September 30, 2004
Lucky You Live Hawaii
Waves Generated by Tsunamis are Not Surfable, Officials Warn
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By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com
..." Jim Howe, operations chief of the city Ocean Safety Division, said a tsunami wave on the open ocean travels 500 mph compared to a surfing wave that travels 30 to 35 mph.
Howe advised surfers to be sensible during a tsunami warning. "Don't grab a surfboard and wax it up. Head for high ground," he said."
We repeat: Not surfable.
Jim Baker is Vernon Jordan's Daddy
Should we even be posting election commentary under a "politics and policy" header any more? I'm thining "ephemera" might be more appropriate.
Anyway, guess who is operating the pool for tonight's [most important because it is the first one, and best for GWB because the topic is the War on Terror, or as Ali G would say, "Wot?"] debate...
State's Rights and the Tek-9 In My Face
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill yesterday repealing most of the District's gun laws, in a vote that handed an election-season victory to gun rights groups and was denounced by the city's leaders as a historic violation of home rule.
It's interesting to see just how seriously the Republican Party takes state's rights when it means allowing decisions they don't like. The "Personal Protection Act" not only repeals the D.C. gun ban, but prohibits the Mayor and the City Council from ever exceeding federal standards again. It even goes so far as to prohibit legislation that might "discourage...the private ownership or use of firearms." Thankfully, this hypocrisy has zero chance of passing the Senate this session.
September 29, 2004
CIA May Taint Iraqi Elections
The Bush administration has been entertaining the idea of having the CIA support the election of Iraqi candidates. This is, of course, the best way to encourage an Iraqi democracy: take an agency synonymous with coups and assassinations, and put them in charge of getting your guy elected. For examples of how successful the CIA is at this kind of work, see Iran, Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile.
In any other administration, this would be the scandal. For the Bush administration, this is small potatoes.
September 28, 2004
Much ink has been spilled over the Small Group of Men who hijacked a history-honed Conservative (yes, capital C) philosophy of peace-by-overwhelming-strength and reluctant engagement (see: Foreign Policy Successes, Cold War) in favor of overly-optimistic open-ended intervention (see: LBJ, Nightmares of).
And much blood has been spilled over this SGM's lack of planning for post-war Iraq--- a result of an assumption that the Iraqis would, more or less, like being occupied by our benevolent angels of democracy. It's been safe to assume, up to this point, that the President and his SGM had insulated themselves from contrary views, hence a strategy based a view of the world with as much depth as a one-page briefing summary, which we know is all this President reads. (Remember folks, he's not dumb, he's just intellectually lazy).
But today, Douglas Jehl and David Sanger report in the NY Times that the National Intelligence Council (the same people who brought you the "things will stay the same or get worse" study first reported on last month) gave the President an analysis in January '03 that stated, as Jehl and Sanger's summarize:
"... that an American-led invasion of Iraq would increase support for political Islam and would result in a deeply divided Iraqi society prone to violent internal conflict...
"One of the reports also warned of a possible insurgency against the new Iraqi government or American-led forces, saying that rogue elements from Saddam Hussein's government could work with existing terrorist groups or act independently to wage guerrilla warfare, the officials said. The assessments also said a war would increase sympathy across the Islamic world for some terrorist objectives, at least in the short run, the officials said."
You may remember that Bush, when asked about the most recent (stay-same-or-get-worse) report, said that the authors were "just guessing" about the future.
Pretty good guesses. 2 for 2. The exisitence of this report shows that they were not just insulated from contrary views, rather they were willfully ignorant of them. So just what did they think was going to happen? And what were they basing it on?
September 27, 2004
Oil's Well
One of the few ways you could (most cynically) justify our invation of Iraq was that America drives the world's economy... America therefore need a steady energy supply... Let's not be afraid to act when our interests "intersect" with our "principles".. and take that precious oil out of the hands of that, that, that madman.
But that hasn't worked either. (And please don't reply saying that the only reason this is so is because of the temporary lack of security: that's the point of the post, silly.)
LONDON (AFP) - World oil prices raced to new record high levels close to 50 dollars a barrel as unrest in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia alarmed traders already anxious about low oil inventories.
In New York the price of light sweet crude for November delivery climbed to an all-time high point of 49.74 dollars per barrel in electronic trading, the highest level since oil began trading on the New York market in 1983.
The contract smashed through the previous record peak of 49.40 dollars seen on August 20. Prices rose 67 cents to 49.55 dollars a barrel in opening deals.
Shirky on Lutefisk
How to describe that first bite? Its a bit like describing passing a kidneystone to the uninitiated. If you are talking to someone else who has lived through the experience, a nod will suffice to acknowledge your shared pain, but to explain it to the person who has not been there, mere words seem inadequate to the task. So it is with lutefisk. One could bandy about the time honored phrases like "nauseating sordid gunk", "unimaginably horrific", "lasting psychological damage", but these seem hollow when applied to the task at hand. I will have to resort to a recipe for a kind of metaphorical lutefisk, to describe the experience. Take marshmallows made without sugar, blend them together with overcooked Japanese noodles, and then bathe the whole liberally in acetone. Let it marinate in cod liver oil for several days at room temprature. When it has achieved the appropriate consistency (though the word "appropriate" is somewhat problematic here), heat it to just above lukewarm, sprinkle in thousands of tiny, sharp, invisible fish bones, and serve.
Spy Imagery Agency Watching Inside U.S.
AP - In the name of homeland security, America's spy imagery agency is keeping a close eye, close to home. It's watching America. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, about 100 employees of a little-known branch of the Defense Department called the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency — and some of the country's most sophisticated aerial imaging equipment — have focused on observing what's going on in the United States.
And formal oversight is nowhere to be found...
September 26, 2004
Jets Provide "Assistance"
AP - British military aircraft scrambled Sunday to assist a civilian passenger aircraft after an incident, the Ministry of Defense said, adding that the jets later returned to base.
On the precision of language: What are the means by which two fighter jets "assist" a commercial plane? Assist to do what, exactly?
Falluja Bombing and Republican Criticism
Optimistic (D)s were temporarily enthusiastic about the three (R) Senators on the Sunday shows last weekend. The three Senators all had harsh criticisms of the Bush Administration's handling of Iraq, and a specific demand: they wanted Bush to attack the no-go zones as soon as possible, thinking that overwhelming military force would put down the insurgency. Kerry latched onto the criticism, and ignored the recommendation. Bush is following their advice.
The folly of this strategy is almost comical. For other examples, see Vietnam, Palestine, and... Vietnam.
Good Thing We Disarmed Iran... D'oh!
For the record, Iraq's best missile had a 650km range, and it scared the crap out of everyone. Iran just announced the Shahab-3, which goes twice as far. PS: They actually have a nuclear program.
September 23, 2004
Developing: Terrorism in Iraq
State Dept. map of countries where Al Qaeda has operated. Conspicuous by its absence...
September 21, 2004
Pay No Attention the Man With the RPG
NEW YORK (AP) President Bush defends his decision to invade Iraq in speech to the United Nations and urges delegates to turn attention to fighting war on terrorism, humanitarian concerns.
Demography Porn
CoolGov delivers the true meat: hot demo on demo action.
Libertarian Suffers DC
Libertarians are as funny as they are cranky.
September 18, 2004
Were All the Drivers Gay?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Many New Orleans voters were unable to cast ballots for hours Saturday on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage because voting machines had not been delivered to polling places, a state official said.
September 16, 2004
Rick James, RIP: Really Into Pharmacology
"Toxicology revealed the presence of the following drugs: Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium), Bupropion (Wellbutrin), Citalopram (Celexa), Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Digoxin, Chlorpheniramine, methamphetamine, and cocaine," the statement said.
They neglected to mention the jheri juice and lethal amounts of funk.
September 15, 2004
The Sleeper Awakens
DETROIT (Reuters) - Democratic candidate John Kerry blasted George W. Bush's "excuse presidency" on Wednesday and demanded that he take responsibility for the economy instead of playing victim.
September 13, 2004
Outgoing General Criticizes Bush
A17? Are you fucking kidding me?
September 03, 2004
Majors: Bush Is A Goddamn Liar
What does it mean when the miserable harpies at Campaign Desk sound incredible partisan by advocating fact-checking?
