendu par les forces de l'ordre.Of course, mes amis, we will continue to allow the Mussulmen to construct bombs by the sound of Koranic chants in their bidonvilles. But at least teenagers won't be driving while stoned. Sure is convenient not to have to worry about that pesky Fourth Amendment. Or any of the rest of the Constitution, for that matter.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Even the collectivists ...
Even the collectivist-leaning newspapers seem to be questioning the value of AIDS treatments as they are administered by the mainstream medical "community"(via Dean Esmay). This article is about the new drug Nevirapine, which most collectivists are screaming at the government about, insisting that the drug companies be made to supply it at little or no cost to any Third-Worlder who has any disease at all that may be said to be AIDS, by whatever definition is politically convenient. But there may be a problem:
Even the collectivist-leaning newspapers seem to be questioning the value of AIDS treatments as they are administered by the mainstream medical "community"(via Dean Esmay). This article is about the new drug Nevirapine, which most collectivists are screaming at the government about, insisting that the drug companies be made to supply it at little or no cost to any Third-Worlder who has any disease at all that may be said to be AIDS, by whatever definition is politically convenient. But there may be a problem:
This is the drug that countless campaigners—spanning the political spectrum from George Bush to Bono—wish to give all Africans "free access" to. South African President Thabo Mbeki has been savagely pilloried for attempting to stop the drug's distribution to black South Africans. South African lawyer and journalist Anthony Brink's scathing report "The Trouble With Nevirapine" documented the long-known "problems" with the drug. The report was widely read by South Africa's leadership, and is the source of furious debate between black South Africans and the mostly white-run media, which still ridicules all criticism of U.S.-imported AIDS drugs and protocols as being a symptom of not caring about AIDS victims...But not so bizarre for those who've been following the threads on Dean's blog or have read Duesberg's and Mullis's books. Again, I would like to know whether mortality rates in Africa, for all causes, have actually been rising when you leave out the thousands murdered by collectivist AIDS "activists". A little less activity, please.
"Of all the AIDS drugs, Nevirapine is the most acutely toxic," explained Dr. Dave Rasnick, a fierce critic of the government's AIDS research agenda, and a former drug developer. "It shows its toxic effects quickly. It has been documented in the medical literature for years that a single dose of Nevirapine can kill a person. People don't normally drop dead from taking a protease inhibitor, but that is what happens with Nevirapine. The rationale for this stuff is just as bizarre as it could be."
Americanism - the religion of the future?
David Gelernter has a stimulating thought-piece in Commentary about the origins of "Americanism" in biblical Puritanism. It's not like we didn't all know everything he's saying, but we are rarely reminded of the importance of these thoughts so frankly and powerfully:
David Gelernter has a stimulating thought-piece in Commentary about the origins of "Americanism" in biblical Puritanism. It's not like we didn't all know everything he's saying, but we are rarely reminded of the importance of these thoughts so frankly and powerfully:
The idea of an “American creed” has been around for a long time. Huntington lists its elements as “liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, human rights, the rule of law, and private property.” I prefer a different formulation: a conceptual triangle in which one fundamental fact creates two premises that create three conclusions.My only quibble with this thinking is that the basis of what Gelernter calls "Americanism" could have and, I feel, would have emerged without America, even without Christianity. Individual freedom, equality of opportunity and especially optimism form an irresistible creed that could have become attached to Russia, China, Brazil or even Africa, had history been different. I count myself lucky that I live in the country which turned out to be the vessel for the triumph of reason. But I don't fool myself that there is anything inevitable or sacred about the way history unfolded. Certainly, though, looking at it the other way, I don't refuse to recognize the wonderful and hopeful reality of modern capitalism because it emerged in its most bountiful blessedness in the country I call home.
The fundamental fact: the Bible is God’s word. Two premises: first, every member of the American community has his own individual dignity, insofar as he deals individually with God; second, the community has a divine mission to all mankind. Three conclusions: every human being everywhere is entitled to freedom, equality, and democracy.
Kudlow breaks the story
Larry Kudlow's excellent new blog lays out the reasons to be optimistic about the economy. The bad news is the government is not shrinking:
Larry Kudlow's excellent new blog lays out the reasons to be optimistic about the economy. The bad news is the government is not shrinking:
However, with the flood of new revenues, this year's federal budget is still overspending.Domestic non-entitlement program spending excluding homeland defense is rising at a 4.1 rate, more than twice the pace of core inflation. But this may be changing. According to this morning's Washington Post, the first really tough Bush budget planned for FY 2006 (due out next month) may be essentially unchanged from this year's expected totals outside of defense and homeland security.According to reporter Jonathan Weisman, the administration's budget request "... would freeze most spending on agriculture, veterans and science,slash or eliminate dozens of federal programs,and force more costs, from Medicaid to housing, onto state and local governments...". The rapid growth of federal health care and other entitlements would also be slowed markedly.OK, I'm not really expecting government to shrink much. But I'll always remember what Jeb Bush said at his 2002 inauguration as Governor of Florida, right across the street here in Tallahassee. He pointed to all the state office buildings surrounding the Capitol and said he hoped that in the next four years he could empty out half the buildings. Ah, sweet dreams. Now if his brother could make a similar gesture in Washington next Thursday, then we'd be getting somewhere.
Help others, help ourselves
Michelle Malkin, via Cap'n's Quarters, makes the point that disaster-stricken Indonesians may be glad that the US and Aussie military is out there with huge resources just as ready to come to their aid as they are ready to overthrow bloody dictators. Maybe the larger point is that if you're going to be poor and downtrodden it may be a good idea not to be too insulting and contemptuous to the free and prosperous countries that can save your butt when Mother Nature gets all nasty on you. Then you may want to think, why are they free and prosperous and we're all poor and downtrodden? Then you may want to read this book.
Michelle Malkin, via Cap'n's Quarters, makes the point that disaster-stricken Indonesians may be glad that the US and Aussie military is out there with huge resources just as ready to come to their aid as they are ready to overthrow bloody dictators. Maybe the larger point is that if you're going to be poor and downtrodden it may be a good idea not to be too insulting and contemptuous to the free and prosperous countries that can save your butt when Mother Nature gets all nasty on you. Then you may want to think, why are they free and prosperous and we're all poor and downtrodden? Then you may want to read this book.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
The essential political conundrum
Anyone who's read much of my blog knows how little respect I have for the electoral process. Unfortunately, I don't have a really good idea how to replace it, under the present circumstances. Voting, like it or not, is at the heart of the political system that has kept this country the free-est and most prosperous country on the face of the earth, although I can agree with the sentiment that that's damning with faint praise. Yet, sometimes a faulty process is all that stands between liberty and socialistic tyranny. That's why this November I voted for the first time in 28 years.
That's also why this post at Powerline is so important. For the electoral process to be shattered from the left would be a disaster. It would guarantee the dominance of the party that's better at fraud and demagoguery. And there's no doubt in my mind that's the Democrats. Hindrocket has got the point down:
Anyone who's read much of my blog knows how little respect I have for the electoral process. Unfortunately, I don't have a really good idea how to replace it, under the present circumstances. Voting, like it or not, is at the heart of the political system that has kept this country the free-est and most prosperous country on the face of the earth, although I can agree with the sentiment that that's damning with faint praise. Yet, sometimes a faulty process is all that stands between liberty and socialistic tyranny. That's why this November I voted for the first time in 28 years.
That's also why this post at Powerline is so important. For the electoral process to be shattered from the left would be a disaster. It would guarantee the dominance of the party that's better at fraud and demagoguery. And there's no doubt in my mind that's the Democrats. Hindrocket has got the point down:
It seems to me that we have two choices: upgrade our electoral system and guard its integrity with at least the fervor that we bring to preventing, say, underage drinking, or face the inevitable crisis when it comes.And if we can't be any more successful at shoring up the electoral system than we've been at preventing underage drinking, there's not going to be much left of the system in a very short time. The only real solution to the inadequacies of the electoral system is to restrict the growth of government, restricting the importance of voting and therefore of voting fraud. With government growth controlled, the economy will be free enough to expand to the point where it overwhelms the power of the politicians to do harm. When government controls only a fifth or a tenth of this country's productive resources, instead of the present half, fraud and demagoguery will not be so much of a threat to the world's only real hope for freedom and prosperity.
Foreguess?
SO here we are on Wednesday and the forecast low temperature for Friday has changed from 37F to 42F! Five degrees' difference in two days. Let's see, so that gives, over ten years, leeway, at two and a half degrees a day, of approximately ten thousand degrees, one way or the other. And since we can't go lower than absolute zero, most of this is on the upside. So look for, in the next ten years, a forecast that the temperature in Tallahassee will approximate that of the surface of the sun.
Update Wednesday night. The forecast low for Friday is now 47F! Ten degrees since Monday. I'm looking forward to Tallahassee's temperature rising to that of the INTERIOR of the sun! Seriously, what do they use for computer models to get these numbers? And how can they claim that the computer models of "global warming" are so much better than those used to predict Tallahassee's temperature that they couldn't possibly be off by a factor of just a few degrees over the next century or so? My opinion of the scientific literacy of any country that's accepted the Kyoto Protocol has descended to new lows. I forecast further disillusionment.
SO here we are on Wednesday and the forecast low temperature for Friday has changed from 37F to 42F! Five degrees' difference in two days. Let's see, so that gives, over ten years, leeway, at two and a half degrees a day, of approximately ten thousand degrees, one way or the other. And since we can't go lower than absolute zero, most of this is on the upside. So look for, in the next ten years, a forecast that the temperature in Tallahassee will approximate that of the surface of the sun.
Update Wednesday night. The forecast low for Friday is now 47F! Ten degrees since Monday. I'm looking forward to Tallahassee's temperature rising to that of the INTERIOR of the sun! Seriously, what do they use for computer models to get these numbers? And how can they claim that the computer models of "global warming" are so much better than those used to predict Tallahassee's temperature that they couldn't possibly be off by a factor of just a few degrees over the next century or so? My opinion of the scientific literacy of any country that's accepted the Kyoto Protocol has descended to new lows. I forecast further disillusionment.
Omissions and distortions
this is a good summary of the state of the reaction in the blogosphere to the CBS report on Rathergate. Even this lengthy and thorough review, however, doesn't zero in on the essential omission from the report:
Who actually created the offending documents? When? Where? And, most important, Why? What were they thinking? Were the forgeries stimulated by CBS, by the DNC, by the Kerry campaign, by a combination? How likely is it that they just appeared out of nowhere just in time to be used at the height of W's reelection campaign?
I don't think enough has been made about the lack of information supplied by CBS as to the whereabouts and nature of the original documents, although the above analysis comes close in this section:
CBS either knew or didn't know the original source of the documents. And by original I mean who sat down at a computer and typed them out? Or, if they were authentic, who stored them somewhere for thirty years and made copies for CBS? If they knew and aren't telling, there are still several more shoes to drop in this story. If they didn't know, they had no business going ahead with this story. Either way, they are still stonewalling. Where are E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North when you need them? Because sooner or later someone's going to find out exactly where the documents came from, who knew and why they never told anyone. And then CBS is going to find out what the term "cleaning house" really means.
this is a good summary of the state of the reaction in the blogosphere to the CBS report on Rathergate. Even this lengthy and thorough review, however, doesn't zero in on the essential omission from the report:
Who actually created the offending documents? When? Where? And, most important, Why? What were they thinking? Were the forgeries stimulated by CBS, by the DNC, by the Kerry campaign, by a combination? How likely is it that they just appeared out of nowhere just in time to be used at the height of W's reelection campaign?
I don't think enough has been made about the lack of information supplied by CBS as to the whereabouts and nature of the original documents, although the above analysis comes close in this section:
Where Were the Pristine Documents?
The Report uncovers the poor decision making taking place within CBS News September 9-10, but misses one failure of CBS News in its CBS Evening News broadcast Friday evening. From the transcript:
Rather: Document and handwriting examiner, Marcel Matley, analyzed the documents for CBS News. He says he believes they are real but he is concerned about what exactly is being examined by some of the people now questioning the documents because deterioration occurs each time a document is reproduced and the documents being analyzed outside CBS have been photocopied, faxed, scanned, and downloaded, and are far removed from the documents CBS started with which were also photocopies.
Here is CBS News "attacking" its critics because they don't have the quality of copies that CBS News had available. This is absolutely shameless. The only reason that other experts were not analyzing pristine copies is because CBS News had refused to make them available, even though CBS News claimed to have pristine copies, according to the Chicago Tribune (annoying reg. req.) on Sept. 14 (Laura Bush says papers likely forged):
CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius said Monday that the network possesses what it believes to be so-called "first generation" copies, duplicated directly from the original documents.
But the copies posted on its Web site are somewhat blurred and speckled, suggesting repeated copying.
Perhaps you think I'm making too big a deal about this, but CBS News thought it important enough to site [sic - RS] in their major statement on September 15 (Exhibit 3H, page 2 of 3 [PDF]):
Again, the documents used for the 60 MINUTES Wednesday report were copies, and most of the analysis fueling the current controversy is based on scanned, downloaded, faxed or re-copied copies.
CBS either knew or didn't know the original source of the documents. And by original I mean who sat down at a computer and typed them out? Or, if they were authentic, who stored them somewhere for thirty years and made copies for CBS? If they knew and aren't telling, there are still several more shoes to drop in this story. If they didn't know, they had no business going ahead with this story. Either way, they are still stonewalling. Where are E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North when you need them? Because sooner or later someone's going to find out exactly where the documents came from, who knew and why they never told anyone. And then CBS is going to find out what the term "cleaning house" really means.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Compressed ideas
I left the following comment on Jane Galt's site:
Like in many comments, I felt a bit claustrophobic, and that the comment as written didn't go all that well with the topic, which was torture. I knew that the thoughts were connected, but I may have left a bit much up to the reader. So here goes with the expanded version:
Torture, like cannibalism, is a Bad Thing. No sane man wants to think he would ever torture anyone, even in the most extreme circumstances, any more than any sane man wants to think he would ever eat human flesh, and especially not kill another man in order to eat him. Cannibalism has always existed, though, even in supposedly civilized circles, when circumstances push a man to the edge of survival. From becalmed sailors to Andes plane-crash survivors to snowbound wagon-train parties in the Rockies, cannibalism hovers at the edge of our consciousness as one of those things that you just hope you never have to think about. But you know you might. And you wonder, just as young men wonder how they will respond in combat, how you would respond. I don't suppose anyone's ever done a data analysis to determine how many men, when faced with the stark choice of eating human flesh or dying, have chosen to die. I suspect the proportion would be somewhat higher than most people would think, especially when the man has only himself to worry about.
Similarly with torture, one can blather and speculate endlessly, but when terrorists do have a nuclear bomb planted somewhere in Manhattan - or Dallas, if you'd rather! - and you have captured one of the terrorists and you have good reason to think he knows how to find and disarm the bomb, the impulse to do anything to him to get the information is liable to be overwhelming. To say that the lives of millions of good men is not worth the suffering, even the great suffering, of one profoundly evil man just doesn't make sense. Such thinking can be seen as evil in itself.
Right now an obscene equivalence is being drawn between harsh questioning, psychological pressure and cultural leverage on one hand and physical torture on the other. It is as though vegetarians were pressing the view of the absolute evil of eating the meat of slaughtered animals by alleging that eating animal meat leads inexorably to cannibalism. The slippery slope is a classic fallacy. Just because men eat the meat of cows does not make it more likely they will eat other men. In fact, just the opposite may be postulated. Men who have cows and pigs to kill and eat are less likely to kill and eat each other.
Similarly, a commonsense attitude to effective interrogation techniques is not likely to lead to physical torture in extreme situations. Emergency ethics do not give much guidance to the ethics applicable to everyday life.
I left the following comment on Jane Galt's site:
No matter how many laws you make against cannibalism, no matter how many "ethicists" say it's never right, when they get hungry enough some people will eat others. Does that make cannibalism "right"? Don't know. But it sure makes it a feature of life as we know it, one that, however, is at the very edges of normality. To use the extreme possibility of cannibalism to enforce vegetarianism at all times makes no sense. These controversies remind me of Ayn Rand's condemnation of the use of "emergency ethics", where people treat every day life as an extreme circumstance, in order to bend others to their will.
Like in many comments, I felt a bit claustrophobic, and that the comment as written didn't go all that well with the topic, which was torture. I knew that the thoughts were connected, but I may have left a bit much up to the reader. So here goes with the expanded version:
Torture, like cannibalism, is a Bad Thing. No sane man wants to think he would ever torture anyone, even in the most extreme circumstances, any more than any sane man wants to think he would ever eat human flesh, and especially not kill another man in order to eat him. Cannibalism has always existed, though, even in supposedly civilized circles, when circumstances push a man to the edge of survival. From becalmed sailors to Andes plane-crash survivors to snowbound wagon-train parties in the Rockies, cannibalism hovers at the edge of our consciousness as one of those things that you just hope you never have to think about. But you know you might. And you wonder, just as young men wonder how they will respond in combat, how you would respond. I don't suppose anyone's ever done a data analysis to determine how many men, when faced with the stark choice of eating human flesh or dying, have chosen to die. I suspect the proportion would be somewhat higher than most people would think, especially when the man has only himself to worry about.
Similarly with torture, one can blather and speculate endlessly, but when terrorists do have a nuclear bomb planted somewhere in Manhattan - or Dallas, if you'd rather! - and you have captured one of the terrorists and you have good reason to think he knows how to find and disarm the bomb, the impulse to do anything to him to get the information is liable to be overwhelming. To say that the lives of millions of good men is not worth the suffering, even the great suffering, of one profoundly evil man just doesn't make sense. Such thinking can be seen as evil in itself.
Right now an obscene equivalence is being drawn between harsh questioning, psychological pressure and cultural leverage on one hand and physical torture on the other. It is as though vegetarians were pressing the view of the absolute evil of eating the meat of slaughtered animals by alleging that eating animal meat leads inexorably to cannibalism. The slippery slope is a classic fallacy. Just because men eat the meat of cows does not make it more likely they will eat other men. In fact, just the opposite may be postulated. Men who have cows and pigs to kill and eat are less likely to kill and eat each other.
Similarly, a commonsense attitude to effective interrogation techniques is not likely to lead to physical torture in extreme situations. Emergency ethics do not give much guidance to the ethics applicable to everyday life.
EEeek!
What's up with Dean Esmay? He's letting a liberal into the sacred precincts. And 26 years old! I've got shoes older than that, as Lenny Briscoe, who will live forever, unlike Jerry O!rbach, often says. Well perhaps this twig can be bent into a more acceptable shape. He's got to be courageous to jump into this frying pan. But then I find the posters and commenters over there at Dean's World are all pretty feisty. Wouldn't have it any other way.
What's up with Dean Esmay? He's letting a liberal into the sacred precincts. And 26 years old! I've got shoes older than that, as Lenny Briscoe, who will live forever, unlike Jerry O!rbach, often says. Well perhaps this twig can be bent into a more acceptable shape. He's got to be courageous to jump into this frying pan. But then I find the posters and commenters over there at Dean's World are all pretty feisty. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Tidal wave of commentary
The CBS "Rathergate" report has spawned an overwhelming tsunami of analysis like this on the blogosphere. There's too much in too many places to even read, much less digest. But I love it all. Maybe in a couple of days it will die down a bit and I'll be able to tell what may come of all this. Nothing yet, though, has appeared about who actually typed out the offending documents, how that happened and who may have connived at the slanders. W should sue for defamation of character. Now THAT would be a story!
The CBS "Rathergate" report has spawned an overwhelming tsunami of analysis like this on the blogosphere. There's too much in too many places to even read, much less digest. But I love it all. Maybe in a couple of days it will die down a bit and I'll be able to tell what may come of all this. Nothing yet, though, has appeared about who actually typed out the offending documents, how that happened and who may have connived at the slanders. W should sue for defamation of character. Now THAT would be a story!
Lead and sugar
Don't say I never did anything for you. I finished the commodities book I plugged a few posts back. His basic advice: lead and sugar. The Red Chinese are building many cars, each of which needs a lead-acid battery. The whole world is becoming even more addicted to and able to afford more sugar. In both cases production is difficult to ramp up. Don't blame me if aliens come down and give us a brand new power source and we don't need lead-acid batteries any more. Or if the same, or a related bunch of aliens bring along a new taste sensation, easily produced from ordinary rocks, that totally displaces sugar.
Don't say I never did anything for you. I finished the commodities book I plugged a few posts back. His basic advice: lead and sugar. The Red Chinese are building many cars, each of which needs a lead-acid battery. The whole world is becoming even more addicted to and able to afford more sugar. In both cases production is difficult to ramp up. Don't blame me if aliens come down and give us a brand new power source and we don't need lead-acid batteries any more. Or if the same, or a related bunch of aliens bring along a new taste sensation, easily produced from ordinary rocks, that totally displaces sugar.
Too darn hot
As you can see here Tallahassee is just too warm for January. Oh, I know you Minnesotans are jealous, but I could use some of that 30-degree weather coming later in the week. It is instructive how much the forecasts change as the days go by. Friday's low is supposed to be 37F now (on Monday). How much you wanna bet it'll be three to four degrees different, one way or the other, by the time it actually becomes Friday? And these people say they can tell the whole Earth will be 3.5 degrees warmer in a hundred years! Right!
As you can see here Tallahassee is just too warm for January. Oh, I know you Minnesotans are jealous, but I could use some of that 30-degree weather coming later in the week. It is instructive how much the forecasts change as the days go by. Friday's low is supposed to be 37F now (on Monday). How much you wanna bet it'll be three to four degrees different, one way or the other, by the time it actually becomes Friday? And these people say they can tell the whole Earth will be 3.5 degrees warmer in a hundred years! Right!
Sunday, January 09, 2005
World's greatest mass murderer
As now reported by the New York Times (via Instapundit - you didn't think I'd go to the NYT of my own volition, did you?), DDT is an effective agent against malaria. The use of DDT has been opposed for four decades now by "environmentalists" who care more about rumors of thinning egg shells than they do about tens of millions of proven dead children and Third World residents. But then Third Worlders don't contribute to Greenpeace or the Sierra Club, do they? And the impetus for this insane genocide came from one book: Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, who thereby qualifies, beating out Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Genghis Khan, Attila and the Pope(s) for the most prolific killer of human beings in the history of the planet. How do you like your blue-eyed, oh-so-sincere ruthless lying hypocrite, Mr. Death?
As now reported by the New York Times (via Instapundit - you didn't think I'd go to the NYT of my own volition, did you?), DDT is an effective agent against malaria. The use of DDT has been opposed for four decades now by "environmentalists" who care more about rumors of thinning egg shells than they do about tens of millions of proven dead children and Third World residents. But then Third Worlders don't contribute to Greenpeace or the Sierra Club, do they? And the impetus for this insane genocide came from one book: Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, who thereby qualifies, beating out Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Genghis Khan, Attila and the Pope(s) for the most prolific killer of human beings in the history of the planet. How do you like your blue-eyed, oh-so-sincere ruthless lying hypocrite, Mr. Death?
A hobo is a hobo
What these Hawaiians don't understand is that "homelessness" has little to do with mental illness or alcoholism or even being a veteran. People wander the streets of a nice warm place like Hawaii because it's easier than getting a job. When you've got legions of social workers and a permissive bureaucracy showering you with temporary shelter when it rains, food, even money in the case of SSI-grifters, "disabled" veterans and even the retired, why should you take on the cares and woes of regular bill-paying? When the cops won't arrest you for vagrancy and you have no self-respect and regard yourself as a victim of an "unfair" society, and you've given up on yourself, what could possibly keep you off the public beaches and streets and parks? Wait a minute, I'm almost convincing myself to go bumming in Hawaii. But no. I still have dreams.
What these Hawaiians don't understand is that "homelessness" has little to do with mental illness or alcoholism or even being a veteran. People wander the streets of a nice warm place like Hawaii because it's easier than getting a job. When you've got legions of social workers and a permissive bureaucracy showering you with temporary shelter when it rains, food, even money in the case of SSI-grifters, "disabled" veterans and even the retired, why should you take on the cares and woes of regular bill-paying? When the cops won't arrest you for vagrancy and you have no self-respect and regard yourself as a victim of an "unfair" society, and you've given up on yourself, what could possibly keep you off the public beaches and streets and parks? Wait a minute, I'm almost convincing myself to go bumming in Hawaii. But no. I still have dreams.
Commodities - again
I've been reading about commodities since the Sixties, but have never done any investing, for the simple yet powerful reason that I've never had any money to invest! But I just got this guy's book and am all cranked up again about the possibilities. I've always liked commodities because they're easy to understand. People eat more meat and less corn and the price of corn goes down. Simple. Wait a minute. People eat more meat, say because of the Atkins diet, and so the price of feed corn for hogs goes up, putting pressure on farmers to plant more feed corn and less man-corn and raising its price. Hmm. Maybe it isn't quite so simple after all. But it's a heck of a lot more transparent, at least in theory, than corporate IPO skullduggery and whether housewives will keep buying Martha Stewart tablecloths at K-mart even though she's in prison. Or will the extra publicity make the housewives even more eager to buy Martha Stewart stuff? That calculation makes the corn/meat formula look like child's play. So if I ever do get any money to invest, commodities will get a long hard look. Besides, money invested in commodities would provide perfect blogmeat. Every day something happens to the price of corn.
I've been reading about commodities since the Sixties, but have never done any investing, for the simple yet powerful reason that I've never had any money to invest! But I just got this guy's book and am all cranked up again about the possibilities. I've always liked commodities because they're easy to understand. People eat more meat and less corn and the price of corn goes down. Simple. Wait a minute. People eat more meat, say because of the Atkins diet, and so the price of feed corn for hogs goes up, putting pressure on farmers to plant more feed corn and less man-corn and raising its price. Hmm. Maybe it isn't quite so simple after all. But it's a heck of a lot more transparent, at least in theory, than corporate IPO skullduggery and whether housewives will keep buying Martha Stewart tablecloths at K-mart even though she's in prison. Or will the extra publicity make the housewives even more eager to buy Martha Stewart stuff? That calculation makes the corn/meat formula look like child's play. So if I ever do get any money to invest, commodities will get a long hard look. Besides, money invested in commodities would provide perfect blogmeat. Every day something happens to the price of corn.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Tuning
Having the most difficult time tuning my violin. Makes me think perhaps my hearing's gone, but then I "click in" and everything sounds right. I'm sure this is just one of those skills that one improves by constant practice. It would be nice to have a violin that you could just pick up and push a button and presto! it's all properly tuned. But then one would complain about the loss of the hands-on organic process of tuning up. The point, though, is to be able to play the thing. I just did a fairly creditable job of "Ode to Joy" so I must be doing something right. Last night it was "Gaudeamus Igitur" which brought me back to my prep school days which look so happy in retrospect but which in truth were nasty and confusing and depressing. But then what isn't when you're fourteen?
Having the most difficult time tuning my violin. Makes me think perhaps my hearing's gone, but then I "click in" and everything sounds right. I'm sure this is just one of those skills that one improves by constant practice. It would be nice to have a violin that you could just pick up and push a button and presto! it's all properly tuned. But then one would complain about the loss of the hands-on organic process of tuning up. The point, though, is to be able to play the thing. I just did a fairly creditable job of "Ode to Joy" so I must be doing something right. Last night it was "Gaudeamus Igitur" which brought me back to my prep school days which look so happy in retrospect but which in truth were nasty and confusing and depressing. But then what isn't when you're fourteen?
Robots, not immigrants
The Japanese have solved their labor shortage(via Slashdot). What, you say, a labor shortage in Asia? Why not just allow immigration? I can tell by that comment you're not Japanese. Wouldn't want to dilute the master race. But robots will do fine. They work hard, don't complain, don't burden the schools and prisons. Heck, we could use the idea here. Just imagine what a great job robots would do patrolling the Mexican border and then scuttling off to a factory, field or mine to do the jobs the illegal immigrants they've just captured would have done. They could be referees at NBA games, too. And a robot could sit in a chair and play Freecell just as well as any other government bureaucrat could. It could even be programmed to make positive comments about the latest management improvement plan.
The Motley Fool goes even farther (via Slashdot):
We'd better not let these credit-card-carrying law-abiding buckets of bolts have the number of the ACLU, though. Why do I have a feeling the future holds funerals for rusty old robots, fake marriages between robots, robots smuggling in illegal immigrants to be their servants, and, NO! NOT THAT! but yes. Robobloggers!
The Japanese have solved their labor shortage(via Slashdot). What, you say, a labor shortage in Asia? Why not just allow immigration? I can tell by that comment you're not Japanese. Wouldn't want to dilute the master race. But robots will do fine. They work hard, don't complain, don't burden the schools and prisons. Heck, we could use the idea here. Just imagine what a great job robots would do patrolling the Mexican border and then scuttling off to a factory, field or mine to do the jobs the illegal immigrants they've just captured would have done. They could be referees at NBA games, too. And a robot could sit in a chair and play Freecell just as well as any other government bureaucrat could. It could even be programmed to make positive comments about the latest management improvement plan.
The Motley Fool goes even farther (via Slashdot):
So, now we have machines that are pretty much capable of taking over the business of making other machines. It seems that all we have to do now is get them each an American Express (NYSE: AXP) card and teach them how to max it out, and we can take humans completely out of the loop. It shouldn't be too hard. In fact, I'll bet the cards are already in the mail -- preapproved.
We'd better not let these credit-card-carrying law-abiding buckets of bolts have the number of the ACLU, though. Why do I have a feeling the future holds funerals for rusty old robots, fake marriages between robots, robots smuggling in illegal immigrants to be their servants, and, NO! NOT THAT! but yes. Robobloggers!
Friday, January 07, 2005
Gere makes my point
That's the nice thing about Hollywood "activists". You can always rely on them to prove how utterly stupid and self-absorbed they are whenever you make a comment, such as my last post, about their stupidity and inability to deal with the world as it is. Can you imagine someone casting a movie and saying "who can we get to play the young naval officer? I know, how about Richard Gere. He played one in An Officer and a Gentleman." This is how actors get typecast. They aren't able to imagine how a wide variety of real people view the world because they see only their little part of it. Perhaps it's because they're so insecure that they cling desperately to one character. That's what makes William Shatner so good, perhaps the best of the lot. When he's Captain Kirk, you see Captain Kirk, not William Shatner. Yet when he becomes T. J. Hooker (was that the cop he played?) there's no Kirk there. Remember his portrayal of a Rush-Limbaughesque radio talk show host on a Columbo in the Eighties? The character was cartoonish and didn't do justice to Limbaugh's complex style. But within the limitations of the writing Shatner made the personality come alive. And I'm sure if I met Shatner, he would have a distinct and probably pleasant and interesting private personality.
That's the nice thing about Hollywood "activists". You can always rely on them to prove how utterly stupid and self-absorbed they are whenever you make a comment, such as my last post, about their stupidity and inability to deal with the world as it is. Can you imagine someone casting a movie and saying "who can we get to play the young naval officer? I know, how about Richard Gere. He played one in An Officer and a Gentleman." This is how actors get typecast. They aren't able to imagine how a wide variety of real people view the world because they see only their little part of it. Perhaps it's because they're so insecure that they cling desperately to one character. That's what makes William Shatner so good, perhaps the best of the lot. When he's Captain Kirk, you see Captain Kirk, not William Shatner. Yet when he becomes T. J. Hooker (was that the cop he played?) there's no Kirk there. Remember his portrayal of a Rush-Limbaughesque radio talk show host on a Columbo in the Eighties? The character was cartoonish and didn't do justice to Limbaugh's complex style. But within the limitations of the writing Shatner made the personality come alive. And I'm sure if I met Shatner, he would have a distinct and probably pleasant and interesting private personality.
Regular Whittle-ing
Looks like we'll have a regular dose of Bill Whittle for this year, if his resolutions hold up. His essays have the admirable quality of producing more energy than they absorb, proving that punditalicious pontificating is not a zero-sum game. I like his comments about actors and politics. I have noticed that some of the most acclaimed actors don't seem to be very good at projecting a distinct personality. I differ, though, in that I think the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Diane Keaton, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, among others, don't do a very good job of absorbing different characters and portraying them on the screen. They adopt a particular character style early in their careers and then portray that same character over and over again. That's what they think acting is. Marlon Brando or Laurence Olivier can play almost any character and make you forget they have an off-screen persona. Yet, their off-screen characters are distinct and interesting. The first group are the same, on-screen and off. If I were Whittle, I'd develop these thoughts into a 25,000 word essay.
Looks like we'll have a regular dose of Bill Whittle for this year, if his resolutions hold up. His essays have the admirable quality of producing more energy than they absorb, proving that punditalicious pontificating is not a zero-sum game. I like his comments about actors and politics. I have noticed that some of the most acclaimed actors don't seem to be very good at projecting a distinct personality. I differ, though, in that I think the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Diane Keaton, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, among others, don't do a very good job of absorbing different characters and portraying them on the screen. They adopt a particular character style early in their careers and then portray that same character over and over again. That's what they think acting is. Marlon Brando or Laurence Olivier can play almost any character and make you forget they have an off-screen persona. Yet, their off-screen characters are distinct and interesting. The first group are the same, on-screen and off. If I were Whittle, I'd develop these thoughts into a 25,000 word essay.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
First tune
I played my first tune on my reconstructed, resurrected violin. And it was: Land of Hope and Glory, music by Elgar, words by Arthur C. Benson. I figure this is some kind of commencement so I chose music which made me feel like I was graduating all over again. Here's a link. Googling "Land of Hope and Glory" brought up some snarky "Imperialistic Anthems" pages and a disgraceful BBC contemptuous dismissal of anyone who would want to sing "God Save The Queen" or "Britannia Rules the Waves", one of the all-time best. Now if you ask me that's the problem with the Land of H and G, they've had a queen for too long. They need a real non-poufter King, and not that Charles fellow neither. Andrew might do it, he's got the Henry V model to look to, not to mention Richard III!
I played my first tune on my reconstructed, resurrected violin. And it was: Land of Hope and Glory, music by Elgar, words by Arthur C. Benson. I figure this is some kind of commencement so I chose music which made me feel like I was graduating all over again. Here's a link. Googling "Land of Hope and Glory" brought up some snarky "Imperialistic Anthems" pages and a disgraceful BBC contemptuous dismissal of anyone who would want to sing "God Save The Queen" or "Britannia Rules the Waves", one of the all-time best. Now if you ask me that's the problem with the Land of H and G, they've had a queen for too long. They need a real non-poufter King, and not that Charles fellow neither. Andrew might do it, he's got the Henry V model to look to, not to mention Richard III!
Got it!
That darn "Monty Hall problem" has resurfaced, thanks again to the demonic Dean Esmay. But this time, after perusal of this site and this US Naval Academy site, I think I've figured out an explanation that satisfies me. It's an odd situation, because you know what the right answer is, you just can't convince yourself why it should be so.
As everyone knows, the problem goes like this:
Monty Hall offers you the choice of three doors, A, B, and C. Behind one of them is a pile of cash, behind the other two are booby prizes. No tricks or hidden facts. You choose Door A. Then, before you see what's behind A, Monty says "Wait! I'm going to help you out!" and opens Door B. There's a booby prize behind it. Then Monty says, "Now, do you want to stay with your original choice or choose Door C?" What should you do?
Well, to cut to the chase, you should switch. All the experiments agree. But why? It's simple, really. When you were initially presented with three doors, the chance that the pile of cash was behind A was 1/3. Now, when presented with the choice of Door A or door C, if you maintain that the chance of the cash being behind A is now 1/2, you are saying that, when you first chose A, you somehow, magically, were able to choose a door that had a 1/2 chance of being the right one! Now how could you possibly choose a door with a 1/2 chance of being the right one when you had three to choose from? With no information, you couldn't. And, as Sherlock says, when you've eliminated the impossible, what remains, however improbable it seems, must be true.
Update
OK, so maybe it's "Monte Hall". One consideration bothers me about the above analysis. So there you are sitting in front of three doors. What if, before you choose, Monte(y) says, "Hey, you know what? I'm feeling great today! I'm going to really help you out!" And he opens door B, which he knows does not have the cash behind it. You've got two doors left to choose from, just like in the above. But in this case your chances are obviously 50/50. So how is this choice different from the choice above, where all you've done that you haven't done here is commit to one particular door and Monte(y) has opened one of the other two doors? How can a choice inside your head influence probabilities in the real world? Does this have anything to do with the Einstein/Podolsky/Rosen gedankenexperiment!? Bell's Theorem? Something to work on.
That darn "Monty Hall problem" has resurfaced, thanks again to the demonic Dean Esmay. But this time, after perusal of this site and this US Naval Academy site, I think I've figured out an explanation that satisfies me. It's an odd situation, because you know what the right answer is, you just can't convince yourself why it should be so.
As everyone knows, the problem goes like this:
Monty Hall offers you the choice of three doors, A, B, and C. Behind one of them is a pile of cash, behind the other two are booby prizes. No tricks or hidden facts. You choose Door A. Then, before you see what's behind A, Monty says "Wait! I'm going to help you out!" and opens Door B. There's a booby prize behind it. Then Monty says, "Now, do you want to stay with your original choice or choose Door C?" What should you do?
Well, to cut to the chase, you should switch. All the experiments agree. But why? It's simple, really. When you were initially presented with three doors, the chance that the pile of cash was behind A was 1/3. Now, when presented with the choice of Door A or door C, if you maintain that the chance of the cash being behind A is now 1/2, you are saying that, when you first chose A, you somehow, magically, were able to choose a door that had a 1/2 chance of being the right one! Now how could you possibly choose a door with a 1/2 chance of being the right one when you had three to choose from? With no information, you couldn't. And, as Sherlock says, when you've eliminated the impossible, what remains, however improbable it seems, must be true.
Update
OK, so maybe it's "Monte Hall". One consideration bothers me about the above analysis. So there you are sitting in front of three doors. What if, before you choose, Monte(y) says, "Hey, you know what? I'm feeling great today! I'm going to really help you out!" And he opens door B, which he knows does not have the cash behind it. You've got two doors left to choose from, just like in the above. But in this case your chances are obviously 50/50. So how is this choice different from the choice above, where all you've done that you haven't done here is commit to one particular door and Monte(y) has opened one of the other two doors? How can a choice inside your head influence probabilities in the real world? Does this have anything to do with the Einstein/Podolsky/Rosen gedankenexperiment!? Bell's Theorem? Something to work on.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
cancer, in the first instance, is not a disease of cell multiplication
Read this and tell me if your ideas don't change just a little bit? Not a teensy smidge? If not, then go meta.
Read this and tell me if your ideas don't change just a little bit? Not a teensy smidge? If not, then go meta.
Dean Esmay on the job
The bloggers are on the hunt after this AIDS nonsense. I stumbled across this post by Dean Esmay, who I have seen in many a comments section laying about him to good effect. The controversy I've been following for years now seems to be heating up for real. I bought and read Duesberg's book, and then Kary Mullis's, thinking there had to be some simple explanation for the apparent inconsistencies in AIDS logic (or lack thereof). Having never gone anywhere near a test tube since high school, I may seem to be at a disadvantage. But as a lawyer I know something about proof. And as a bureaucrat I know something about governments. And this looks like the story of the century. So far. Remember, you didn't hear it here first. People have been saying HIV doesn't really cause "AIDS" for years. And yet the band played on.
The bloggers are on the hunt after this AIDS nonsense. I stumbled across this post by Dean Esmay, who I have seen in many a comments section laying about him to good effect. The controversy I've been following for years now seems to be heating up for real. I bought and read Duesberg's book, and then Kary Mullis's, thinking there had to be some simple explanation for the apparent inconsistencies in AIDS logic (or lack thereof). Having never gone anywhere near a test tube since high school, I may seem to be at a disadvantage. But as a lawyer I know something about proof. And as a bureaucrat I know something about governments. And this looks like the story of the century. So far. Remember, you didn't hear it here first. People have been saying HIV doesn't really cause "AIDS" for years. And yet the band played on.
Atheists in love
The New York Times had, for a wonder, an interesting article, found via Arts and Letters Daily, asking what appear to be mostly irreligious people what they believe to be true that they can't prove. Some talk about life on other planets, rat "consciousness", even that there is no God. Of course one can't and shouldn't have to prove a negative, so that one's a bit weird. I like the last one best, because it reflects my belief (unproven!) that people believe what they want to believe:
The New York Times had, for a wonder, an interesting article, found via Arts and Letters Daily, asking what appear to be mostly irreligious people what they believe to be true that they can't prove. Some talk about life on other planets, rat "consciousness", even that there is no God. Of course one can't and shouldn't have to prove a negative, so that one's a bit weird. I like the last one best, because it reflects my belief (unproven!) that people believe what they want to believe:
David Buss
Psychologist, University of Texas; author, "The Evolution of Desire"
True love.
I've spent two decades of my professional life studying human mating. In that time, I've documented phenomena ranging from what men and women desire in a mate to the most diabolical forms of sexual treachery. I've discovered the astonishingly creative ways in which men and women deceive and manipulate each other. I've studied mate poachers, obsessed stalkers, sexual predators and spouse murderers. But throughout this exploration of the dark dimensions of human mating, I've remained unwavering in my belief in true love.
While love is common, true love is rare, and I believe that few people are fortunate enough to experience it. The roads of regular love are well traveled and their markers are well understood by many - the mesmerizing attraction, the ideational obsession, the sexual afterglow, profound self-sacrifice and the desire to combine DNA. But true love takes its own course through uncharted territory. It knows no fences, has no barriers or boundaries. It's difficult to define, eludes modern measurement and seems scientifically woolly. But I know true love exists. I just can't prove it.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Doubtful Zarqawi capture (hey, that would be a great name for a band!)
Drudge is reporting that Zarqawi has been captured in Baghdad. But since even Debka isn't going along with it, I'm inclined not to believe it. And I'm pretty gullible about believing things I want to be true.
Take gout. I went to the doctor and he told me I need a full physical and should start on allopurinol after the present attack subsides. No duh. Now I believe if I get on allopurinol I'll never have another gout attack and will be able to gambol about like a young lamb. Anyone who knows me is now shuddering and trying to erase a thoroughly horrifying mental image.
By the way, my father always used to say never go to the doctor unless you absolutely have to if you want to survive. Think about it. Who's almost always present when someone dies? A doctor. The correlation between time spent in the presence of a doctor in the last, say, month, and death must be close to 100%. So doctors cause people to die. Right? And people who are alive and healthy rarely come into contact with doctors. The correlation there is almost nonexistent. Hey, if we abolished all the doctors, no one would ever die again!
Drudge is reporting that Zarqawi has been captured in Baghdad. But since even Debka isn't going along with it, I'm inclined not to believe it. And I'm pretty gullible about believing things I want to be true.
Take gout. I went to the doctor and he told me I need a full physical and should start on allopurinol after the present attack subsides. No duh. Now I believe if I get on allopurinol I'll never have another gout attack and will be able to gambol about like a young lamb. Anyone who knows me is now shuddering and trying to erase a thoroughly horrifying mental image.
By the way, my father always used to say never go to the doctor unless you absolutely have to if you want to survive. Think about it. Who's almost always present when someone dies? A doctor. The correlation between time spent in the presence of a doctor in the last, say, month, and death must be close to 100%. So doctors cause people to die. Right? And people who are alive and healthy rarely come into contact with doctors. The correlation there is almost nonexistent. Hey, if we abolished all the doctors, no one would ever die again!
Monday, January 03, 2005
The slow extinction of the Russian male
Worried about overpopulation? Read this.
And, you gay marriage advocates, don't forget this part:
Don't tell me two parents can be two guys named Bruce and Irving. You'll just make me mad.
Worried about overpopulation? Read this.
And, you gay marriage advocates, don't forget this part:
The rapid decline of the two-parent family in contemporary Russia undercuts prospects for substantial increases in national fertility levels.
Don't tell me two parents can be two guys named Bruce and Irving. You'll just make me mad.
Gout today
So the old gout is acting up aplenty today, with naproxen sodium - you know, that nice stuff that gives one heart attacks - as the only palliative. Can't bend my right knee beyond 90 degrees, but, hey, who needs all that extra flexibility, anyway? Never really use it, or only in my dreams. I have no idea how those in the old days kept from suicide when there was no real help at all for the pain and stiffness of gout. Looking forward to not having to hobble too much after my doctor's appointment this PM. I was thinking, this ailment-blogging could be big. Think of all the old - and not so old - whiners and cranks who sit around all day complaining about how their body is disappointing and betraying them. Some of them might be so old and weird that they would devote whole blog posts to their medical condition - oops. If they blogged, though, they might feel better. And a massive amount of quasi-medical information would be available to researchers. Ah, 'tis a brave new world.
So the old gout is acting up aplenty today, with naproxen sodium - you know, that nice stuff that gives one heart attacks - as the only palliative. Can't bend my right knee beyond 90 degrees, but, hey, who needs all that extra flexibility, anyway? Never really use it, or only in my dreams. I have no idea how those in the old days kept from suicide when there was no real help at all for the pain and stiffness of gout. Looking forward to not having to hobble too much after my doctor's appointment this PM. I was thinking, this ailment-blogging could be big. Think of all the old - and not so old - whiners and cranks who sit around all day complaining about how their body is disappointing and betraying them. Some of them might be so old and weird that they would devote whole blog posts to their medical condition - oops. If they blogged, though, they might feel better. And a massive amount of quasi-medical information would be available to researchers. Ah, 'tis a brave new world.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Two in a row
Hey, that wasn't so hard! Blogging every day can be fun. Especially when one is groaning under the impact of a massive gout attack because one's doctor insisted on one coming in to see him before he prescribes any more medication. Yes, that's right, the medication that has been at least somewhat successful in dealing with massive gout attacks in the past EIGHT YEARS that the doctor hasn't seen fit to see one and actually do some modern doctoring. My appointment is tomorrow, but until then I'm somewhat "grognon" as Maigret might say. We'll see what new treatment il dottore comes up with to assure that this ancient demon doesn't wreck my once-beautiful corpus completely.
Steve Sailer has some interesting speculation about why Germ troops outfought the Brits and Yanks after D-Day. He rambles on about group cohesion. Say, Steve, you don't think it could be because they (the Germs) were defending their "heimat", do you? Or because they still had a good number of troops left alive who had been fighting since at least 1939 and some who had fought in the Spanish Civil War? Sure the Brits weren't all raw recruits, but few of the Yanks had much in the way of combat experience. Knowing just how to use your weapons in actual combat is a big advantage. It took the Soviets several years of losing millions to the Reichswehr to amass a significant force of battle-hardened veterans who could push the Germs back. And they still made a complete hash of the capture of Berlin, losing hundreds of thousands of tovarishes unnecessarily.
That's another good aspect of the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan. If we handle the troop rotation properly, we'll end up with a veteran corps of guerrilla-killers who could make the next campaign (Syria, are you listening?) much quicker and less subject to embarrassingly deadly mistakes.
Hey, that wasn't so hard! Blogging every day can be fun. Especially when one is groaning under the impact of a massive gout attack because one's doctor insisted on one coming in to see him before he prescribes any more medication. Yes, that's right, the medication that has been at least somewhat successful in dealing with massive gout attacks in the past EIGHT YEARS that the doctor hasn't seen fit to see one and actually do some modern doctoring. My appointment is tomorrow, but until then I'm somewhat "grognon" as Maigret might say. We'll see what new treatment il dottore comes up with to assure that this ancient demon doesn't wreck my once-beautiful corpus completely.
Steve Sailer has some interesting speculation about why Germ troops outfought the Brits and Yanks after D-Day. He rambles on about group cohesion. Say, Steve, you don't think it could be because they (the Germs) were defending their "heimat", do you? Or because they still had a good number of troops left alive who had been fighting since at least 1939 and some who had fought in the Spanish Civil War? Sure the Brits weren't all raw recruits, but few of the Yanks had much in the way of combat experience. Knowing just how to use your weapons in actual combat is a big advantage. It took the Soviets several years of losing millions to the Reichswehr to amass a significant force of battle-hardened veterans who could push the Germs back. And they still made a complete hash of the capture of Berlin, losing hundreds of thousands of tovarishes unnecessarily.
That's another good aspect of the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan. If we handle the troop rotation properly, we'll end up with a veteran corps of guerrilla-killers who could make the next campaign (Syria, are you listening?) much quicker and less subject to embarrassingly deadly mistakes.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Easily kept resolutions
Well, my first New Year's resolution is going to be to make at least one New Year's resolution. Hang on, I've already done it! What a good boy am I! And to get more intellectual, play the violin more, learn enough French to really enjoy France (if that's possible!) and cure my gout.
So I've still got something to do this year after all. What a relief.
I'd like to be able to paint like this guy. Maybe I already can but I just don't know it yet. But no, I don't want to learn and study and achieve a skill, I just want it handed to me, with the full package of ambition and energy and wit and humility. Like Michelangelo was handed his talent. Or Cellini. So that's not so much a resolution as a daft fantasy.
And I would like to blog once a day, at least. There, I said it though I didn't want to. I don't like people like Lileks and Instapundit who are always apologizing for not blogging. Make me feel like I want to be handed something for nothing. Ungrateful talented sillies.
Well, my first New Year's resolution is going to be to make at least one New Year's resolution. Hang on, I've already done it! What a good boy am I! And to get more intellectual, play the violin more, learn enough French to really enjoy France (if that's possible!) and cure my gout.
So I've still got something to do this year after all. What a relief.
I'd like to be able to paint like this guy. Maybe I already can but I just don't know it yet. But no, I don't want to learn and study and achieve a skill, I just want it handed to me, with the full package of ambition and energy and wit and humility. Like Michelangelo was handed his talent. Or Cellini. So that's not so much a resolution as a daft fantasy.
And I would like to blog once a day, at least. There, I said it though I didn't want to. I don't like people like Lileks and Instapundit who are always apologizing for not blogging. Make me feel like I want to be handed something for nothing. Ungrateful talented sillies.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Duesberg was right (?)
Does this article mean Duesberg was right to think that the only thing killing Africans other than the usual diseases that have been killing them for millennia is the medication they are given for the non-existent "AIDS" syndrome? What a kick in the head if he is finally vindicated after all these years! This is bigger than oil-for-food-scam or global warming-gate or any of the other frauds perpetrated by the new collectivists. Scary to think that just when I had about given up on the theory, after buying Duesberg's book, and Kary Mullis's, it may surface once again. This time, though, the blogosphere is ready to take it on big time and examine it from every possible point of view. Why do I feel the NIH and WHO are in big trouble? Couldn't happen to two nicer tyrannical slugocracies.
Does this article mean Duesberg was right to think that the only thing killing Africans other than the usual diseases that have been killing them for millennia is the medication they are given for the non-existent "AIDS" syndrome? What a kick in the head if he is finally vindicated after all these years! This is bigger than oil-for-food-scam or global warming-gate or any of the other frauds perpetrated by the new collectivists. Scary to think that just when I had about given up on the theory, after buying Duesberg's book, and Kary Mullis's, it may surface once again. This time, though, the blogosphere is ready to take it on big time and examine it from every possible point of view. Why do I feel the NIH and WHO are in big trouble? Couldn't happen to two nicer tyrannical slugocracies.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
New America - it is I
Ok, so there's old Europe and New Europe, according to the God Rumsfeld. But more than that, there's Old America and New America. Gee, I wonder which is more important? Odd thing is, when you say Old America, one thinks of traditional, conservative, Bushist America. But like so many things these days, that's completely, 180 degrees wrong. Old America is the New Yorker, the New Republic, the Atlantic, Harper's, the "blue" states and all the cultural tyrants who attempt to impose Old Europe mores on America. Have we ever allowed Europe to do this to us? Will we ever? One hopes not, no matter how many third-world lackeys line up behind Chirac and Dan Rather.
Ok, so there's old Europe and New Europe, according to the God Rumsfeld. But more than that, there's Old America and New America. Gee, I wonder which is more important? Odd thing is, when you say Old America, one thinks of traditional, conservative, Bushist America. But like so many things these days, that's completely, 180 degrees wrong. Old America is the New Yorker, the New Republic, the Atlantic, Harper's, the "blue" states and all the cultural tyrants who attempt to impose Old Europe mores on America. Have we ever allowed Europe to do this to us? Will we ever? One hopes not, no matter how many third-world lackeys line up behind Chirac and Dan Rather.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mistuh Chimpy frat-boy moron Bushitler - he dead!
Well, well, well. The Halliburton AWOL WMD shriekers didn't get the job done. What a surprise! This is the best gloat-meat since the impeachment. How burning with shame must the Kerryites - or, no, I guess I'd better call them the anti-Bushies - be. As Kerry said earlier in the campaign, they just can't believe they got beat by this idiot! That's the way to survive and thrive, underestimate an opponent who got a Harvard MBA, comes from one of the most powerful families in America, has all the right contacts and has Karl Rove on his side! Nice move! I actually voted, for the first time since 1976. Jimmeh C.'s term in office disgusted me so much that he turned me into an Objectivist, but even us Randianistas came out for this one. What a coincidence that it was in Carter's term that the Iranian thug-youth took our embassy personnel hostage. And then their colleagues - yes, I'm tarring all those idiot Islamists with the same brush, because it's got our blood on it - bombed Marines in Beirut, air passengers in Scotland, servicemen at Khobar Towers, sailors in Yemen, and oh let's not forget the several thousand in New York, the Pentagon et al. Payback's a bitch, you Muslim slime! But for those who survive, we've got freedom and democracy and property rights and a real non-totalitarian future for your children. All you have to do is not kill us. Is that too much to ask? If so, and you'd rather die than extend rights to your women and allow freedom of thought, we now have a President who will accommodate you.
Well, well, well. The Halliburton AWOL WMD shriekers didn't get the job done. What a surprise! This is the best gloat-meat since the impeachment. How burning with shame must the Kerryites - or, no, I guess I'd better call them the anti-Bushies - be. As Kerry said earlier in the campaign, they just can't believe they got beat by this idiot! That's the way to survive and thrive, underestimate an opponent who got a Harvard MBA, comes from one of the most powerful families in America, has all the right contacts and has Karl Rove on his side! Nice move! I actually voted, for the first time since 1976. Jimmeh C.'s term in office disgusted me so much that he turned me into an Objectivist, but even us Randianistas came out for this one. What a coincidence that it was in Carter's term that the Iranian thug-youth took our embassy personnel hostage. And then their colleagues - yes, I'm tarring all those idiot Islamists with the same brush, because it's got our blood on it - bombed Marines in Beirut, air passengers in Scotland, servicemen at Khobar Towers, sailors in Yemen, and oh let's not forget the several thousand in New York, the Pentagon et al. Payback's a bitch, you Muslim slime! But for those who survive, we've got freedom and democracy and property rights and a real non-totalitarian future for your children. All you have to do is not kill us. Is that too much to ask? If so, and you'd rather die than extend rights to your women and allow freedom of thought, we now have a President who will accommodate you.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Mistuh Know-it-all, he dead
I killed him. It just got too annoying, it was more of a nuisance than those irritating Al Qaedas, having this comprends-tous (sait-tout?) in my head. See, that's proof. I don't even have a clue if the French really have an expression corresponding to "know-it-all" in their silly language, which has now almost completely surrendered to me, {Only Compiegne and the Haute-Savoie are holding out, along with a few mountain villages in the Pyrenees} or if "comprends-tous" is used, how it should be spelt (wait a minute. Shouldn't that be "spelled"? Doesn't "spelt" have something to do with fish and their utterly irresponsible and Clintonian mating processes? Or is that smelt?) But I went ahead and put it down anyway, because darn it "comprends-tous" sounds better than "know-it-all" and I don't even care if some mindless truffle-snorters use or don't use a particular expression, or how they spell it. It serves my needs and so there you feckless foie-gras fanciers.
This is so liberating you just don't know. For 56 years now old monsieur (actually, far more likely to be mamselle!) comprends-tous has been beating me about the head and shoulders when I write or say anything that doesn't correspond to what dimwit wrote in some book around the time of the Flood, which may or may not have happened and I don't know and even care. More later, if I care to and if the Scotch doesn't do for me entirely and disenfranchise me by rendering me unable to vote for Bush on Tuesday, the result, obviously of a conspiracy between McEdwards and MacKerry. If I look really hard and drink a real lot I'm sure I can find those names somewhere on the bottle. Like it matters.
I killed him. It just got too annoying, it was more of a nuisance than those irritating Al Qaedas, having this comprends-tous (sait-tout?) in my head. See, that's proof. I don't even have a clue if the French really have an expression corresponding to "know-it-all" in their silly language, which has now almost completely surrendered to me, {Only Compiegne and the Haute-Savoie are holding out, along with a few mountain villages in the Pyrenees} or if "comprends-tous" is used, how it should be spelt (wait a minute. Shouldn't that be "spelled"? Doesn't "spelt" have something to do with fish and their utterly irresponsible and Clintonian mating processes? Or is that smelt?) But I went ahead and put it down anyway, because darn it "comprends-tous" sounds better than "know-it-all" and I don't even care if some mindless truffle-snorters use or don't use a particular expression, or how they spell it. It serves my needs and so there you feckless foie-gras fanciers.
This is so liberating you just don't know. For 56 years now old monsieur (actually, far more likely to be mamselle!) comprends-tous has been beating me about the head and shoulders when I write or say anything that doesn't correspond to what dimwit wrote in some book around the time of the Flood, which may or may not have happened and I don't know and even care. More later, if I care to and if the Scotch doesn't do for me entirely and disenfranchise me by rendering me unable to vote for Bush on Tuesday, the result, obviously of a conspiracy between McEdwards and MacKerry. If I look really hard and drink a real lot I'm sure I can find those names somewhere on the bottle. Like it matters.
This fever will break
Saturday before the election, dear Diary, and here I am in a sweat, because this darn weather hasn't broken and I bought a half-gallon (no, I WON'T call it a "1.75-Liter" even though that's what it is) of Scotch (Duggan's Dew, 86.8 proof) to get me through the election. And by the way, couldn't they have just evened it out to two liters? If Bush wins, I celebrate, if he loses I drown my sorrows as I watch Kerry turn the keys of the country over to Osama. Either way the rapacious international Scotch merchants win and I turn up for work with a hangover.
And I know it doesn't really matter. I've been through this so many times before and it has never actually changed my way of living, except for that idiot Carter. The more I think about it I don't think I did vote for Carter in 1980, so 1976 was the last time I voted. Carter had broken his promise to run the govt. on "zero-based budgeting", which was the only reason I voted for him in '76. There was also that little matter of the hostages and the idiotic Olympic boycott. That's what Kerry would have done if he had been Prez in 1990. "Now, Saddam, you pull out of Kuwait or else the US will pull out of any Olympics that Iraq participates in and by the way the UN - and the entire Olympic Committee - except for you and probably Kuwait - is going to really, really punish you for killing your Olympians who don't perform properly. Oh, you're going to be so sorry!"
Saturday before the election, dear Diary, and here I am in a sweat, because this darn weather hasn't broken and I bought a half-gallon (no, I WON'T call it a "1.75-Liter" even though that's what it is) of Scotch (Duggan's Dew, 86.8 proof) to get me through the election. And by the way, couldn't they have just evened it out to two liters? If Bush wins, I celebrate, if he loses I drown my sorrows as I watch Kerry turn the keys of the country over to Osama. Either way the rapacious international Scotch merchants win and I turn up for work with a hangover.
And I know it doesn't really matter. I've been through this so many times before and it has never actually changed my way of living, except for that idiot Carter. The more I think about it I don't think I did vote for Carter in 1980, so 1976 was the last time I voted. Carter had broken his promise to run the govt. on "zero-based budgeting", which was the only reason I voted for him in '76. There was also that little matter of the hostages and the idiotic Olympic boycott. That's what Kerry would have done if he had been Prez in 1990. "Now, Saddam, you pull out of Kuwait or else the US will pull out of any Olympics that Iraq participates in and by the way the UN - and the entire Olympic Committee - except for you and probably Kuwait - is going to really, really punish you for killing your Olympians who don't perform properly. Oh, you're going to be so sorry!"
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Naked spin
It was cool to see all the spinmeisters on TV utterly naked, without any clothes at all, not even clothed in plausibility. The spin-meter has gone off the scale and bears no relation to reality. I watched part of the debate and read liveblogging on the rest of it. I thought Bush clearly did better, calling out Kerry-bot 2004 on his opposition to the First Gulf War (what, not enough allies?) and his plans which contain no details except spending even more than the supposedly conservative Bush administration.
The Main Stream Media has abandoned any pretense of objectivity. Kerry-bot's weird mannerisms, his botching of the Bible and blathering about "Native American" (don't get me started) religions and his answering a question about his wife by talking about his mother and his ridiculously obvious "wink, wink" reference to Mary Cheney's lesbianism make this by far his worst performance. And yet the MSM call it a "draw" or even a win for Kerry. Absurd. Disgraceful. Inexplicable except by bias. I'm glad they're being so obvious. This is going to come back to haunt them big time, even if Bush loses. Which I have a feeling - heck, let's make it a prediction - that Bush is not going to do. I predict 52% for Bush, with 290-300 electoral votes. See, it's in print now, on the Web. It's at least as accurate as anything Taegan Goddard's ever said.
Much substance will come out of this debate to haunt Kerry, too. It's just the beginning of the most intense and interesting part of the campaign. Bush should be loaded for bear now. And, after last night, Kerry-bot's got nothing left.
It was cool to see all the spinmeisters on TV utterly naked, without any clothes at all, not even clothed in plausibility. The spin-meter has gone off the scale and bears no relation to reality. I watched part of the debate and read liveblogging on the rest of it. I thought Bush clearly did better, calling out Kerry-bot 2004 on his opposition to the First Gulf War (what, not enough allies?) and his plans which contain no details except spending even more than the supposedly conservative Bush administration.
The Main Stream Media has abandoned any pretense of objectivity. Kerry-bot's weird mannerisms, his botching of the Bible and blathering about "Native American" (don't get me started) religions and his answering a question about his wife by talking about his mother and his ridiculously obvious "wink, wink" reference to Mary Cheney's lesbianism make this by far his worst performance. And yet the MSM call it a "draw" or even a win for Kerry. Absurd. Disgraceful. Inexplicable except by bias. I'm glad they're being so obvious. This is going to come back to haunt them big time, even if Bush loses. Which I have a feeling - heck, let's make it a prediction - that Bush is not going to do. I predict 52% for Bush, with 290-300 electoral votes. See, it's in print now, on the Web. It's at least as accurate as anything Taegan Goddard's ever said.
Much substance will come out of this debate to haunt Kerry, too. It's just the beginning of the most intense and interesting part of the campaign. Bush should be loaded for bear now. And, after last night, Kerry-bot's got nothing left.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Quote of the day - er - month
From Graham Greene's The Comedians:
"I get scared sometimes, too. I lose the way. It's frightening to be lost, isn't it, in a strange city, but when you get lost inside yourself ... Have another lager."
Easy forgetting
I've been finding it very easy to forget things lately, which is a great blessing. I forget my limitations, my grievances, my sins. I also forget about this little blog. But then when I remember, it's a good smiling memory and I find my way here easily.
Last night's debate was by all accounts a Bush "win". I didn't listen to it, having been ennui-ed out of my mind by the last one. I wonder if anyone else has ever verbified "ennui". I wonder if anyone else has ever used the word "verbified". Ah, enough innovation. And wondering. Kerry's positions do seem to be coming apart, unfolding and drooping like his face would if he stopped with the Botox. He seems to be out of ammunition. He's used "Halliburton, AWOL, WMD" (repeated ad libitum endlessly whether any of it makes any sense or not) and the other slogans until they're all used up. He really needs another one to get him to election day.
I didn't listen to or watch the debate, but I read it, on Hugh Hewitt and Ann Althouse. Even the puppy blender was liveblogging. It reminded me of "watching" the Fischer-Spassky championship in 1972 on PBS from Iceland when the moves would come in on a teletype and be recreated by an "expert" on a big board with slots and cardboard pieces. It's much more calming than having to look at the protagonists and wonder whether the odd drop of sweat or nervous tic was going to keep one of them out of the White House. From now on I'll read all the debates - oops, there's only one left. Maybe I'll read all real-time live events instead of relying on talking heads and deceptive video. Anything for equanimity.
From Graham Greene's The Comedians:
"I get scared sometimes, too. I lose the way. It's frightening to be lost, isn't it, in a strange city, but when you get lost inside yourself ... Have another lager."
Easy forgetting
I've been finding it very easy to forget things lately, which is a great blessing. I forget my limitations, my grievances, my sins. I also forget about this little blog. But then when I remember, it's a good smiling memory and I find my way here easily.
Last night's debate was by all accounts a Bush "win". I didn't listen to it, having been ennui-ed out of my mind by the last one. I wonder if anyone else has ever verbified "ennui". I wonder if anyone else has ever used the word "verbified". Ah, enough innovation. And wondering. Kerry's positions do seem to be coming apart, unfolding and drooping like his face would if he stopped with the Botox. He seems to be out of ammunition. He's used "Halliburton, AWOL, WMD" (repeated ad libitum endlessly whether any of it makes any sense or not) and the other slogans until they're all used up. He really needs another one to get him to election day.
I didn't listen to or watch the debate, but I read it, on Hugh Hewitt and Ann Althouse. Even the puppy blender was liveblogging. It reminded me of "watching" the Fischer-Spassky championship in 1972 on PBS from Iceland when the moves would come in on a teletype and be recreated by an "expert" on a big board with slots and cardboard pieces. It's much more calming than having to look at the protagonists and wonder whether the odd drop of sweat or nervous tic was going to keep one of them out of the White House. From now on I'll read all the debates - oops, there's only one left. Maybe I'll read all real-time live events instead of relying on talking heads and deceptive video. Anything for equanimity.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Debate thoughts
Kerry held his own, but came up with nothing new that I could detect. The "global test" meme could be his worst moment. He really let it be known that there's one thing he does believe in and that's the necessity for getting international permission before the US does anything to safeguard itself. That's the only time he showed any passion, when he was talking about getting the UN involved in all the conflicts of the world, as if they've ever done anything positive about any conflict they ever got into. He even had the nerve to mention "global warming" but didn't dare bring up the ICC, which Bush used to some effect. That could come back to haunt him and should be showing up in an RNC commercial - soon!
Bush hit all the right themes, but could have been more forceful about the connection between 9/11 and Iraq and the War on Terror. There was too much about Iraq. I thought Lehrer would have a little more imagination. Does he really think Iraq deserves ninety percent of a foreign policy debate? Unless - you don't think! - he was purposely trying to hammer home what a terrible job he thought Bush was doing. There really isn't that much to say about Iraq any more. And Kerry never did say in any detail what his "secret plan" was.
Overall, it was the War of the Stump Speeches. On North Korea, I thought Kerry stumbled badly by appearing to come out against the multilateral talks. Bush said, "That's just what Kim Jong-Il wants to happen" and of course he's right but I don't delude myself that anyone's really going to notice. On Iran and the sanctions Bush caught Kerry out with the comeback that they hadn't started on his watch and Kerry never replied to that.
Bush now knows that Kerry's a worthwhile opponent and with any luck can boost his preparation a bit and hit back harder next time. Time for the gloves to come off.
Kerry held his own, but came up with nothing new that I could detect. The "global test" meme could be his worst moment. He really let it be known that there's one thing he does believe in and that's the necessity for getting international permission before the US does anything to safeguard itself. That's the only time he showed any passion, when he was talking about getting the UN involved in all the conflicts of the world, as if they've ever done anything positive about any conflict they ever got into. He even had the nerve to mention "global warming" but didn't dare bring up the ICC, which Bush used to some effect. That could come back to haunt him and should be showing up in an RNC commercial - soon!
Bush hit all the right themes, but could have been more forceful about the connection between 9/11 and Iraq and the War on Terror. There was too much about Iraq. I thought Lehrer would have a little more imagination. Does he really think Iraq deserves ninety percent of a foreign policy debate? Unless - you don't think! - he was purposely trying to hammer home what a terrible job he thought Bush was doing. There really isn't that much to say about Iraq any more. And Kerry never did say in any detail what his "secret plan" was.
Overall, it was the War of the Stump Speeches. On North Korea, I thought Kerry stumbled badly by appearing to come out against the multilateral talks. Bush said, "That's just what Kim Jong-Il wants to happen" and of course he's right but I don't delude myself that anyone's really going to notice. On Iran and the sanctions Bush caught Kerry out with the comeback that they hadn't started on his watch and Kerry never replied to that.
Bush now knows that Kerry's a worthwhile opponent and with any luck can boost his preparation a bit and hit back harder next time. Time for the gloves to come off.
Pre-debate frenzy
So O'Reilly is doing his best to keep me from watching the debates on Fox. I just don't like the fake neutrality he espouses. Before too long that attitude is going to look so pre-blog! Maybe it will be a good thing when all commentators declare their allegiance before they start to pontificate. I find it very handy to have someone declared as a liberal. Then I can stop listening to him. I no longer delude myself that any liberal has anything interesting to say. I saw Instapundit on Kudlow and Cramer earlier. Thought he did pretty well, although the blogger segment was awfully short. Now Instapundit is regarded as neutral by most anti-collectivist bloggers like me, but he seems to have come to that position honestly, from his gut, not just to get people to read him, but to get to the truth. My only problem with that attitude is that he has not yet realized that liberals really do have nothing real to say. But he's young yet. He'll learn.
I'll be looking for Bush to stay steady and on course. He knows exactly what he has to say and how he needs to say it. Kerry, if experience is any guide, will essentially go in winging it, hoping to score points like a boxer who knows he's behind in the judges' scoring and can only hope for a knockout. I just hope they aren't allowed to recycle their stump speeches.
So O'Reilly is doing his best to keep me from watching the debates on Fox. I just don't like the fake neutrality he espouses. Before too long that attitude is going to look so pre-blog! Maybe it will be a good thing when all commentators declare their allegiance before they start to pontificate. I find it very handy to have someone declared as a liberal. Then I can stop listening to him. I no longer delude myself that any liberal has anything interesting to say. I saw Instapundit on Kudlow and Cramer earlier. Thought he did pretty well, although the blogger segment was awfully short. Now Instapundit is regarded as neutral by most anti-collectivist bloggers like me, but he seems to have come to that position honestly, from his gut, not just to get people to read him, but to get to the truth. My only problem with that attitude is that he has not yet realized that liberals really do have nothing real to say. But he's young yet. He'll learn.
I'll be looking for Bush to stay steady and on course. He knows exactly what he has to say and how he needs to say it. Kerry, if experience is any guide, will essentially go in winging it, hoping to score points like a boxer who knows he's behind in the judges' scoring and can only hope for a knockout. I just hope they aren't allowed to recycle their stump speeches.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Cars - again?!
Doesn't it burn you up when you see the ads this time of year from new car dealerships? They all say, "Hey, we've got 2005 models coming in and no room to put them anywhere! We've got to move out the 2004's pronto! Come in and get your best deal now!"
Wait a minute. How dumb do they think we are? Well, considering these ads play every year, they must work, so they must think we're plenty dumb, and I guess we are! But really, who believes that new car salesmen are sitting around in the summer with a lot full of cars, saying to each other, "Wow, it's a good thing we've got all this room for all these 2004 cars. Sure hope the manufacturers don't send us a whole passel of new 2005 models. Nah, that's not gonna happen."? Then October approaches, when new cars have been sent out from the factories for, what a HUNDRED YEARS NOW?? And trucks start showing up full of cars and the dealers expect us to believe they're SURPRISED???!!! So the best they can come up with is to put ads in the paper complaining that something that happens every year has happened again, darn it? Nope, no way they could have, for instance, only ordered the number of new cars they actually had room for! No way. Then the ads wouldn't work and they wouldn't be able to create in the prospective buyer's mind the image of car dealers stacking up cars three deep and desperately slashing prices in half to get rid of the old ones. The most amazing thing is that some buyers actually fall for this nonsense. The older I get, the dumber people get. And the sleazier car salesmen get.
Doesn't it burn you up when you see the ads this time of year from new car dealerships? They all say, "Hey, we've got 2005 models coming in and no room to put them anywhere! We've got to move out the 2004's pronto! Come in and get your best deal now!"
Wait a minute. How dumb do they think we are? Well, considering these ads play every year, they must work, so they must think we're plenty dumb, and I guess we are! But really, who believes that new car salesmen are sitting around in the summer with a lot full of cars, saying to each other, "Wow, it's a good thing we've got all this room for all these 2004 cars. Sure hope the manufacturers don't send us a whole passel of new 2005 models. Nah, that's not gonna happen."? Then October approaches, when new cars have been sent out from the factories for, what a HUNDRED YEARS NOW?? And trucks start showing up full of cars and the dealers expect us to believe they're SURPRISED???!!! So the best they can come up with is to put ads in the paper complaining that something that happens every year has happened again, darn it? Nope, no way they could have, for instance, only ordered the number of new cars they actually had room for! No way. Then the ads wouldn't work and they wouldn't be able to create in the prospective buyer's mind the image of car dealers stacking up cars three deep and desperately slashing prices in half to get rid of the old ones. The most amazing thing is that some buyers actually fall for this nonsense. The older I get, the dumber people get. And the sleazier car salesmen get.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Metaphors
The long-overdue Day of the Blogosphere may finally be dawning. How predictable was this? But, then, who predicted the rise of Protestantism out of the new technology of printing? Hmm. Everybody can read and comment on the original text and therefore see how stupid and vicious the hierarchy's reading of it is. And perhaps how irrelevant the "authentic" text itself is to everyday life. And then there's Open Source, the god of some lefty-types, but now serving as a model for the self-correcting blogosphere, inexorably crushing the idols of left and right. It IS a good thing for thousands of bloggers of every conceivable political and cultural orientation to see and comment on news events, isn't it? And for such comment to be instantly available to everyone with an internet connection? Or, at least, it has to be an improvement on a few rich white male Democrat "journalists" putting out the only "authoritative" texts of such events. We do all believe in diversity, don't we?
The long-overdue Day of the Blogosphere may finally be dawning. How predictable was this? But, then, who predicted the rise of Protestantism out of the new technology of printing? Hmm. Everybody can read and comment on the original text and therefore see how stupid and vicious the hierarchy's reading of it is. And perhaps how irrelevant the "authentic" text itself is to everyday life. And then there's Open Source, the god of some lefty-types, but now serving as a model for the self-correcting blogosphere, inexorably crushing the idols of left and right. It IS a good thing for thousands of bloggers of every conceivable political and cultural orientation to see and comment on news events, isn't it? And for such comment to be instantly available to everyone with an internet connection? Or, at least, it has to be an improvement on a few rich white male Democrat "journalists" putting out the only "authoritative" texts of such events. We do all believe in diversity, don't we?
Monday, September 06, 2004
Becalmed in a hurricane
Here at ground zero it's barely raining, blowing a bit. I had a power outage last night, annoying only because the AC and fan went off. Storms make for cool days but warm nights, for some reason. I keep seeing pictures on TV of trailers blown to pieces and think "Gulp!" The rain and wind I've had so far, though, is barely sufficient to move the surrounding trees around. I'm looking more carefully at those trees. They seem to be tall and thin and far away from the trailer. Good. A large decrepit tree right over the bedroom would be worrisome. At least no one's ordered me to evacuate. I'd rather stay right here and read about Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel.
Here at ground zero it's barely raining, blowing a bit. I had a power outage last night, annoying only because the AC and fan went off. Storms make for cool days but warm nights, for some reason. I keep seeing pictures on TV of trailers blown to pieces and think "Gulp!" The rain and wind I've had so far, though, is barely sufficient to move the surrounding trees around. I'm looking more carefully at those trees. They seem to be tall and thin and far away from the trailer. Good. A large decrepit tree right over the bedroom would be worrisome. At least no one's ordered me to evacuate. I'd rather stay right here and read about Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Stormblogging
Frances has finally showed up, or at least her far outskirts. The eye's still over Tampa and we're feeling strong winds and rain here in Tallahassee, so I guess for once the weather Cassandras were right. It IS a large storm. But I'm in my snug little trailer here, not worrying about anything. It would just be inconvenient if the lights went out just as I was bloggin
Ha.. Just my little joke. I've got plenty of time to evacuate if it should become necessary. Haven't I? Looking on the bright side, if this rain and wind keeps up maybe I'll get a day off work on Tuesday.
OK, back to reading about Buckingham's rebellion against Richard III. That's what I like about the Wars of the Roses. One surprise after the other.
Frances has finally showed up, or at least her far outskirts. The eye's still over Tampa and we're feeling strong winds and rain here in Tallahassee, so I guess for once the weather Cassandras were right. It IS a large storm. But I'm in my snug little trailer here, not worrying about anything. It would just be inconvenient if the lights went out just as I was bloggin
Ha.. Just my little joke. I've got plenty of time to evacuate if it should become necessary. Haven't I? Looking on the bright side, if this rain and wind keeps up maybe I'll get a day off work on Tuesday.
OK, back to reading about Buckingham's rebellion against Richard III. That's what I like about the Wars of the Roses. One surprise after the other.
Saturday, September 04, 2004
The Wounds of Time
All I'm going to say about this is what a good thing it is that no one really has to worry about what happens to Bill Clinton any more. It doesn't matter, as it did in the days when he had his wandering finger on the nuclear button and his backup was Al-Gor. I certainly won't mention the rumors that his weak heart may be a result of cocaine ingestion, not Big Macs, or wonder why he didn't release his medical records while he was president (no capitalization deserved in his case).
All I'm going to say about this is what a good thing it is that no one really has to worry about what happens to Bill Clinton any more. It doesn't matter, as it did in the days when he had his wandering finger on the nuclear button and his backup was Al-Gor. I certainly won't mention the rumors that his weak heart may be a result of cocaine ingestion, not Big Macs, or wonder why he didn't release his medical records while he was president (no capitalization deserved in his case).
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Nuance
John Kerry says he can’t be blamed for voting to give authority to George Bush to wage war to liberate Iraq because how was he to know that Bush would take that authority and “use it in the wrong way”? He seems to think he can be absolved of the consequences of any action he takes if he didn’t predict those consequences in detail. In other words, he claims to have intended that Bush would not have used Congressional authority to go to war but would have, for example, NOT gone to war!
Isn’t Kerry responsible for the consequences of his votes in Congress? Isn’t he responsible for making the judgment that Bush would properly and responsibly (in Kerry's view) use authority granted him? How stupid does Kerry think people are? Or, perhaps more to the point, how stupid is Kerry?
Here at the end of August, the Kerry campaign doesn't seem to have any traction at all. I will be very surprised if he manages to gain any voters out of the Republican convention. If form holds, Bush will gain. He may gain big. And if by the middle of September Bush is ahead by five points or more in most polls, Kerry is an ex-politician. He has gone to join the choir invisible of politicians who never quite made it onto the big stage, like his former boss Dukakis, Mondale, Gore, Dole and his special buddy, Captain Oldsmobile. ( I just saw somewhere that nickname for Teddy Kennedy, and I love it!)
--
John Kerry says he can’t be blamed for voting to give authority to George Bush to wage war to liberate Iraq because how was he to know that Bush would take that authority and “use it in the wrong way”? He seems to think he can be absolved of the consequences of any action he takes if he didn’t predict those consequences in detail. In other words, he claims to have intended that Bush would not have used Congressional authority to go to war but would have, for example, NOT gone to war!
Isn’t Kerry responsible for the consequences of his votes in Congress? Isn’t he responsible for making the judgment that Bush would properly and responsibly (in Kerry's view) use authority granted him? How stupid does Kerry think people are? Or, perhaps more to the point, how stupid is Kerry?
Here at the end of August, the Kerry campaign doesn't seem to have any traction at all. I will be very surprised if he manages to gain any voters out of the Republican convention. If form holds, Bush will gain. He may gain big. And if by the middle of September Bush is ahead by five points or more in most polls, Kerry is an ex-politician. He has gone to join the choir invisible of politicians who never quite made it onto the big stage, like his former boss Dukakis, Mondale, Gore, Dole and his special buddy, Captain Oldsmobile. ( I just saw somewhere that nickname for Teddy Kennedy, and I love it!)
--
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Gambella Massacre
It's amazing what you find just by ambling around the blogosphere. Actually, I found this site while I was looking at Africapundit. The Anuak blog tells a detailed story of the Ethiopian government's ethnic cleansing of an area of western Ethiopia called Gambella state. Here is a
map.
I have never heard about this. I followed the Ethiopia-Tigre-Eritrea story for years, mostly, I guess, because it corroborated my idea that collectivism always leads to violence. The stories on Anuak Genocide Watch are as bad as what came out of Rwanda, much worse than Bosnia and Kosovo. Because Gambella has no oil (that I know of) or uranium and doesn't fit any pet victim profile that would galvanize the UN into action (hah!), it has been totally ignored. It makes one wonder how many of these stories exist around the world, holocausts that fade unnoticed into history. Their motto is not "Never again". It's "That never happened". People care more about the elephant or the mountain gorilla than they do about Anuaks. The tragedy can be best appreciated by seeing where the survivors headed for refuge: Sudan!
Update: there is, apparently, an oil angle, though this article is irrationally biased against oil extraction. I understand the mistrust of government, but there's no reason why oil can't be produced to the profit of the Anuak. It will only be the fault of the left-leaning government if it isn't. To call the use of valuable resources "socially and environmentally destructive" tells you everything you need to know about the real agenda of "Genocide Watch" and their "Cultural Survival" project to keep people as pets, protected from the nasty twenty-first century so they can stay poor on their farms and never get it together to defend themselves from the Ethiopian government. I'm only linking to these collectivist fools because there's some interesting history in their article.
It's amazing what you find just by ambling around the blogosphere. Actually, I found this site while I was looking at Africapundit. The Anuak blog tells a detailed story of the Ethiopian government's ethnic cleansing of an area of western Ethiopia called Gambella state. Here is a
map.
I have never heard about this. I followed the Ethiopia-Tigre-Eritrea story for years, mostly, I guess, because it corroborated my idea that collectivism always leads to violence. The stories on Anuak Genocide Watch are as bad as what came out of Rwanda, much worse than Bosnia and Kosovo. Because Gambella has no oil (that I know of) or uranium and doesn't fit any pet victim profile that would galvanize the UN into action (hah!), it has been totally ignored. It makes one wonder how many of these stories exist around the world, holocausts that fade unnoticed into history. Their motto is not "Never again". It's "That never happened". People care more about the elephant or the mountain gorilla than they do about Anuaks. The tragedy can be best appreciated by seeing where the survivors headed for refuge: Sudan!
Update: there is, apparently, an oil angle, though this article is irrationally biased against oil extraction. I understand the mistrust of government, but there's no reason why oil can't be produced to the profit of the Anuak. It will only be the fault of the left-leaning government if it isn't. To call the use of valuable resources "socially and environmentally destructive" tells you everything you need to know about the real agenda of "Genocide Watch" and their "Cultural Survival" project to keep people as pets, protected from the nasty twenty-first century so they can stay poor on their farms and never get it together to defend themselves from the Ethiopian government. I'm only linking to these collectivist fools because there's some interesting history in their article.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Oh, those fascinating Olympic sports! I tuned in to the coverage this morning and saw two teams of women playing something that looked like a cross between field hockey and water polo on land. I remembered before too long that there was something called "team handball" and this must be it. I'd never seen it before. It was the Hungarians, who all seemed to have their hair frosted in unison, and the Chinese, who seem to be able to come up with skilled athletes in any sport in a month or two after the sport is adopted in the Olympics. The US is definitely at a disadvantage in women's team handball, since hardly any Americans are even aware such a sport exists. All our athletes are out playing "beach" volleyball, which is now an Olympic sport distinct from regular volleyball. Maybe this is a trend. Why not have "beach" soccer or "beach" tennis or "beach" cycling, where athletes try to ride a bike through deep sand? No doubt they'd develop new bikes with big tires. Didn't the Romans set their gladiatorial combats on sand? I think "arena" comes from a word for sand. So once again the Romans were there first. But there's little blood in women's beach team handball, just a lot of screeching and hair pulling.
As for men's basketball, starring two NBA stars against the rest of the world, the US lost to Puerto Rico yesterday. Which is very odd, considering that PR is PART of the US! Does no one else find this disturbing? Why not the US vs. Florida in football? Florida would win. I've been puzzling over the autonomy of PR in basketball since I've been watching Olympic sports. I suppose it's an outgrowth of the move for independence, which has been soundly rejected by the Puerto Riqueno populace every time it's been voted on. And for good reason, considering that half or more of the PR populace receives US government Food Stamps funded by the taxpayers of the rest of the US. But still. In the Soviet era, Belarus and the Ukraine were not allowed to have separate Olympic teams. All their athletes had to play for the Soviet team, even when in the United Nations they had separate votes as part of the Soviet bloc. And you know who's responsible for all this nonsense? Yep. You guessed it. SHEMP!!
As for men's basketball, starring two NBA stars against the rest of the world, the US lost to Puerto Rico yesterday. Which is very odd, considering that PR is PART of the US! Does no one else find this disturbing? Why not the US vs. Florida in football? Florida would win. I've been puzzling over the autonomy of PR in basketball since I've been watching Olympic sports. I suppose it's an outgrowth of the move for independence, which has been soundly rejected by the Puerto Riqueno populace every time it's been voted on. And for good reason, considering that half or more of the PR populace receives US government Food Stamps funded by the taxpayers of the rest of the US. But still. In the Soviet era, Belarus and the Ukraine were not allowed to have separate Olympic teams. All their athletes had to play for the Soviet team, even when in the United Nations they had separate votes as part of the Soviet bloc. And you know who's responsible for all this nonsense? Yep. You guessed it. SHEMP!!
Monday, July 26, 2004
On the Lighter Side
Measurement. It's such an annoyance. The Metric Maniacs insist that a system invented during the French Revolution is clearly superior to the English system, based, as far as I can determine, on the size of various parts of the human body. Let's see, which is more universal, easier to understand? One ten millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the Equator along the Greenwich meridian or the size of my thumb?
I was watching this documentary about the feasibility (see http://denbeste.nu/) of a manned Mars mission, when I started thinking, OK, so this is it. We're going to the stars. For thirty years it's been really hard to actually believe it was going to happen.
But when we're out on Aldebaran a thousand years from now why should we be using a system of measurement based on a more or less random distance on a third-rate planet in a mediocre solar system in an average galaxy? OK, I've been reading Stephen Hawking, too. So English would be better. If we still have thumbs and feet. But maybe we won't.
So why not adopt a measurement system based on something that won't vary no matter where in the universe we go? I'm talking about light. The speed of light, that is. The light year is used extensively right now. It's neither metric nor English. Its only not universal because of that "year" thing. Why the time it takes for a somewhat average planet - etc. - to go around a mediocre star is relevant will not be apparent to our descendants on Aldebaran. A light year is of course a bit lengthy to be useful for cutting cloth or constructing football fields. But that's where exponents can come in handy. We can use an appropriate fraction of a light year to represent a convenient unit of length. Cloth, lumber or licorice can be measured as a fraction that is universal, at least for observers in a similar frame of reference.
Measurement. It's such an annoyance. The Metric Maniacs insist that a system invented during the French Revolution is clearly superior to the English system, based, as far as I can determine, on the size of various parts of the human body. Let's see, which is more universal, easier to understand? One ten millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the Equator along the Greenwich meridian or the size of my thumb?
I was watching this documentary about the feasibility (see http://denbeste.nu/) of a manned Mars mission, when I started thinking, OK, so this is it. We're going to the stars. For thirty years it's been really hard to actually believe it was going to happen.
But when we're out on Aldebaran a thousand years from now why should we be using a system of measurement based on a more or less random distance on a third-rate planet in a mediocre solar system in an average galaxy? OK, I've been reading Stephen Hawking, too. So English would be better. If we still have thumbs and feet. But maybe we won't.
So why not adopt a measurement system based on something that won't vary no matter where in the universe we go? I'm talking about light. The speed of light, that is. The light year is used extensively right now. It's neither metric nor English. Its only not universal because of that "year" thing. Why the time it takes for a somewhat average planet - etc. - to go around a mediocre star is relevant will not be apparent to our descendants on Aldebaran. A light year is of course a bit lengthy to be useful for cutting cloth or constructing football fields. But that's where exponents can come in handy. We can use an appropriate fraction of a light year to represent a convenient unit of length. Cloth, lumber or licorice can be measured as a fraction that is universal, at least for observers in a similar frame of reference.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Mountain of lies
I'm awed by the mountain of lies the political campaign has thrown up, almost all on the Democratic side, although if the Republicans started talking about the War on Some Drugs, they would add to the heap. But no one talks about the WOSD these days. Does that mean the war's lost or everyone's given up or the war's won and no one cares?
Michael Moore and Leni Riefenstahl. Both won awards from the French:
see Triumph des Willens
Moore lies intentionally and continuously, by implication and outright. Riefenstahl was just going along with the Nazis because she wanted to make films.
The lies will form an avalanche and bury their sponsors eventually. But will it collapse before the election or after? I've come to the conclusion that a Kerry presidency would be a great opportunity for the Republicans to consolidate their control of the Congress and would be a disaster for Hillary Clinton's hopes for 2008. So not so bad. But Bush's speech yesterday makes me think he's going to turn up the heat. Also, Theresa appears to be cratering. So maybe now it gets to be fun.
Got a truck. Got a W04 sticker for the back window of the truck. Funny not having a back seat. At least I have a cool silver tool box and a plastic bedliner.
I'm awed by the mountain of lies the political campaign has thrown up, almost all on the Democratic side, although if the Republicans started talking about the War on Some Drugs, they would add to the heap. But no one talks about the WOSD these days. Does that mean the war's lost or everyone's given up or the war's won and no one cares?
Michael Moore and Leni Riefenstahl. Both won awards from the French:
see Triumph des Willens
Moore lies intentionally and continuously, by implication and outright. Riefenstahl was just going along with the Nazis because she wanted to make films.
The lies will form an avalanche and bury their sponsors eventually. But will it collapse before the election or after? I've come to the conclusion that a Kerry presidency would be a great opportunity for the Republicans to consolidate their control of the Congress and would be a disaster for Hillary Clinton's hopes for 2008. So not so bad. But Bush's speech yesterday makes me think he's going to turn up the heat. Also, Theresa appears to be cratering. So maybe now it gets to be fun.
Got a truck. Got a W04 sticker for the back window of the truck. Funny not having a back seat. At least I have a cool silver tool box and a plastic bedliner.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Reagan and stupidity
I never liked Reagan. Mostly because he just had to be a stupid actor but he turned out to be right about most everything. That's really annoying. Lileks has a good summary of the situation in today's Bleat. I voted for Carter in 1976. In 1980, because Carter never came through on his promise of zero-based budgeting, I didn't vote. That was the beginning of my Harry Browne-inspired "there's no point in voting" period. As Lileks remembers:
Then when the wall fell in 1989 and it obviously had something to do with the stances Reagan took, I was so ashamed of myself. I mean, the Berlin Wall. I remember when it went up in 1961, I was twelve. The wall became a permanent part of the world. It was the concretization (!) of the Iron Curtain. Which would never go away. And then all of a sudden there it was, gone. Something was going on which I couldn't understand. What blows my mind today is that anyone could live through all that and not realize that they didn't understand anything. And reexamine their political assumptions. Then the Gulf War and twelve years of ineffective Cartering around. Then 9-11. Then Bush actually does something about it. How can anyone not love it? Or at least give it a chance? The point is that freedom is something tangible, as real as a good meal. Something everyone can learn how to enjoy.
I never liked Reagan. Mostly because he just had to be a stupid actor but he turned out to be right about most everything. That's really annoying. Lileks has a good summary of the situation in today's Bleat. I voted for Carter in 1976. In 1980, because Carter never came through on his promise of zero-based budgeting, I didn't vote. That was the beginning of my Harry Browne-inspired "there's no point in voting" period. As Lileks remembers:
We didn’t hate Reagan; we viewed him with indulgent contempt, since he was so obviously out of his depth. I mean, please: an actor? As president?
Then when the wall fell in 1989 and it obviously had something to do with the stances Reagan took, I was so ashamed of myself. I mean, the Berlin Wall. I remember when it went up in 1961, I was twelve. The wall became a permanent part of the world. It was the concretization (!) of the Iron Curtain. Which would never go away. And then all of a sudden there it was, gone. Something was going on which I couldn't understand. What blows my mind today is that anyone could live through all that and not realize that they didn't understand anything. And reexamine their political assumptions. Then the Gulf War and twelve years of ineffective Cartering around. Then 9-11. Then Bush actually does something about it. How can anyone not love it? Or at least give it a chance? The point is that freedom is something tangible, as real as a good meal. Something everyone can learn how to enjoy.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Sounds familiar
A news story about Jose Padilla, a traitor who worked on bombing US apartment buildings, reminded me of stories during the Russians' little problems with Chechnya. Weren't something like 500 or more Russians killed by Chechnyan (Muslim) terrorists blowing up buildings around Russia? And didn't these terrorists use exactly the same technique Padilla is accused of contemplating? That is, renting an apartment and filling the apartment with gas by opening the pipes and then lighting the whole building off with a timed bomb.
And if my memory serves, wasn't it mostly because of this horrific bombing campaign that the Russian military went into Chechnya, killing thousands and losing hundreds in Grozny alone? Why haven't I seen any reference to this similarity?
A news story about Jose Padilla, a traitor who worked on bombing US apartment buildings, reminded me of stories during the Russians' little problems with Chechnya. Weren't something like 500 or more Russians killed by Chechnyan (Muslim) terrorists blowing up buildings around Russia? And didn't these terrorists use exactly the same technique Padilla is accused of contemplating? That is, renting an apartment and filling the apartment with gas by opening the pipes and then lighting the whole building off with a timed bomb.
And if my memory serves, wasn't it mostly because of this horrific bombing campaign that the Russian military went into Chechnya, killing thousands and losing hundreds in Grozny alone? Why haven't I seen any reference to this similarity?
Thursday, May 27, 2004
It's obvious
The suicide rate in New Jersey is twice the homicide rate, according to a new study. This isn't surprising, since anyone who has seen any part of the rest of the world and finds himself trapped in New Jersey has no other realistic option than to commit suicide. The small number of murders is no doubt accounted for by the few native New Jerseyites who realize the nature of the hellhole they inhabit. The few who do will do anything, even murder, to get out.
The suicide rate in New Jersey is twice the homicide rate, according to a new study. This isn't surprising, since anyone who has seen any part of the rest of the world and finds himself trapped in New Jersey has no other realistic option than to commit suicide. The small number of murders is no doubt accounted for by the few native New Jerseyites who realize the nature of the hellhole they inhabit. The few who do will do anything, even murder, to get out.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
The only boooks in the world
Thought I'd come up with a list of the only real books out there. It's odd to go into a bookstore and not see any great number of books, just a few here and there, separated by meaningless jumbles of typography on wasted paper. So I'll just give you authors' names. Not all the authors listed actually wrote a book every time they put words on paper but most of their production is real:
I'll add more as I think of them and perhaps someday figure out how to move the list into a permanent section of the site. Odd how few wrote after 1900, eh?
Thought I'd come up with a list of the only real books out there. It's odd to go into a bookstore and not see any great number of books, just a few here and there, separated by meaningless jumbles of typography on wasted paper. So I'll just give you authors' names. Not all the authors listed actually wrote a book every time they put words on paper but most of their production is real:
Rand
Hugo
Balzac
Adam Smith
Orwell
Carlyle
Stendhal
Asimov
Gogol
Dostoevsky
Voltaire
Simenon
Bernard Lewis
Raffaello Pumpelly
Benvenuto Cellini
Hayek
Vernon Howard
Bunyan
Lysander Spooner
Thomas Paine
I'll add more as I think of them and perhaps someday figure out how to move the list into a permanent section of the site. Odd how few wrote after 1900, eh?
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
More Fish War
To be even-handed, I must present the Pakistani view of the piscine pugilistics off the coast of the subcontinent. But who will speak for the fish?
To be even-handed, I must present the Pakistani view of the piscine pugilistics off the coast of the subcontinent. But who will speak for the fish?
Monday, May 24, 2004
Indo-Pak fish war
Yes, only on Conundrum will you hear about the Indo-Pakistani fish war:
One just hopes it doesn't scale up.
Yes, only on Conundrum will you hear about the Indo-Pakistani fish war:
An Indian Navy patrol boat fired at a fishing trawler that strayed into Indian waters in the Arabian Sea , killing three Pakistani fishermen, officials said on Tuesday.
One just hopes it doesn't scale up.
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