Month: May 2004

Fanservice.

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What the hell: everybody else seems to be linking to the Axis of Eve, so I might as well. There’s a lot of sadness going around with this one. First, we have these activists themselves, who are indeed demonstrating all the maturity, sophistication and good taste one normally associates with high school manga. Also, while … Read more

RIAA rides again…

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Record Industry Sues 493 More U.S. Music Swappers WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. music industry group said Monday it had sued 493 more people for copyright infringement as part of its campaign to stop consumers from copying music over the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America (news – web sites) has now sued nearly … Read more

OK, chapter done, up for air.

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Tonight’s Moe forecast is for heavy bookishness with scattered blogging (that’s what my girlfriend called it): I finally acquired the new Neal Stephenson this evening and the sooner I read it the sooner I can stop lugging it around. Great books, but they’re blessed heavy.

Need something to cheer you up?

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And, no, I’m not talking about the President’s overdue speech tonight with (hopefully) details about the transition to a sovereign Iraq. (Names! Mr. President…we want names!) I’m talking about something a bit more sublime: Gallery Finishes Restoration of ‘David’ And, for the curious, some details about the (suspected) rationale behind David’s infamously surrealistic proportions and … Read more

Heartsickness and anger

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This display of left-wing idiocy is indefensible. The article says a “lack of tolerance” is to blame. Malarky. It’s a lack of basic intelligence. (Via Eugene Volokh; David Bernstein follows up with a well done discussion of “Zionism,” which I commend to you.)

Swamped, but . . . .

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I’m swamped with a melange of matters, so it’s light posting from me this week.* Still, I have to pass the following along:

Heard a talk last Friday by one of the central players in the creation of a judiciary in Bosnia and Kosovo at the conclusion of the war. (Full disclosure: my firm represented the Bosnian and Croatian governments in certain post-conflict negotiations.) He said there were three central lessons from the Balkan conflict:

(1) If you provide police or peacekeepers, arm them.

(2) If you provide police or peacekeepers, provide a lot of them.

(3) The Germans and Canadians can be key allies because they are particuarly adept at translating Americanese into French and UNese. They understand us, and they are capable of making the French and the UN understand us — which is a rougher trick than you might think.

Well, one out of three . . . .

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Reading Suggestions

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Choice 1:

If you’ve had your fill of bad news from Iraq, Sullivan links to two reasons to be be optimistic: U.S. Forces Move Into Stronghold Of Cleric and G.I.’s Report Killing 36 Insurgents Around Kufa Mosque That Held Arms (kinda like a Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney musical, isn’t it? Gee Golly, that is Good News!)

Honestly, I think it’s gonna be a horse race to the June 30 finish line with CalmInTheStreets barely a nose ahead of BubblingTurmoil (if we’re lucky), but regardless, I predict after that violence in Iraq will continue until another ruthless dictator rises to instill enough fear to control things. The constitution doing as much to ensure domestic tranquility there as it has in Afghanistan. Hope I’m wrong, but don’t see any reason to suspect I am at this point.

Choice 2:

Retired General Anthony Zinni appeared on 60 Minutes last night flogging his soon-to-be-released book “Battle Ready” (co-written by Tom Clancy, no less). His interview provided a hint of what to expect in the book:

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What Osama Wants

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There is an idea floating around the blogosphere that I have ignored until now because I thought that it was restricted to left-wing nutcases. Unfortunately it seems to have captured Kevin Drum so I suspect it has gone mainstream: “And Osama bin Laden got exactly what he wanted too: a Western occupying force in the … Read more

Don’t Mention the Holocaust

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Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid stepped over the line today and fury ensued. His offense? He voiced sympathy for “an old woman on all fours looking for her medicine in the rubble of her home” and noted that it made him think about his grandmother during the Holocaust. The problem with this act of empathy … Read more

DO NOT VISUALIZE.

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Fair warning; do not – I repeat, do not – use the parts of your brain that handle internal visualization for the next few minutes. Shut ’em down; shut ’em all down. We’ll wait.

(pause)

Ready to click through? Good – well, not good. I really do apologize for bringing this to your attention, but better that it show up in a controlled environment. I don’t want anybody to go through what I just did unaware.

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I thought that I was the only one.

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I mean, I thought that I was just vaguely irritable and out of sorts: I had no way of knowing that I actually had Summer Blogging Malaise Syndrome (SBMS). Although I can’t imagine where I’d have consumed Guizhou snub-nosed monkey* testicles… oh, Fisk. That Endangered Species Sandwich of the Month thing. I thought that the dipping sauce for the panda aus jus tasted… belligerent. That’s the last time I order something from the back pages of Conspiracy Weekly.

Anyway, to combat this I give you something (via Michael Totten) that I almost posted, but didn’t, because it was a tad bit old: Worster Album Covers Ever II. Pretty much, yeah, and I’m betting that Michael’s down with the same thing as both Bill and I, so trackbacking is really an act of mercy in this case.

No, really.

Moe

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Point of parliamentary procedure, Senator…

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Senator, you have recently gone on the record as considering the suggestion that you delay your formal acceptance of the Democratic nomination for a time, in order to avoid having to dip into the general election public funding a month before President Bush. While I am sure that you have been well-advised on this matter, … Read more

Chalabi

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So I come back from vacation to news reports that Chalabi may have been spying for Iran all along. Initial reaction: can this possibly be true? Responsible reaction: I should probably wait for a better sourced story or independent corroboration before I decide that it is. I’m not buying the angle that Iran wanted to … Read more

Sing it, brother.

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Christopher Bahn has some rather pointed suggestions on how to save Episode Three from the vast wasteland of suckitude that it’ll otherwise inhabit. I should be using qualifiers, no doubt, but hey, I saw the last two films: the next one is going to be even worse. Bahn’s suggestions range from the serious Considering that … Read more

Moe Lane touches the sky.

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As some of you might remember, a couple of months ago my girlfriend and I went on an off-season vacation to the Outer Banks (Kitty Hawk area). Said girlfriend had been there years and years before and had done beginning hanggliding, which sounded like a lot of fun, so we went to go do some.

The photos have come back.

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GOP sets a new low in campaigning

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The new tone in government Bush promised while campaigning in 2000 never really materialized, and there are culprits on both sides of the aisle to blame for that, but when the history of the early 21st Century in American politics is written, in particular the chapter titled “The Nail in the Coffin of Civility.” let … Read more

As is obvious, I’m back…

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…and skipping the SCA event on account that it’s Too Bloody Hot out and while I’m not hung over, I’m also not entirely eager to leave my nice, cool, dark house just yet*.

The wedding was very nice – lovely ceremony and the reception food and drink was the best that I have ever seen – but I suspect that either the wedding planners and/or the Lords of Kharma (I expect the latter, ‘cuz the parents of the couple don’t know me from Adam) were funning with me, because I apparently ended up at the Republican table. Hell, I was the vocal moderate at the Republican table, which was really, really funny – but I DIDN’T INSTIGATE ANY OF THE POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS. I kept telling my infinitely-patient girlfriend that. I was being good.

Well, true, I admit to trying to make my presumptive future father-in-law’s eyes pop out by telling him that Senator Hillary Clinton wouldn’t be a bad choice for the 2008 nomination from the Democratic POV, but that was for completely different reasons.

Moe

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Catholic Candidates and Communion

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Finally, bishops with a sense of mission: Breaking with some colleagues, two Arizona bishops say they won’t deny Communion to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix said that instead of refusing to offer Communion, he will attempt to use persuasion to educate politicians about church teachings. “My job … Read more

Bush Is Bad for Business

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The irony does not escape me. Bush’s foreign policy is gearing up to have a long-term effect on our biggest corporate brands among international consumers: Source: CNN Money Diminishing respect for American culture and values is putting U.S. brands at greater risk overseas, according to a worldwide annual study of consumer sentiment. “Our study has … Read more

No Point in Avoiding Them

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We know they’re coming, and as much as I appreciate that focussing on them distracts from the work at hand, it’s probably best to own up to them as they’re leaked out, debate just how bad they are and what it means if they’re real and/of faked, and let the whole process strengthen our resolve … Read more

Small World Alert (part 2)*

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Hat tip to the all-knowing Gary Farber for sharing this vital blogging tip

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For those of us who consider the New York Times the best of the lying press, but have been more than slightly annoyed that as you go back to find that Times article you read that will destroy your opponent’s argument, only to realize that they retire their ware into archives and then have the nerve to ask us to pay for it, here’s the ticket

HOW TO GET TO OLD NY TIMES ARTICLES.

Gary’s also scooped me (and the NYT) on the rising popularity of Extreme Ironing. Finally, a good excuse for my wrinkly shirts (“Honestly, my parachute wouldn’t open.”).

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Almost on the road…

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…but I had to note first this gem* of an op-ed from Senator Fritz Hollings:

…Of course there were no weapons of mass destruction. Israel’s intelligence, Mossad, knows what’s going on in Iraq. They are the best. They have to know.

Israel’s survival depends on knowing. Israel long since would have taken us to the weapons of mass destruction if there were any or if they had been removed. With Iraq no threat, why invade a sovereign country? The answer: President Bush’s policy to secure Israel.

Led by Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Charles Krauthammer, for years there has been a domino school of thought that the way to guarantee Israel’s security is to spread democracy in the area…

Or, as Sensei Lileks puts it:

Listening to a radio host discuss this column by Fritz Hollings. What caused the war with Iraq? Simple! Charles Krauthammer used his super-powerful Jew Beams to cloud the minds of hapless pliable goyim. Then Bush realized he could win reelection by getting that overwhelming number of Jewish voters.

Now, I’m not so naive as to think that Hollings is going to suffer any formal penalty for this: we’re all men and women of the world, here. Probably moot, too, seeing as he’s retiring anyway. But, still. Sheesh.

Gotta go; I’m holding up breakfast. See ya on the flip side.

Moe

UPDATE: Ah, how the universe loves me. Volokh produces a measured response so that I don’t have to, and Damien Penny handles the entire ‘consider the source’ angle (quick hint; do the words ‘Rather than eating each other, they’d just come up and get a good square meal in Geneva’ ring any bells with people?). I can thus go enjoy this lovely Saturday afternoon.

Thanks, universe!

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Cicada update.

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More of the buggers, but not yet a horde. Still waiting; in the meantime, I finally tracked down the lyrics to that rap song by the Pheromones (found here, amid some commentary that you may want to skip over completely). It may not be a perfect reproduction of the original text, though.

Catch all y’all on Sunday, most likely: I have a wedding in NJ to go to tomorrow and a SCA event back in MD on Saturday. Arrgh.

Moe

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Best post?

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Oberon of North Georgia Dogma is belatedly celebrating his 6 month blogoversary; as part of it he’s asking around for other blogger’s best posts. Tell truthful, I’m not sure which is the ‘best’, but I suppose that I’m proudest of this one, mostly on its artistic merits. If anyone’s got their own opinions about best … Read more

Please let this be just paranoia.

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I am not immune to the siren call of superstition myself, and so I am indulging in some right now: to wit, writing out a post that worries about something that may happen, thus somehow making it less likely that something will happen, thus demonstrating my utter lack of precognitive powers (and theoretically increasing my … Read more

Small world alert.

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I walk past this twice a day: … And I’ve always wondered who put it there, and why nobody ever cleaned it off. It’s been defaced for a while now, from what I remember. I don’t really know why this struck me as interesting, so I won’t be heartbroken if I don’t get comments on … Read more

Hope in Bishkek (part 3): Bittersweet Progress

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As the unofficial US-Kyrgyzstan Tourism Director / Diplomacy Chief, I wanted to share this account (via Argus) of how much more attractive Krygyzstan is becoming as a tourist destination. Of course, with progress comes the loss of tradition, but Even Kyrgyzstan is a lot more modern than it was just a few years ago, especially … Read more

The Hawks as a whole can be divided into (four) parts

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Check out Daniel Drezner’s intriguing attempt at hawk taxidermy in the wake of the Chalabi raid. Interesting stuff that (like all attempts at broad-brush categorization) probably generates a bit more heat than light. But, if we’re categorizing, put me with the neo-paleos, Fareed Zakaria-old-skool. (Neopaleonius Zakarius.) (Original categories from The New Republic.)

Greenpeace defeats draconian attempt by Bush to silence them

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Argh, fear not mateys, you’re safe from the scourge that is “sailormongering”* so long as Bush is in the White House.

In a vindicitve attempt to show those blasted treehuggin’ Greenpeace-niks not to try any shenanigans so long as he’s the President, the Bush Administration dredged up the bizarrest of laws to try and punish the entire Greenpeace organization after two of its activists boarded a ship off Miami that was carrying illegally-felled mahogany from the Amazon. Was Bush all up in arms about the illegally-felled trees? Was that seen as the threat worthy of spending our tax dollars to stem?

Of course not. That would have denied him another opportunity to be blatantly hypocritical:

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The Sovereignty See-Saw

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First we said we would: According to the [The “Agreement on Political Process,” signed by CPA Administrator Paul Bremer and Jalal Talabani on behalf of the Governing Council], the Assembly is to be elected by May 31, 2004, and the Governing Council will be dissolved upon its establishment. Also, the CPA will disband by June … Read more

Another Kind of Evil (part 2)

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Looks like the Pentagon is now aligned with State and the CIA in their dislike for Chalabi: U.S. Troops Surround Chalabi’s House “They came this morning, entered the office of Dr. Ahmad Chalabi and said that they were looking for people,” said Abdul Kareem Abbas, an INC official. He said they wanted to make arrests. … Read more

Another Kind of Evil

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A trailer for the upcoming film The Chronicle’s of Riddick has a futuristically bedecked Judy Dench declaring “Sometimes the only way to stop evil is not with good. You must confront it with another kind of evil.” This is the only rationale I can find for the choice to use Ahmad Chalabi in any way … Read more