Category: The Dish

The latest tally for detainees actually tortured to death by the U.S. is now between 8 and 12, according to Human Rights First. The number of deaths in U.S. detention since August 2002 is around 100.

"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society," – George Washington, in a letter to Edward Newenham, Oct. 20, 1792.

Happy Birthday, Mr President.

"Dirty pool happens and tough bureaucratic battling is par with the course in Washington. But this is different. This is purposefully, methodically dishonest. This uses people, via charades and make-belief theater, crudely and insultingly. This does smack, as Larry Wilkerson has stated, of "cabal" like behavior. That Bush, whether consciously or via ignorance, has allowed such dishonest chicanery to occur under his watch, on an issue of such immense import, is yet another reason that I view his Administration as increasingly discredited. And I say this as a Republican, one who endorsed him in ’04," – Greg Djerejian, absorbing the Mora memo.

You want real blasphemy? This is blasphemy:

"Insurgents dressed as police commandos detonated powerful explosives today inside one of Shiite Islam’s most sacred shrines, destroying most of the building and prompting thousands of Shiites to flood into streets across the country in protest."

I watched the superb PBS documentary on the Iraq insurgency last night. The Jihadist core of the insurgency is so evil, so pathological, so blasphemous to any serious person of any faith that no one can be surprised at this act. It is almost certainly al Qaeda, a group that highjacks religion to destroy religion. Let us hope that this doesn’t precipitate a full scale sectarian war. It was designed to. And it may well succeed.

I refrained from opining about the UAE ports deal yesterday, because I didn’t know all the details. My basic view is that the hysteria has gotten out of control. The ports business is now global anyway; UAE is certainly more helpful than not in the WOT; the deal had been vetted; etc. One thing, however, makes me think a delay is merited. It’s this:

"[A] 1993 amendment to the law stipulates that such an investigation is mandatory when the acquiring company is controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government. Administration officials said they conducted additional inquires because of the ties to the United Arab Emirates, but they could not say why a 45-day investigation did not occur."

It seems to me that that 45 day investigation would be one way the White House could climb down from this matter. When we have any doubt about national security at the ports, we should surely at least go through the full, legally required vetting process. It’s a no-brainer.

I’m subscriber to the screw-up view of history, so I doubt if there’s some Rovian double-bluff here. What’s undeniable is that this administration has, for some time, been remarkably obtuse, flat-footed and incompetent, even by its own extremely low standards. It doesn’t take a genius to see a headline like "Port To Be Run By 9/11 Country" will do great damage. But no one saw it coming; the Congress wasn’t adequately briefed; the middle class was not prepared. It’s also clear that whatever leverage this president had over his own party, it has all but evaporated these past couple of months. They’re not afraid of him; and pretty soon, a whole bunch will be running against him. This incident, Bush’s rash and stupid veto threat, and the blithe way in which much of the GOP is now ignoring or scorning him, is a sign of how much oomph is left in this administration. Not much.

Linda Callahan gets her user-name back.

For the past fifteen years, basically zip. Nada. Zilch. They’d rather revisit the McCarthy era than deal with Islamist dictatorships that exist today that eviscerate women’s rights and dignity. Readers recommend three recent movies: Osama, Dayereh, and Kandahar. All were made outside Hollywod by locals in Afghanistan and Iran. Every now and again, when I hear Hollywood being trashed as "liberal," I find myself asking exactly how often the industry really does advance awareness of global brutality and injustice. It’s rare to see such a message – especially if it cannot be wielded against the West. I don’t think Hollywood is unaware of injustice. The decision-makers simply believe that the United States is responsible for most of it. More commentary on this lacuna here.

More capitulation to religious hooey. Yahoo will not allow one Linda Callahan to use her own name for an email address. Why? The name Callahan has the word "Allah" in it. Yahoo will apparently accept "god, messiah, jesus, jehova, buddah, satan and both priest and pedophile," but not ‘allah,’ ‘osama’ and ‘binladen.’ I wish I were making this up. The world is going completely bananas over mullahs.

A reader writes:

"I am straight, very straight. I am also very hairy (I am Italian American). When I lived in Washington, I dated a girl who used to call me her "bear" because I am so hairy (in DC, most of the WASP types tend to be wimpy looking guys). You have ruined that memory for me. Thanks!"

You’re welcome. I do that kind of thing every day.