Category: The Dish

Al Qaeda and their wannabes have really blown it in Jordan. More here.

Daniel Markey argues for holding our nose; Hussain Haqqani disagrees:

By abandoning Pervez Musharraf, the United States could signal that it will not tolerate Pakistan becoming "Myanmar lite," a nation permanently dominated by its military. Once Washington makes it clear that it will no longer support Musharraf, Pakistan’s military will have to start negotiating with the country’s political parties and civil society instead of dictating to them.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of ambivalence on this thread of Pakistani commenters and bloggers after the Kayani news. Here’s one vent:

The "deals" with the Tribals, the pipeline with Iran, opposition to any sanctions against Iran, Chinese investment in Gwadar, the imposition of the emergency itself – all of these indicate indicate that Washington can not make Musharraf do squat, unless Musharraf feels it is in the interest of Pakistan.

Random factoid: Kayani "president of the Pakistan Golf Federation with a handicap of 18."

Hanna has the best piece on the subject, natch. Money quote:

You can probably guess how things turned out. Given enough time and effort, Hollywood can tweak and polish and recast even the darkest message until it would seem at home in a Fourth of July parade. In the end, the religious meaning of the book was obscured so thoroughly as to be essentially indecipherable. The studio settled on villains that, as Emmerich put it, “feel vaguely kind of like a fascistic, totalitarian dictatorship, Russian/KGB/SS” stew. The movie’s main theme became, in one producer’s summary, “One small child can save the world.” With $180 million at stake, the studio opted to kidnap the book’s body and leave behind its soul.

Of course, that won’t stop the Catholic League having a cow. Christianity Today has a thoughtful and intriguing review of the controversy.

A reader writes:

You write:

The argument for judicial safeguards on wire-tapping is popular and important. It’s a vital and simple precaution against abuse of government power. Until Democrats and traditional Republicans stop being craven in the face of the far right’s bluster – until they get angry at the idiocy and un-American authoritarianism of the Hannity-Limbaugh-Giuliani right, they will lose, and deserve to lose.

Many of us have gotten angry, yourself included. The question is why our supposed leaders haven’t. Why haven’t any of them come forward and shouted "Because we’re America, goddammit!" Do they think so little of us the public as to fear that no one would support them?

That’s the question that makes me angriest. The question that keeps me up, though, is wondering whether they might be right.

I’d say it’s a sign of rising desperation in the Clinton camp that the former president’s wife is touting the former Republican secretary of state as a future cabinet member or appointee of some sort. Matt thinks it’s also bad war-politics – especially with the Democratic base. Jason Zengerle dissents.

From the Plain-Dealer blog:

"I’m thinking about Ron Paul" as a running mate, Kucinich told a crowd of about 70 supporters at a house party here, one of numerous stops throughout New Hampshire over the Thanksgiving weekend. A Kucinich-Paul administration could bring people together "to balance the energies in this country," Kucinich said.

Indonesia plans to plant that many in a single day to counter deforestation, land clearing and forest fires.

A new bio-fuel gets two Brits all the way to Timbuktu.

A reader writes:

I can’t deny that watching videos of people getting the shit kicked out of them gets my adrenaline rushing and makes me want to see more of the same. But if these Youtube beat downs are our society’s stand-in for Homer we’re living in serious cultural poverty. I realize (hope?) the author of the post you quoted had tongue grinding in cheek when he wrote, but just in case… The Iliad shows men in the quest for honor crushing, piercing and mangling each other’s bodies, sure. But Homer weaves scenes of brutality in with descriptions of the idyllic farming and family lives that these men have left behind.

And while Achilles is probably the most hot-headed character to grace the pages of Western literature, describing that character was not a difficult achievement on Homer’s part (as these videos make blatantly clear). The really moving parts of the Iliad are when the work appraises the brutal streak in man and asks the reader to digest its significance. The climax of the book isn’t when Achilles kills Hector, it’s when he gives the body of Hector back to Priam, the mourning father. Homer shows both the savagery of man and the his ability for empathy and understanding. These Youtube videos invariably end with one man standing contentedly over someone who’s been seriously hurt and feeling smug. Cheap thrills, not Homer.

"Iraq is in a dangerous neighborhood and will require some assistance over the years ahead," – Cliff May, NRO. I just splurted a bunch of coffee all over the laptop.