The Democrats start attacking the war on terror; Judge ‘outs’ Cheney’s task-force; New York Times, Colin Powell praise Arafat, back Saudi plan on Middle East; Opus Dei founder to be named a saint.
BLAIR BACKS BUSH: It may splinter his own party but Tony Blair seems full-square behind the Bush administration’s concern about Iraq, Iran, North Korea and any other state attempting to acquire or disseminate weapons of mass destruction. “I certainly agree with [president Bush] very strongly that weapons of mass destruction represent a real threat to world stability,” Blair told the Australian Broadcasting Company. “Those who are engaged in spreading weapons of mass destruction are engaged in an evil trade and it is important that we make sure that we take action in respect of it. I think that George Bush has shown tremendous leadership since 11 September. He has acted always in a very measured way, in a calm way, but he is right to raise these issues and certainly he has our support in doing so.” Grim news for the appeaseniks – and the Tories. Good news for everyone else – especially Iraqis. Iranians, and North Koreans.
WAITING FOR JESSE:Guess who still hasn’t sent in his 2000 tax return?
ISLAM MEANS PEACE: First Pakistani Sunnis shoot Shi-ites at a mosque. Now, Indian Muslims massacre Hindus. At some point, we have to infer that this religion has degenerated in parts into a murderous cult. Can you imagine the headlines if Christian fundamentalists did similar things?
BOOK CLUB:One last question for Bob Kaplan – about Vietnam. Later today, your final emails.
THE SHAMELESS VON HOFFMAN: You’d think that Nicholas von Hoffman, whose prediction of disaster in Afghanistan was so wrong he made it even after Kabul had fallen, might be feeling a little sheepish these days. If journalists were in any way accountable for their idiotic pronouncements, he would have taken a year’s leave of absence after apologizing. But no. He’s at it again. This time, he’s urging the European Union to become a new super-power to restrain the idiotic United States. His comment on the conduct of the current war tells you all you need to know:
Bill Clinton and the Marines were bad enough, lurching here and there across the planet in Mr. Clinton’s aimless armed escapades. He pales, however, in comparison to George W. Bush, who has taken on the role of a latter-day Peter the Hermit, calling for crusades against the “axis of evil.” The top elected official of the world’s only superpower is besotted with the idea that he can say and do anything without fear of any consequences, because nowhere in the world is there a set of teeth which can come back to bite him. You’d think that the catastrophe of Sept. 11 would have taught him better.
You’d think that the catastrophe of September 11 would have taught Nick von Hoffman something as well. But some people never learn.
LONE BLOGGER SKEWERS THE GUARDIAN: If you want a good example of why blogging can leave professional journalism in the dust, check out this inspired little screed. It dissects the Guardian’s recent foray into Alabama (to report on all those moronic Yanks). It’s brought to you by James Lileks and it will make your day.
STAGGERINGLY HOMOGENEOUS UTAH: A reader writes:
It’s a pity that Utah (with it’s 85.3% non-Hispanic white population) isn’t as diverse as socialist Vermont (96.2%) or liberal Maine (96.5%) or Byrd’s West Virginia (94.6%) or Dashchle’s South Dakota (88.0%) or liberal Wisconsin (87.3%) or Wellstone’s Minnesota (88.2%). Oops, how can those caring diverse states be less diverse than repressive Utah? Well, maybe someday it can be as diverse as progressive Oregon (83.5%). But of course, those conservative Mormons will never be as diverse as Kennedy’s Massachusetts (81.9%) or Rhode Island (81.9%). That 3.4% difference is just too vast. Worse, Gore’s Tennessee (79.2%) and hip Washington (78.9%) are beyond reach with their overwhelming 6.1% and 6.4% leads. How do the people in Utah live in such a terrible close-minded world? By the way, the US average is 69.1% (numbers come from Census 2000).
Take that, Mr. Janofsky!
LIES, DAMNED LIES AND BLOGS: If, like me, you’ve come to be skeptical of almost every statistic you read in the papers, don’t give up on stats altogether. (My boyfriend, who’s a stats professor, has exerted enormous pressure to make me write that sentence. But I believe it anyway.) Here’s a great antidote: it’s called STATS, and it’s a handy web-resource that examines and debunks phony stats, surveys and reports on a regular basis. You might also want to check out Joel Best’s recent book, “Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists,” and most things written by Michael Fumento.
AND NOW, A SCIENCE BLOG: Since I’m on a blog-roll here, I thought I’d mention two more. One is about science, pharmaceuticals, bio-tech and related issues. It’s by a working medicinal chemist who knows his stuff and can help you understand various public policy issues related to science. The post that impressed me was his assessment of recent HIV news. But he also has a smart new post on Imclone, about which he recently and obviously made a bad stock call. But guess what? He fesses up in a matter of hours and explains why he still thinks he’s right. Another diverting blog on a theme dear to my heart is one called relapsedcatholic.com. Great links on contemporary religious issues.
NOW THAT HE’S GOON: Spike Milligan subsided yesterday into the grave. He was a comic genius; a profoundly moral man, whose unpopular stances (against abortion, for animal rights) were quirkily sincere. As the Guardian notes today,
Probably his most famous – or notorious remark – was in 1994 when, at the age of 76, he was receiving a Lifetime Achievement Comedy Award. A letter praising him from the Prince of Wales, an enormous fan, was read out – and in front of a stuffed-shirt audience and millions of TV viewers, Milli
gan declared: “Little groveling bastard …”
Ballsy, no? My own favorite bit of comedy from him was the line he would always utter when some piece of slapstick sent him crashing to the floor: “Thank heaven the ground broke my fall.” I know, I know. But it always made me laugh.
The Dish 