Month: December 2006

More Fun With Homeland Security!

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by hilzoy From the NYT: “In a major blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to secure borders, domestic security officials have for now given up on plans to develop a facial or fingerprint recognition system to determine whether a vast majority of foreign visitors leave the country, officials say. (…) But in recent days, officials … Read more

“Cutting Costs” In Zimbabwe

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by hilzoy Robert Mugabe, ever mindful of his country’s fiscal needs, has decided to save money by postponing Presidential elections in Zimbabwe for another two years” “Zimbabwe’s leader Robert Mugabe has backed a plan to extend his presidency by two years until 2010, according to reports in Zimbabwe’s state-run media. The plan is likely to … Read more

About Time

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by Andrew While I’m sure there will be many things about a Democratic Congress I will dislike, I’m pleased to see that at least they’re going to do one of the things that convinced me to vote for them: provide some oversight of the executive branch. More precisely, they’re going to take a closer look … Read more

More On Boycotts

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by hilzoy Back when I wrote this post about boycotting most chocolate, I considered writing a follow-up, since I honestly believe that conservatives, especially libertarians, ought to find these sorts of boycotts much easier to accept than they seem to. However, between one thing and another, I didn’t get around to it. Today, however, I … Read more

Hamdan Update

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by hilzoy From the AP: “A federal judge upheld the Bush administration’s new terrorism law Wednesday, agreeing that Guantanamo Bay detainees do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts. (…) Though Robertson originally sided with Hamdan, he said that he no longer had jurisdiction to hear Hamdan’s case because Congress clearly … Read more

I Know It’s Not Zimbabwe’s Biggest Problem, But:

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by hilzoy

I happened on this excellent site earlier this evening — blogs from all over the world — and as I was wandering around some blogs from Africa, I ran across a story with the astonishing headline: Zimbabwe State Security Agents Seize Sanitary Pads. I thought: huh? (or, as Sokwanele, whose blog it is, wrote, rather more articulately: “Does the Zanu PF government expect Zimbabweans to believe that sanitary ware for women is now an issue of national security – that tampons and pads are lethal weapons?”) Apparently so:

“The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has just received news that state security agencies last week seized a consignment of sanitary pads meant for distribution to farmworkers in Zimbabwe’s farming areas of Concession and Mvurwi.

The pads were allegedly seized by police and later the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization was drawn into the matter. The ZCTU had given the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) its allocation of the pads sourced with the help of international partners.

On seizure, the farmworkers were told that the pads had been poisoned by former white commercial farmers, which is a blatant lie as the ZCTU, with the help of international partners and friends sourced for the sanitary ware.

However, the ZCTU is disturbed by this development because the sanitary pads were meant for women who cannot afford them. We deplore the actions of government, done through its security arms.”

On further investigation, it turns out that this is part of a longer story, which I had completely missed, and will outline below the fold.

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Marking Time

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by Andrew Prediction, Andre Gide once observed, is very difficult, especially about the future. That is certainly the case in Iraq, where the situation remains grim while President Bush considers suggestions for new courses of action. Hilzoy is upset that President Bush is dithering while Iraq burns, noting that "[w]e do not have all the … Read more

Good Start!

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by hilzoy From the Washington Post: “Democratic leaders declared a temporary moratorium on special-interest provisions known as earmarks as they attempt to cope with a budget crisis left by the outgoing Republican-led 109th Congress.” I completely agree with those who say that earmarks are small potatoes in the — gosh, where to go with this … Read more

Oh Dear God

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by hilzoy CNN: “Many of the 45 killed and 148 wounded by a suicide truck bomb blast in central Baghdad Tuesday morning were unemployed Iraqis lured toward the explosion by an offer of work, according to an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry. A pickup truck, loaded with about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives, … Read more

More On Our Tragic Loss

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by hilzoy Just so we’re clear on exactly what counts as “a loss to us all“, here’s a before and after picture of one Carmen Gloria Quintana. And a more recent shot: So, you ask, before and after what, exactly? What happened to the smiling young woman on the left? Well: “On the morning of … Read more

Pinochet (Or: Moral Relativism At RedState)

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by hilzoy I hadn’t intended to write anything about the death of Augusto Pinochet, on the grounds that one should not speak ill of the dead. But then I read Thomas’ post on RedState, in which he informs us that “Pinochet’s death is actually a loss for us all.” Somehow I don’t think he says … Read more

Pop Quiz!

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by hilzoy Over at Next Hurrah, emptywheel proposes pop quizzes for legislators. Some of emptywheel’s sample questions: “1. The terrorist group Al Qaeda is overwhelmingly made up of what kind of Muslims? a. Shiite b. Sunni c. Kurds d. Nation of Islam 2. The known nuclear proliferator, AQ Khan, comes from which country? a. North … Read more

Just Shoot Me Now…

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by hilzoy WWLTV.com, New Orleans: “Congressman William Jefferson has been re-elected to Congress, according to WWL-TV election analyst Greg Rigamer. With two-thirds of the vote counted, Jefferson had a 6,000-vote lead over challenger Karen Carter. “I’m a little worried about what this is going to say to the nation,” said City Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, a … Read more

“Do You Speak Spanish?”

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by hilzoy Via TPMMuckraker, an interview with Silvestre Reyes, the new chair of the House Intelligence Committee: “Al Qaeda is what, I asked, Sunni or Shia? “Al Qaeda, they have both,” Reyes said. “You’re talking about predominately?” “Sure,” I said, not knowing what else to say. “Predominantly — probably Shiite,” he ventured. He couldn’t have … Read more

Bush Hunkers Down

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by hilzoy From Kevin Drum (h/t rilkefan), McClatchy reports: “Top Democrats in Congress left a White House meeting with President Bush on Friday frustrated over what they perceived as his reluctance to embrace major recommendations from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. (…) Bush began his talk by comparing himself to President Harry S Truman, who … Read more

Woe! Woe! Woe!

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by hilzoy According to Ecclesiastes, “In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Unfortunately for me, this is not one of the passages that makes me doubt the Bible’s inerrancy. Unfortunately for you, misery loves company, and so I’m about to pass on some of that miserable, grief-inducing knowledge. Foreign … Read more

Baker’s Touch

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von Best sign that Jim Baker hasn’t lost his political touch? Somehow, he managed to co-author a report on Iraq that Democrats, Republicans, alleged Libertarians, and even Andrew-freakin’-Sullivan can claim, like, totally validates at least one of their dearly-held positions.  Sure, they all find problems to pick at.  But c’mon:  Give props to the political … Read more

On The Uses And Abuses Of Game Theory For Life

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by hilzoy Via Crooked Timber, an excellent study: The social norm of leaving the toilet seat down: A game theoretic analysis (pdf). From the intro: “The issue of whether the toilet seat should be left up or down after use seemingly generates a lot of passion among the parties concerned, however, scientific inquiries into the … Read more

Can It Be 2008 Now, Please?

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by hilzoy Via dKos, I found this statement, made by our President on this fine December morning: “And one of the things that has changed for American foreign policy is a threat overseas can now come home to hurt us, and September the 11th should be a wake-up call for the American people to understand … Read more

Iran’s Interests

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by hilzoy On RedState, Pejman Yousefzadeh raises a question: “Well, let us see. If Iran and Syria have an interest in a stable and secure Iraq, one cannot help but wonder why, as the ISG report points out, “Iran backs Shia claims and supports various Shia militias in Iraq, but it also supports other groups … Read more

The Iraq Study Group Report

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by hilzoy

I have now read the Iraq Study Group report. I really, really want it to work, since I am as pessimistic as anyone (with the possible exception of Bob McManus) about what will happen if we fail in Iraq. My problem isn’t lack of appreciation for the downside of failure; it’s an inability to see how we get from where we are now to anything else. And this report really doesn’t change that. I’ll explain why I think this below the fold.

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The Party Of Moral Values, Take N

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by hilzoy Via Kevin Drum, a truly depressing story in the well-known leftist Wall Street Journal: “Like a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they take power in Congress next month. Already, the Republican leadership has moved to saddle … Read more

The ISG Report Foretells The Present

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by hilzoy I haven’t yet finished reading the Iraq Study Group Report. However, I am struck by how many of the dire consequences they predict (p. 33ff) will happen if things continue on their present course are things I think have already happened. They worry that the chaos in Iraq could get worse, that there … Read more

Segregating Fiction

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by Andrew One of the A1 stories in today’s Wall Street Journal takes a look at how black authors are treated by the book industry. I don’t spend a lot of time in book stores, tending to get my books via Amazon instead, but I’ve been in them often enough to notice the various ethnic … Read more

What the U.S. Needs from Its Armed Forces

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by Andrew Continuing the series. Part one here. The purpose of the Army, as is laid out in FM 1.0 The Army, is to fight and win the nation’s wars. As far as mission statements go, that isn’t bad, as it lays out what needs to be done clearly and succinctly. However, it also doesn’t … Read more

Warfare Changes Gears

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by Andrew This is a reprint of something I’ve placed over at my own site, for those who haven’t seen it there, as I believe this series might be of interest to the ObWi audience. As even the casual student of history knows, warfare is a means to an end, not a means to itself. … Read more

Military Equipment Woes

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by Andrew Back in the days before the war, the biggest thing heavy units did was a rotation to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. Located in the Mojave Desert not far from Death Valley, the NTC had a dedicated opposing force (OPFOR) and enough space to conduct maneuvers at the brigade level, … Read more

Fun With Statistics

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by hilzoy Cactus at Angry Bear has been having fun: “I found data for 2004 incidences of syphillis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, by state. So it’s a simple matter to compare those to, say, how each state voted in the 2004 elections. The table below shows the median rate (per 100,000) of each STD in states … Read more

You Go, Harry!

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by hilzoy Via dKos, Robert Novak (yech!): “Sen. Harry Reid, leading the Senate’s new Democratic majority, is framing next year’s schedule in a way that will make it difficult, if not impossible, for President Bush to give recess appointments to nominees blocked for confirmation. Reid’s schedule limits Senate recesses to one week. Recess appointments usually … Read more

Just Call Me Captain Courageous

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by hilzoy

I’m trying to get a handle on conservatives’ views about virtue. I’ve been puzzled for a while, but I only entered full bewilderment when Bill Bennett published his annoying book The Death of Outrage, which argued, iirc, that the fact that more people weren’t willing to impeach Bill Clinton just showed that we had completely lost our moral compasses. I said to myself: huh? The mystery deepened when I heard such moral paragons as Rush Limbaugh going on and on about liberals and our lack of concern about morality, and when “moral values” started to be used as though it meant not generosity, decency, kindness, courage, and honor, but a willingness to deprive gays of everything from civil rights to ordinary human kindness.

I mean: I, an ethicist, was baffled. I read and reread Kant and Aristotle and even Edmund Burke, but it still didn’t make any sense.

I was particularly puzzled by conservatives’ views on courage. When Max Cleland lost his limbs in Vietnam, “there was no bravery involved.” Despite having volunteered to serve in Vietnam and receiving a bronze star and three purple hearts, “John Kerry is no war hero.” Apparently, conservatives do not count physical bravery as courage, for conservatives. Nor do they seem all that enthusiastic about moral courage — the willingness to stand up for what you believe in, even when it’s unpopular — to judge by their treatment of apostates in their own ranks.

So what, exactly, do they mean by courage? It’s a puzzlement. Luckily for me, a RedState diary explains all. I will display my own bravery below the fold.

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Democrats: Pass This Bill!

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by hilzoy

In honor of World AIDS Day (which might be over by the time I post this, since my browser just crashed), here’s a piece of good legislation that now, finally, has a chance to pass: H.R. 5674: the Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2006. It does two things: first, it requires the administration to adopt a strategy to ensure that HIV prevention funding is spent in a way that meets the needs of women and girls, and second, it repeals the current requirement that 33% of all HIV prevention funding be spent on abstinence programs.

This second point is really important, for reasons I’ll explain below the fold.

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Random Notes On Iraq

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by hilzoy (1) So the Baker/Hamilton Commission is going to recommend withdrawing combat troops by early 2008, a regional conference, and diplomacy, including engagement with Syria and Iran. Bush doesn’t seem particularly interested in the first part, and while I think the rest is good, I see no reason to think that this administration is … Read more

A Shot Across The Bow

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by hilzoy Nawaf Obaid, whom Steve Clemons describes this op-ed by Nawaf Obeid as follows: “Obaid is a personal national security advisor to Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Turki al-Faisal and what he is writing is no doubt the public version of what King Abdullah told Cheney when the VP was summoned to Riyadh.” … Read more