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February 28, 2005Winds of Change on MSNBC - Wednesdayby Robin Burk
I'll be representing Winds of Change on Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley's new MSNBC show Connected: Coast to Coast again on Wednesday at 5 pm. LaShawn Barber, I and possibly a third female blogger will be talking about women on the Net and in blogs. If you haven't done so already, go read USMC_Vet's review of this new show. I think he's right: the show takes blogs and the Net seriously. Winds of Loveby Joe Katzman
 See that photo on the right? It's an ice sculpture. Inside lies a very special treasure, the product of love and friendship on so many different levels. To tell its tale, I need to talk about a grandmother's love, the blog that changed my life, a marriage proposal gone horribly wrong, and a day of redemption wherein love and friendship once again rode to the rescue of all. True love is possible, and so are happy endings. I know, 'cause it happened to me. Winds of War: Feb 28/05by WoW Team Monday
Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today. Today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies. Top Topics
Other Topics Today Include: About A Travelling Salesmanby Armed Liberal
If you want to understand the question the Democratic Party needs to answer, go read the winning essay in the Shell/Economist essay contest. The question asked was "Import workers or export jobs?", and while the winner - writer Claudia O'Keefe - has no prescription, she does have a damn good diagnosis of the problem based on her personal history. I've always seen The Economist as the most Establishment of all publications, reflecting a clear-eyed mixture of High Corporate and Top Government thinking. It pleases me to think that people like Ms. O'Keefe have made it onto their radar.My stepfather was a salesman during the 1960s, traveling California and the American southwest in his big, hulking Buick, selling bras, slips, and girdles to small department stores and five-and-dimes. Whenever he returned from one of his two-week trips, he brought several lunch sacks full of torn price tags with him, evidence of product sold. My job was to sort and count the tags, at a nickel for every hundred I recorded. Good news from Iraq, 28 February 2005by Arthur Chrenkoff
Note: Also available at the "Opinion Journal" and Chrenkoff. Many thanks to James Taranto, Joe Katzman, and all of you for your continuing support for the series. "After a heroic election day comes the practical business of forming a stable government. And in that sense, the new Iraq is proving to be no different from any other democracy. Iraqis are talking about politics this week, rather than suicide bombers. The political elite is bargaining over who will get what job in the new government, rather than who will get killed by the insurgents. The public mood, at least judging from conversations with Iraqis here, is much lighter than when I visited Baghdad two months ago." So writes David Ignatius in his recent column. Ignatius could hardly be described as an optimist on Iraq; much can still go wrong, as he and everyday news coverage painfully remind us, but as he writes,
The fact that so many people, and not just the Sunni sheikhs, now want the piece of the Iraqi action perhaps tells us more about the true situation and future prospects in Iraq than most current news reports. As the old saying goes; victory has many fathers, defeat is an orphan. That the waiting room of the Middle Eastern maternity ward is getting increasingly crowded with paternity claimants is a good - if an indirect sign - that the things in Iraq might be going better than one would think based on the mainstream media coverage. Below, some good news and positive developments in Iraq that you might have missed over the past two weeks. Iraq Report, Feb 28/05by Andrew Olmsted
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Other Topics Today Include: REFORME; water treatment in Kirkuk; oil fire in northern Iraq; coalitions jockey for advantage in the new government; 450 Aussies head to Iraq; British investigations; the Nazis and the Baathists. February 27, 2005The People United ... Can Never Be Defeated (II)by Armed Liberal
I assume that if you read this blog you probably read others - including Iraq the Model, the blog of the brothers Omar and Mohammed who I met in Los Angeles and Boston last year. But in the slight case that you don't, please go check out Mohammed's post yesterday, Part I of Blogging vs. Terror:
'Sideways' - downward...by Armed Liberal
Intermittently, I feel like I'm lost in pop culture ... TG and I went to a party yesterday, and it ended sooner than we thought, and Middle Guy was having some friends over, so we decided to go to the movies; the choices were 'Constantine,' 'Sideways,' and 'Hitch.' We hadn't seen any of them, and so decided to see Sideways. Half an hour in, I was wishing we hadn't. I sat through it, and as we walked out, asked TG what she'd thought of it. "I can't for the life of me understand why it's up for an Oscar." "Neither can I." I don't for a moment get it. Compared to 'Aviator' or 'Million Dollar Baby' - this movie is just pathetically weak. it is weakest where - for the kind of small ensemble movie it is - it ought to be strongest, in the relationships between the characters and our relationship with them. February 26, 2005Shoo Flies, Don't Bother Meby Joe Katzman
Israeli expertise in chemical-free pest control is about to benefit its neighbors in the Middle East. An initiative is underway to drastically cut back the region's #1 enemy of agriculture in plantations and orchards - the Mediterranean fruit fly. The project is called Bio-Fly, and it's spearheaded by a world-leading Israeli company known as Bio-Bee in Kibbutz Sde Eliahu, Israel. Read all about the initiative, and what it means for the region. Sufi Wisdom: Instruction vs. Attentionby T.L. James
T.L. James writes MarsBlog. Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series. As terrorist Islam does its best to discredit the religion, it is important to remember that there are other voices within the faith. One such is the Sufis, a branch of Islamic mystics with roots in many religious traditions. The lessons of Sufism are often communicated through humorous stories and mystical or romantic poetry. Many Sufi stories demonstrate that what lies behind an apparent desire for instruction is oftentimes a desire for attention - but the desire to instruct can sometimes be questionable:Abdullah ben Yahya was showing a manuscript, which he had written, to a visitor. A Saint for the Internetby Joe Katzman
Peggy Noonan writes:
I suppose St. Liebowitz was out of the question. Read more about St. Cupertino (it's the final entry of her homage de blog style column), including links to a more detailed story about his life and times. Catholics refer to such a one as a saint; my own religion might dub him a lamed-vavnik; one of The 36. Peggy Noonan, again:
If you think Ms. Noonan has a point, she gives the Pope's email address at the end of her article. UPDATE: Some great discussion, links, and reminiscing in the comments section about the birth of the Inrternet. Gunner Palace: PG-13by Joe Katzman
Earlier this week, Armed liberal wrote a post objecting to the MPAA's "R" rating of Gunner Palace, and linked off to a petition. Well, the results are in:
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this effort, and to the directors, too. Based on A.L.'s review, it sounds like a good film. Now, more people will be able to see it. February 25, 2005Iran, Asia Briefingsby Joe Katzman
Simon World has its weekly Asia-by-Blog briefing up. This edition contains a funny Singaporean morning show, repopulating Hong Kong, reverse offshoring, non-performing pandas, China's censorship, North Korean flip-floppery, Maoists reviewing video games, and more... Gary Metz has an Iran briefing up today. Other items include a report re: the regional proliferation that will ensue if Iran goes nuclear. Children of the Stoplights: Part 6by Discarded Lies
This is the featured weekly post from Discarded Lies at Winds of Change.NET. This concludes the Children of the Stoplights series, about child trafficking in Europe. Here are parts one, two, three, four and five of Children of the Stoplights. Next week, the Terra Nostra series returns. It's about the Jewish Holocaust in Greece and righteous gentiles . "I am not able to work because I have never worked in my whole life. I have experience in this business (children trafficking). In Greece, the only way for an idler like me to survive, is to make children work, either mine or others. I made children beg in Thessaloniki and in Athens. I always choose children from families I know well.." Interview of an Albanian children trafficker with a Terre des hommes member in August 2001. Iraqi TV Confessions, Part 2 (UPDATED with transcript!)by Dan Darling
I saw the comment by Mark Buehner in the comments of Tom's post describing possible US military options with respect to Syria. The newest Iraqi confessions came up in the comments, in particular the one that purportedly features a Syrian intelligence official claiming that he was sent into Iraq at the behest of his superiors back in 2001. Mark comments:
These are good questions and I think he's a little less dismissive of them than Juan Cole's knee-jerk reaction to their appearance and I'll do my best to answer them, though I still want to hear a straight answer from our intelligence agencies on this stuff rather than the punditariat (myself included). Are they not commenting on this information because they agree with it or because they're just dismissing it off-hand. We are working hand-in-hand with the Iraqis to root out the insurgency, so we must have some idea as to the credibility of these claims. If it isn't true, then why are US-backed Iraqi TV stations broadcasting it? Isn't it hypocritical to bash al-Jazeera and other Arab satellite TV stations for their own falsehoods while initiating this kind of incitement? February 24, 2005Winds of War: Feb 24/05by Colt
Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday's Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times. TOP TOPICS
Other Topics Today Include: diplomatic delusions with Iran; mass-release of terrorists; Lebanon as a model for retreat; NATO would send troops to Israel; A-Q may go for soft targets in Kuwait; successes in Yemen; American Muslim charged with plot to kill president; Saudis extradite American jihadi; Madrid tower fire - arson?; Dutch intelligence watch Saudi-funded mosques; Theo van Gogh revisited; FSB nails Beslan financier; GSPC more of a threat post-Hattab; Pakistani troops to fire on U.S. forces; Taliban to give in?; serious warning of attack in Aceh; Phillipines arrests thwart attacks; three arrested suicide bombers in Kenya; GSPC ambushes army; and much more. Seeing Redby 'Cicero'
UPDATE: Little Green Footballs has a piece on the Doha Youth Center in Qatar, showing its solidarity for Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Mayor Livingstone made a speech on film for the conference. - - - Nick Cohen has written an interesting editorial about London's Mayor 'Red Ken' Livingstone's public embrace of Egyptian Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. The London Sheikh has publicized his hatred for women, gays and unbelievers. 'Pseudo-leftist' Red Ken has aligned himself with him as the 'leader of a great world religion,' and a symbol of British oppression, but at the cost of eroding liberal values: Strangling Syria's Regimeby Guest Author
Tom Holsinger originally left this as a comment in Dan's article about the PFLP's activities in Iraq. I thought to was interesting enough to deserve its own post. We have a simple and effective, but slow, means of terminating Syria's Baathist regime if we want to. The time required might make it costly in terms of Syrian countermeasures. We can close Syrian and Lebanese ports with naval mines, i.e. blockade the Syrian economy, including its criminal one. The Turks like the Syrians less than we do so they'd deny use of their ports and rail lines to make up for the closure of Syrian-controlled ports. Syria's rail connections with Jordan and Saudi Arabia lack sufficient capacity to carry the tonnage necessary to keep the Syrian economy going. Ditto for all possible truck and air traffic. Even Syria's feeble economy relies on railroads from ports to carry most of the goods it requires. The major problem with this, besides the fact that governments don't think that way these days, is the political & diplomatic problems from blockading Lebanon, which happens to be Syria's wholly controlled subsidiary. Few understand, though, how important sea traffic through Lebanon is for the drug trade carried on by the gangster confederacy called the Syrian government aka its Baathist regime. A Religious Conservative Describes His Journeyby Joe Katzman
As a follow-up to Robin Burke's article about CPAC, religious conservatives, and libertarian conservatives, Dignan in Atlanta points us to his article Inside the Religious Right, describing his personal and political journey from the inside. Give it a read - it gives you an additional perspective on some modern events and trends, and explains the variations within a movement that most see as a monolith. It might even short-circuit a stereotype or two. The CPAC Files: Aftermath in the Blogosphereby Robin Burk
Ryan Sager came back from CPAC and fired a shot across the bow of social conservatives: Arrogance toward Democrats isn't the problem -- though that was everywhere, from Ann Coulter's conservative stand-up routine (kind of a Republican version of "You might be a redneck if…" delivered to wildly cheering fans) to the popular t-shirt slogan, "What blue states? I only see red?" No, the arrogance that will prove problematic, ultimately, was that directed at the libertarian-leaning conservatives by the social conservatives. The message in that regard was clear: We Christians can do this alone, y'all who ain't down with J.C. best be running along. That drew a response from Ramesh Ponnuru at National Review Online, with a reply by Sager and a counter by Ponnuru. And then a comment by Bryan Preston, a fellow blogger at the conference. Two comments from me: First, I agree with Sager that one of the invocations at CPAC came about as close to being explicitly Christian as it could without using the name. LaShawn Barber, Matt Margolis and I discussed it when I asked if anyone was bothered by that. Both of them are conservatives, I believe. LaShawn is an evangelical Christian, Matt is not. But I disagree that social conservatism was the main voice at CPAC. It was there, but so too were lots of panel discussions and booths about tax reform. I'd put the proportion at 60% v. 40%, but that's just my impression looking back, not the result of reviewing the agenda and the booths there. I understand the desire of LaShawn and others to be able to talk about their faith in public. Over the last 20 years, a corrosive ideology has basically driven faith underground. This last election was the reaction to that hostility. But religion isn't the only thing that was driven underground after the Vietnam war. Pride in America, love of this country despite its shortcomings, admiration for those who serve in our armed forces -- these were also driven undergound in the 70s - 90s. And the reaction to that hostility - post 9/11 - was the support for the Swift Boat Vets that I wrote about here and here and, I suspect, the re-election of George Bush. February 23, 2005Yup. This About Nails It.by Robin Burk
Go read this. Now. (Said the white woman mother too! with multiple graduate degrees .....) Fast Cash at Austin Highby Joe Katzman
Austin High has some smart kids... and some very dumb administrators. It all started when candy were removed from its vending machines, as a step toward (get this) fighting obseity. Obviously these yutzes never read The Great Brain at the Academy, because what happened next surprised them:
This is what happens when the educator class believes that experience in and understanding of business and economics are somehow beneath them. And having created a more educational situation than anything in their classes, with timeless lessons about governance, math, capitalism, and responsibility, what did these genuises do? They reversed the ban by declaring milk chocolate and candy with peanuts nutritious. Frankly, I think I'd rather be educated by their kids (Hat Tip: James Taranto's Best of the Web Today). UPDATE: Hey, these guys are teaching Intelligent Design! Gunner Palace and Ratingsby Armed Liberal
Gunner Palace just received a "R" rating from the MPAA. I've seen the film, and that's unbelievably absurd. Some other folks agree, and I hope you do too. If you do, click here, and go sign the petition to get it the PG-13 rating it deserves. Someone Seems To Be Listening...by Armed Liberal
I'm sitting in a hotel room in Vancouver, listening to the TV. And the ad for the Toronto Globe and Mail comes on and says... "It's not just news, it's a conversation..." Mr. Jarvis, did you write that?? Iraq & the PFLP: Why aren't we seeing these?by Dan Darling
So I'm reading my former boss Michael Ledeen's column today and I learn (via a link to Iraq the Model) that according to a captured Iraqi terrorist that George Habash's PFLP (the only Palestinian group ever to successfully assassinate a member of the Israeli cabinet) has come out of the woodwork and is now actively involved in targeting US forces in Iraq. That's a huge story given its Syrian connections, and it certainly isn't the first of its kind to come out of broadcasts on Iraqi TV. Which leads me to the question: Why isn't this getting more play over here? Why aren't any of these stories getting play over here? February 22, 2005Robi & Nitin's Indian Ocean Horizons: 2005-02-22by Robi Sen
Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on South Asia, courtesy of Robi Sen and Nitin Pai of The Acorn. NEPAL GOES DOWN - ADVANTAGE CHINA
Other Issues Include: Bangladesh slows down - advantage who?; The Kashmir bus speeds up; Khan celebrates his first year in retirement; India - a million matinees now Coulter's "New McCarthyism": Asking for the Recordby Joe Katzman
I recently sent a letter to the Director of CPAC 2005, Stacy Rumenap, asking for clarification. Here it is: Increasing Confidence in the Iraqi Security Forcesby Robin Burk
Hammorabi reports that the Iraqi security forces are better and stronger and proved themselves during Ashura.
The 9-11 of the Middle Eastby Robin Burk
That's what Omar's father calls the bombing that killed Hariri.
Meanwhile, public opinion polls in Arab countries show that the majority supports the idea of an international investigation on the attack (69.59% on the BBC Arabic and 58.8% on Alarabiya) but it's also interesting to see that around 99% of the samples in Ramalla/Palestine oppose the international investigation! I wonder why? [/irony] Kifayahby Robin Burk
Iraq the Model has several good posts up today. Money quote from one: It seems that the demand on freedom and democracy in the ME is increasing even faster than we expected. Obviously the effects of the Tsunami of Jan 30 in Iraq and the September 11 of Lebanon have already started to play their role in shaping the region.... Meanwhile, there were demonstrations in Egypt asking Mubarak to step out and calling for elections rejecting a 5th term for the president that has been ruling the country with emergency law since 1981 after the assassination of president Anwar Sadat. The slogan held by the demonstrators was "Kifayah" which means "enough is enough". Omar links to some photos too. February 21, 2005Mudslides and Montesquieu - the looming crisis in Venezuelaby Robin Burk
What can you tell about a country's politics from a single photo? A lot, if the country is Venezuela and the photo is posted by Daniel in Yaracuy. If you don't read him from time to time, you should. Today's post ties together mudslides, the privileged rich and Montesquieu. Time to Write to My Congressmanby Robin Burk
Maurice Hinchey represents the congressional district I live in. The CPAC Files: Thoughts on the Conferenceby Robin Burk
Well, the booths are all dismantled, the floors swept and the CPAC attendees have all gone home (or are off visiting monuments and museums with their families). I took Amtrak down to DC and back, which gave me some time to reflect on the conference and what it all means. In this post I'll think out loud about the conservative movement as seen at CPAC. I'll use a second post later today or tomorrow to talk about the media, including my brief foray into the previously uncharted (by me) territory of radio and TV interviews. Impressions. (Thoughts about the impressions below.) How do you sum up several days, dozens of speakers and crowds of attendees? I could start with the surprising number of young people who were in the thick of things there. Many who looked to be college age or in their early 20s, a fair number of teenagers too. They were everywhere: listening to speakers, waiting to get books signed, working the conference or manning booths. One young woman spent half an hour talking with me about flat consumption tax regimes. Lots of young people talking to other young people about campus organizing. Special sessions for young people on how to talk to the media, how to organize a Campus Republicans chapter, how to canvas opinion in your home town, how to work on a political campaign. They were energetic, upbeat and in some cases intense. They feel enfranchised, a part of the political process. The Clare Booth Luce Institute mentoring session for girls and young women was very popular. The CPAC Files: Zell Miller and the Swift Boat Vets (Updated)by Robin Burk
Note: I posted this late on Friday. Here's a restored version. I have more to say about what I observed at the award ceremony last night for the Swift Boat Vets, especially what I observed about the attendees packed into the main floor of the event. Tonight as I headed toward the elevator to the reception before dinner I found myself once again talking with John O'Neill of the Swift Boat vets. A while back I read (and then forgot) that O'Neill had just donated a kidney to his wife when John Kerry won the Iowa caucuses and he had to decide whether to speak out about Kerry and Vietnam. Meeting Mrs. O'Neill tonight brought that back to mind. What a year she has had! In addition to the surgery and the Swift Boat Vets campaign, there were two household moves and a law firm merger. I know a lot of military wives like her. They seldom make the news and they seldom complain. They manage household moves, provide emotional support and hold things together while spouses are deployed. There's a reason the military services always recognize spouses (wives or husbands) along with the service members at promotions and farewell ceremonies. It's not lip service, it's a heartfelt recognition of an important contribution. Mrs. O'Neill wasn't mentioned when Sen. Zell Miller presented this year's Courage Under Fire award to the Swift Boat Vets and the POWs for Truth, but I'm pretty sure the Swifties are grateful for her courage and support nonetheless. Watching O'Neill and Bill Franke, I was struck by how grateful they themselves are to all the people who responded with support when they spoke out. O'Neill was the public face of the group and Franke was the indispensable operations guy. I wondered, on the way down to CPAC, what impression I'd come away with once I'd met them in person. The CPAC Files: Photosby Robin Burk
Kevin Aylward of Wizbang has organized a site for photos from the conference. I'll try to add mine a little later today. Bad News on a Good News Saturdayby Joe Katzman
Winds of Change began as a solo blog in April 2002. From the outset, it had a very special feature: Saturdays are reserved for "good news" postings only: discoveries, inventions, wisdom from a variety of traditions, profiles of people whose actions inspire us all, etc. There are a variety of reasons for this - some practical, some religious, and some bound up with Winds of Change.NET's mission and motto. It's a deep thing here, and the rule has only been broken twice in Winds' entire history: [1] A Reuters Saturday newsflash that the Turks has caught smugglers with 33 pounds of enriched uranium in Sept. 2002 (and see follow-up); and [2] Saturday, September 11, 2004, when we needed to discuss all aspects of this world-changing event in our coverage. Robin Burk and I just had a back-and-forth related to this issue, culminating in a friendly phone call Sunday evening. I want to chat about it here on the blog, because I think I owe that to Robin and to our readers. It also offers some lessons for us all. I'll cover:
Winds of War: Feb 21/05by WoW Team Monday
Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today. Today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies. Top Topics
Other Topics Today Include: Russia plans to continue aiding Iran's nuke program; UFO/IFOs in Iran; Leaving Gaza; Tunnel war tech; Iraqi irregulars; CIA/FBI terror briefs; The PDB's future; another Saudi "charity" indicted; Pakistani insecurity; India's Patriot [missile] games; Deconstructing Theo's murder; Projecting power; More claims against SEALs; and more.... Terrorist Supporters in Northieby Armed Liberal
I've smacked Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber more than a bit - and regret none of it - but the guy made sense on something this week, and I won't be able to live with myself until I compliment him for it. He suggested that President Bush not receive the Sinn Fein representative at the White House this St. Patrick's Day.If the government wants to send out the right signals it should go ahead and hold the function - but invite only representatives of those political parties that are committed exclusively to democratic politics. This may sound like diplomatic niceties - but it would send a quite powerful signal, and, I suspect, have a substantial chastening effect on a group of people who are in sore need of chastening.Makes good sense to me. And it's timely. Here's the Guardian today: Sinn Féin was in crisis last night as another prominent member in the Irish republic was dragged into the multi-million pound IRA money-laundering investigation police say could connect republicans to the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery.The depth of U.S. support for the IRA during the bloody 1980's can't be overstated. And it's a shameful thing. Iraq Report: Feb 21/05by Andrew Olmsted
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Other Topics Today Include: A report from a Marine sniper; a little time in the rear; decentralizing Iraq's economy; speculation on the new Iraqi government's makeup; the Sunni's want in; Carnival of the Liberated; searching for the missing; a father and son head to Iraq; Clinton says insurgency failing; Support the troops. February 20, 2005The Murder of Theo Van Gogh, Part 2by Dan Darling
Back in November, I wrote on the murder of Theo Van Gogh and concluded that it was far more than the actions of a small group of misguided fanatics but was instead an act carried out by al-Qaeda as part of a far more sinister plot aimed at destabilizing the Netherlands. Now, courtesy of the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, which are kind enough to publish their findings in English in marked contrast to some other countries I could name, we get a professional evaluation of the killing. This is my summary of the Norwegian report, with their findings in bullet form and my comments (if any, since this is a really good report) beneath. I substitute "al-Qaeda" for "Islamist militants" at various points in my summary of the report since, as the report itself notes, this is who they are talking about. February 19, 2005Sufi Wisdom: World of Their Ownby T.L. James
by T.L. James of MarsBlog. Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series.As terrorist Islam does its best to discredit the religion, it is important to remember that there are other voices within the faith. One such is the Sufis, a branch of Islamic mystics with roots in many religious traditions. The lessons of Sufism are often communicated through humorous stories and mystical or romantic poetry. From Shah's Learning How to Learn, an observation apropos the Churchill brouhaha -- and one which possibly hits closer to home: It is often said, and almost as often seen, that those who imagine that they are scholars 'live in a world of their own'. Aikido Wisdom: Learning from the Streamby Joe Katzman
O Sensei (common term of address for Ueshiba among aikidoka) said:
What do you think he meant? Science and the Beauty of a Flower and Hasidic Wisdom: the Gemologist look at 2 angles. What's yours? Science & the Beauty of a Flowerby Joe Katzman
The late Richard Feynman participated in the Manhattan Project, won the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on quantum electrodynamics, and put his natural irreverence to good use as a best-selling author who epitomized the citizen scientist. This entry is taken from a collection of his short works, entitled The Pleasure of Finding Things Out:
Hasidic Wisdom: The Gemologistby Joe Katzman
The Sufis and Buddhists aren't the only ones with folk-tales of "crazy wisdom" - the Jewish Hasidim have their own storehouse of eye-opening tales. This one is taken from Rabbi Rami Shapiro's Hasidic Tales, and fits this Saturday's theme:
February 18, 2005The CPAC Files: NRO's Stanley Kurtz Visits Bloggers Cornerby Robin Burk
Julian Sanchez and Radly Balko tweak NRO Corner contributer Stanley Kurtz for not being familiar with the mechanics of blogs. I say Hooah! to an MSM journalist who wants to learn more about the new media. Or are blogs only for Those who Think Correctly About Gay Marriage? Seriously, guys, as a techie who wrote one of the first packet switched network protocol stacks in Silicon Valley back in the day, I suppose I could pull a L33t attitude too. If that were as important as helping MSM members from around the political spectrum to understand the new media better, that is. The CPAC Files: Matt Drudge Makes Surprise Appearanceby Robin Burk
Ann Coulter brought out Matt Drudge to help her launch "the new McCarthyism" she is urging (i.e. for conservatives to push back aggressively against liberals). "Define, attack, destroy." Make 'treason' as unpopular as racism now is. CPAC gossip: Word is that Ann and Matt dated briefly a while back. Drudge and Coulter note that the Democrats are fighting each other while the conservatives are talking about issues. The questioners are mainly young women. But the current questioner is a big guy with a deep voice who leads a college Republican group. He says he was able to get his family to vote Republican because of Coulter and people like her. Coulter is right about one thing: this conference has a lot of energetic young people turned on by shared ideas and issues. It's been a good while since I've seen that on the left. Drudge notes that as the Dems swing back and forth, the Internet keeps track of their zigzags. The CPAC Files: Ann Coulterby Robin Burk
Ann Coulter is on now and the room is packed. She's currently ripping the Democrats for their cluelessness about the last election. There are probably some good points in there but Ann bores me to tears so I'll pass on blogging her talk. The CPAC Files: "Not Uniformly White"by Robin Burk
I'm sitting here next to LaShawn Barber at Blogger's Corner (more a corner than a Row). A little earlier I managed to snag a few minutes with Ian Walters, the young (hey, I'm 53 - lots of the people here are 'young' to me) Communications Director of the American Conservative Union and also for CPAC. Picking up on Chris Nolan's comment that CPAC is "uniformly white" I asked Ian about his experience as a Filipino-Brit in the conservative movement here. WOC: Tell me a little about your experience in the conservative movement as a person who's "not uniformly white". Ian: I'm to the right of most white Americans and many white conservatives on certain issues, such as immigration. I think this issue divides people more by generation - 1st generation immigrants, 2nd etc. - than by race. But let's get more specific rather than deal with sweeping broad statements about minorities. WOC: What conservative policies do you see as most beneficial to non-whites? Ian: Tax reform. Minorities benefit economically from allowing taxpayers to keep more of their paycheck and from compelling them to earn for themselves. The flipside of this is important too. Progressively tax rates on entrepreneurial earnings are an attack on success. They send minorities a message that it isn't worth desiring or striving to earn more. Chris overstates the racial makeup here, and also the male dominance vibe. It is true, though, that the crowd here is predominantly white. It could be that the non-white conservatives are at the other conference across the street from CPAC. The CPAC Files: I'll Be On NRA Radio This Afternoonby Robin Burk
I'll be on NRA radio around 4:20 or so this afternoon to talk about CPAC, women who shoot and getting my pistol permit in NY. The CPAC Files: Whose Money is It, Anyway?by Robin Burk
Most people agree that our tax code is a mess - it's huge, full of arcane provisions and held together with bubblegum and duct tape. But what to put in its place? I missed Grover Norquist and Lew Uhler on this panel. I did catch Scott Hodge of the Tax Foundation. In keeping with his group's focus on detailed analysis (check out their site), Hodge listed country after country whose tax codes are becoming more business-friendly than ours in the U.S. Money quote: I'll tell you the difference between Old Europe and New Europe. In Old Europe the big star is Jerry Lewis. In New Europe the big star is Steve Forbes. The panel finished up with Herman Cain, Black businessman and founder of A New Voice Foundation. His talk brought the rhythms of Gospel preaching to a call for tax rewrite (he thinks the current code is beyond reforming and needs to be redone from the ground up). I can see how Cain was able to take over as CEO of Godfather Pizza and turn the company around. To quote Bryan Preston of Junkyardblog, who's sitting next to me in Bloggers Row, Cain smoked! New Energy Currents: 2005-02-18by John Atkinson
February 2005 will be remembered - maybe - for the inauguration of the Kyoto Protocol, the world's first international agreement to limit the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. Well, it's not really the first, if you count the US-led Methane to Markets partnership - but come on, who wants to talk about the Bush Administration doing anything useful for the environment? No one would believe you anyway. However much the increased international pressure to Do Something about global warming changes the energy environment, treaties don't actually invent anything, needless to say. New technologies that will enable us to continue enjoying our quality of life - and extend it to the 2 billion energy-starved souls living in least-developed countries around the world - are being developed as rapidly as possible, and some would say that they're already ready for prime time. As different technologies begin to compete in earnest for the public's attention, acceptance, and tax dollars, New Energy Currents will do its best to continue giving you a broad overview of developments in energy technology and policy. You can't tell the players without a scorecard. By John Atkinson, of chiasm. Children of the Stoplights: Part 5by Discarded Lies
This is the featured weekly post from Discarded Lies at Winds of Change.NET. The Children of the Stoplights series is about child trafficking in Europe. Here are parts one, two, three and four of Children of the Stoplights. While boys and girls are used to earn money through begging and selling small items, teenage girls from Eastern Europe are exploited in prostitution. From the 20,000 prostitutes who were trafficked in Greece in the last few years, 10% were minors. Out of these minors, 75% are Albanian. Girls who were originally trafficked for economic exploitation are passed to sexual exploitation by the age of 12.When a new law on trafficking in human beings was under discussion in Greece during 2002, there was a proposal that men paying for sex with trafficked women should be penalised. The proposal was rejected, reportedly on the grounds that too many men in the country engaged in commercial sex and would potentially be penalised. The law eventually adopted makes it an offence (punishable by six months’ imprisonment) to knowingly accept the services of a trafficked person. It was also made an offence to pay for sex with a child of any age, with the offence being considered more serious if the child concerned was under 15, and most serious if under 10. Terre des Hommes: Study on Child Trafficking (PDF)Gina was 15 years old and Camelia was 16 when they came to Greece from Romania with promises of a job.... Special Analysis: The CIA's 2005 Briefingby Dan Darling
CIA Director Porter Goss delivered his Global Intelligence Challenges testimony to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee today and while media reports have contained the basic gist of his statements, I think it's best to view his relevant statements (and those of FBI director Mueller) in their entirety rather than in a sound-byte fashion. One of the questions I'm often asked about these CIA statements is just how accurate several of these are. By way of contrast, let's look at Tenet's briefing on February 24, 2004 and see how what he said measured up. Then I'll go on to Porter Goss' 2005 comments, and add some thoughts of my own as we do a quick tour of the globe's existing and emerging threats. I'll conclude with some thoughts on intelligence reports, weather reports, and the growing dilemma of the modern age. Hatewatch Briefing 2005-02-18by Hatewatch
Welcome! This briefing will be looking hard at the dark places the mainstream media sometimes seem determined to look away from, to better understand our declared enemies on their own terms and without illusions. Our goal is to bring you some of the top jihadi rants, idiotarian seething, and old-school Jew-hatred from around the world, leaving you more informed, more aware, and pretty disgusted every month. This Winds of Change.NET HateWatch briefing is brought to you by Lewy14, and zorkmidden of Discarded Lies. Past briefings and posts on related topics can be found here. Entil'zha veni! HIGHLIGHTED TOPICS
Gunner Palaceby Armed Liberal
Got invited to a preview of Gunner Palace tonight; it's the documentary about the artillery battalion in Baghdad. My reaction to the movie while I was watching it was complicated - up, down, sideways, and back again. And when it was over, I was ready to sit back down and see it again, which is a strong vote that you go see it as well. The couple that made it tried hard to make a nonpolitical film about the war - which will, doubtless, satisfy no one. It frustrated me, as someone who sees the war fundamentally politically (and I don't just mean in the narrow sense of domestic politics). And then I just started watching it. The CPAC Files: Bob Novak v. Sam Donaldson on Press Bias - Whew!by Robin Burk
Catching up on posts from the sessions today. I was really sorry to miss Vice President Cheney's talk at the evening banquet - got back from MSNBC just after the doors closed. The Bob Novak v. Sam Donaldson debate on the question of press bias was the most energetic session I watched today. Money quote: ""This vehement rightwing family man Barney Frank". I took rather detailed notes during the session. Here they are, followed by my thoughts on what was said. Novak: We have seen a march to the left on the part of the media. Rather didn't report on Bush's TANG service, he read a script. (lots of applause at that) When the exit polls suggested Kerry was winning on election day, there was delirious joy on the part of my fellow media members - they stood up and cheered. Donaldson: My fellow conservatives. I like Bob Novak. He may have one or two defects ... WoC Makes News, Film at 11...by Armed Liberal
It's not every blog that can get linked to by Kos, Wonkette, and the Conservative Political Action Committee all in one 24 hour period... But it appears that Jeff "Gannon" made an appearance on these very pages - he's the writer for a small news service linked to the GOP who somehow got a White House Press Pass. Amusingly, he appeared to have a day job that involved web design for - or something more - for a gay escort service, among other things. The folks opposed to the GOP are working themselves up into a righteous lather because the GOP allowed this ... this ... seamy guy!! to come into the White House while having (the GOP in this case) worked themselves into a lather about Billy C playing hide-the-cigar with Monica. I think that's a dumb and losing proposition. But there is a serious issue to pick up regarding how this guy got a press pass, and how it is that people who are essentially shills might have been able to participate in press conferences. Of course, there are shills for the left and for the right. So as a thought experiment, can I suggest that some enterprising blogger with more time on his hands than I have file a FOIA request and ask who got white house press passes allowing them to come to press conferences and what their affiliation was for the date range from, say June of 04 to December of 04?? I'd love to see it... February 17, 2005The CPAC Files - MSNBC Coast to Coast segmentby Robin Burk
UPDATE: Trey Jackson captured video of some of the segment. Thanks, Trey! Well, |
Ann Coulter's "New McCarthyism" comments have been reported at 