The new Swift Boat Veterans ad is all about John Kerry's anti-war activism.
Which raises another issue: If Kerry thought the war was wrong, and American veterans were war criminals, why pretend to be proud of medals for participating in an immoral war? Why not say he was against the war then, and is against it today, because of his own wartime experiences, which is what he said in 1971?
That is why this issue isn't going away--because it is reopening the wounds of Vietnam. Kerry surely didn't forget that among the high officials who lost the Vietnam war were then-White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney and then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
They probably haven't forgotten, either.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Military Medals Are Not Always What They Appear
SaysDavid Hackworth:
"Not that these abuses of the awards system are anything new. The U.S. military’s awards program -- designed to recognize both our combat heroes’ valor and the meritorious deeds by those hard-working supporters who bring up the rear -- has never been exactly fair. In the past, Joe and Jill have often gone unrecognized because there was no one left at the end of the battle to bear witness, or the paperwork got lost or wasn’t written persuasively enough, or some eager-beaver officer in the chain of command stole their glory. I know of two Medals of Honor -- one in Korea and the other with a Navy unit in Vietnam -- that shamefully went to still-living former officers when in fact their above-and-beyond deeds "witnessed" by sycophants were actually performed by grunts.
"In the latter days of the Korean War and in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm and Somalia, such abuses of military honors increased with each battle. In Vietnam, a dog was awarded the Bronze Star, and in Grenada, more medals were awarded than there were soldiers on that tiny island. In Desert Storm, Army infantry battalions that never saw a shot fired were awarded the coveted CIB."
On the other hand, Hackworth comes to Kerry's defense on his own website:
"O’Neill and his chorus of haters are still in their get-Kerry mode. I suspect the decades-long fury is still fueled by Kerry’s high-profile anti-war stance when he returned home. That was a position that was taken by hundreds of thousands of other Viet vets, including myself in 1971 – which, according to Joe Califono's recent book, Inside: A Public Life, almost cost me my life.
"McCain has already asked President Bush to distance himself from this “dishonest and dishonorable” attack. Advice that Bush should take one step further by ordering Vietnam draft-dodger Karl Rove and the rest of the character-assassination squad who zapped McCain and Cleland to back off. And then publicly stand tall and say that this type of behavior insults every vet who’s served America in peace and war.
"As our commander in chief, Bush also needs to bear in mind that the U.S. Navy and its high standards for handling awards are now on trial as well. Hopefully, the president’s righteous actions will expedite that institution’s exoneration along with Lt. John Kerry’s heroism."
What does it mean to say that a dog can win the Bronze star, but the Navy's high standards for handling awards are now on trial? Most likely, that Kerry is probably not the only veteran with some questionable medals from Vietnam...
"Not that these abuses of the awards system are anything new. The U.S. military’s awards program -- designed to recognize both our combat heroes’ valor and the meritorious deeds by those hard-working supporters who bring up the rear -- has never been exactly fair. In the past, Joe and Jill have often gone unrecognized because there was no one left at the end of the battle to bear witness, or the paperwork got lost or wasn’t written persuasively enough, or some eager-beaver officer in the chain of command stole their glory. I know of two Medals of Honor -- one in Korea and the other with a Navy unit in Vietnam -- that shamefully went to still-living former officers when in fact their above-and-beyond deeds "witnessed" by sycophants were actually performed by grunts.
"In the latter days of the Korean War and in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm and Somalia, such abuses of military honors increased with each battle. In Vietnam, a dog was awarded the Bronze Star, and in Grenada, more medals were awarded than there were soldiers on that tiny island. In Desert Storm, Army infantry battalions that never saw a shot fired were awarded the coveted CIB."
On the other hand, Hackworth comes to Kerry's defense on his own website:
"O’Neill and his chorus of haters are still in their get-Kerry mode. I suspect the decades-long fury is still fueled by Kerry’s high-profile anti-war stance when he returned home. That was a position that was taken by hundreds of thousands of other Viet vets, including myself in 1971 – which, according to Joe Califono's recent book, Inside: A Public Life, almost cost me my life.
"McCain has already asked President Bush to distance himself from this “dishonest and dishonorable” attack. Advice that Bush should take one step further by ordering Vietnam draft-dodger Karl Rove and the rest of the character-assassination squad who zapped McCain and Cleland to back off. And then publicly stand tall and say that this type of behavior insults every vet who’s served America in peace and war.
"As our commander in chief, Bush also needs to bear in mind that the U.S. Navy and its high standards for handling awards are now on trial as well. Hopefully, the president’s righteous actions will expedite that institution’s exoneration along with Lt. John Kerry’s heroism."
What does it mean to say that a dog can win the Bronze star, but the Navy's high standards for handling awards are now on trial? Most likely, that Kerry is probably not the only veteran with some questionable medals from Vietnam...
Jim Lehrer on Kerry's War Record (continued)
From Friday's Newshour:
"JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight, the analysis of Shields and Kristol: Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and William Kristol of the Weekly Standard. David Brooks is on vacation. The rising war over John Kerry's Vietnam War record, Bill. Is Kerry right to blame the attacks on President Bush? Did the Bush campaign influence the ads?
WILLIAM KRISTOL: No. I don't think he's right to blame the attacks on his fellow veterans who didn't like him in Vietnam, particularly didn't like him after he called... after they think he called some of them war criminals in 1971 in his famous testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and to produce this book, John O'Neill who was on last night, no, they're not stooges of the Bush campaign.
JIM LEHRER: Not stooges of the Bush campaign?
MARK SHIELDS: Of course they are, Jim. I mean, the problem with smear campaigns is that too often they work. All we have to see - and there's a modus operandi here. We've seen it before in Bush campaigns; we saw it in 1988, we saw it in '92, we saw in 2000 against John McCain. And this isn't just the fingerprints of the Bush-Cheney campaign, or the footprints; it's the DNA. I mean, it's the funding of it, the people involved in it were involved in McCain; they use exactly the same example to go after the person just as they did with John McCain in 2000.They said John McCain was short tempered, didn't have a presidential temperament. Scott McClellan today said John Kerry's angry, Mark Rosco, the campaign chairman said he was wild eyed. I mean."
"JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight, the analysis of Shields and Kristol: Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and William Kristol of the Weekly Standard. David Brooks is on vacation. The rising war over John Kerry's Vietnam War record, Bill. Is Kerry right to blame the attacks on President Bush? Did the Bush campaign influence the ads?
WILLIAM KRISTOL: No. I don't think he's right to blame the attacks on his fellow veterans who didn't like him in Vietnam, particularly didn't like him after he called... after they think he called some of them war criminals in 1971 in his famous testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and to produce this book, John O'Neill who was on last night, no, they're not stooges of the Bush campaign.
JIM LEHRER: Not stooges of the Bush campaign?
MARK SHIELDS: Of course they are, Jim. I mean, the problem with smear campaigns is that too often they work. All we have to see - and there's a modus operandi here. We've seen it before in Bush campaigns; we saw it in 1988, we saw it in '92, we saw in 2000 against John McCain. And this isn't just the fingerprints of the Bush-Cheney campaign, or the footprints; it's the DNA. I mean, it's the funding of it, the people involved in it were involved in McCain; they use exactly the same example to go after the person just as they did with John McCain in 2000.They said John McCain was short tempered, didn't have a presidential temperament. Scott McClellan today said John Kerry's angry, Mark Rosco, the campaign chairman said he was wild eyed. I mean."
Friday, August 20, 2004
And We Thought Hate Is Not a Family Value...
How one family spent their summer vacation, from The Wall Street Journal:
"No!" the husband, who had swallowed his snack, sharply responded. "We're in favor of separation of church and state, and would prefer that those words not appear on our dollar bills, just as we want 'under God' removed from our pledge of allegiance. And you know what we mean," he continued, ratcheting-up the tone. "Bush lied to us about the war in Iraq!" The chairs rocked faster.
"How's that?" I replied. Before he could answer, I added, "Saddam Hussein used weapons of mass destruction three times, once against the Kurds in the north of Iraq, once against his 'marsh' people in the south, and against Iran. And every intelligence agency in the world, including the French, believed he had WMD, and that he was trying to acquire nuclear materials in Africa. If it was an intelligence miscalculation, all Saddam had to do was comply with U.N. inspections, but he refused. There was no lie, at worst a mistake that removed a brutal dictator who supported terrorism and who killed over 1.5 million people during his reign of terror."
"Screw you!" someone shouted from across the porch. My daughter's head swerved to the yelling miscreant, then back to me, somewhat fearful of my reaction..."
"No!" the husband, who had swallowed his snack, sharply responded. "We're in favor of separation of church and state, and would prefer that those words not appear on our dollar bills, just as we want 'under God' removed from our pledge of allegiance. And you know what we mean," he continued, ratcheting-up the tone. "Bush lied to us about the war in Iraq!" The chairs rocked faster.
"How's that?" I replied. Before he could answer, I added, "Saddam Hussein used weapons of mass destruction three times, once against the Kurds in the north of Iraq, once against his 'marsh' people in the south, and against Iran. And every intelligence agency in the world, including the French, believed he had WMD, and that he was trying to acquire nuclear materials in Africa. If it was an intelligence miscalculation, all Saddam had to do was comply with U.N. inspections, but he refused. There was no lie, at worst a mistake that removed a brutal dictator who supported terrorism and who killed over 1.5 million people during his reign of terror."
"Screw you!" someone shouted from across the porch. My daughter's head swerved to the yelling miscreant, then back to me, somewhat fearful of my reaction..."
Zakaria in the Kerry Camp
In Newsweek, the former editor of Foreign Affairs, and student of Samuel Huntington, says why:
"The more intelligent question is, given what we knew at the time, was toppling Saddam's regime a worthwhile objective? Bush's answer is yes, Howard Dean's is no. Kerry's answer is that it was a worthwhile objective but was disastrously executed. For this "nuance" Kerry has been attacked from both the right and the left. But it happens to be the most defensible position on the subject."
"The more intelligent question is, given what we knew at the time, was toppling Saddam's regime a worthwhile objective? Bush's answer is yes, Howard Dean's is no. Kerry's answer is that it was a worthwhile objective but was disastrously executed. For this "nuance" Kerry has been attacked from both the right and the left. But it happens to be the most defensible position on the subject."
Dallas Festival Screens AFI's Banned Elian Film
From The Wall Street Journal:
"Nearly four years after the Thanksgiving Day when Elian Gonzalez was fished out of the waters off the U.S. coast, pundits continue to debate whether he'll be as helpful to President Bush in Florida in 2004 as he was in 2000. Meanwhile, in Dallas, plans are afoot to screen a documentary next month about a much-neglected backstory: the media portrayal of Cuban-Americans during the Elian affair.
"The film is Agustín Blázquez's "Covering Cuba 3: Elian." Though it has been out since last year, this summer Mr. Blázquez created a minor stir when he accused the federally subsidized American Film Institute of "political bias" for turning down his film for its AFI Silver Theater in Maryland."
You can watch a clip at this website.
"Nearly four years after the Thanksgiving Day when Elian Gonzalez was fished out of the waters off the U.S. coast, pundits continue to debate whether he'll be as helpful to President Bush in Florida in 2004 as he was in 2000. Meanwhile, in Dallas, plans are afoot to screen a documentary next month about a much-neglected backstory: the media portrayal of Cuban-Americans during the Elian affair.
"The film is Agustín Blázquez's "Covering Cuba 3: Elian." Though it has been out since last year, this summer Mr. Blázquez created a minor stir when he accused the federally subsidized American Film Institute of "political bias" for turning down his film for its AFI Silver Theater in Maryland."
You can watch a clip at this website.
Julia Child's Legacy: The Food Network
From MeAndTed.com's Reese Schonfeld, founder of CNN and The Food Network:
"Julia Child died last week as all of you must know by now. She was one of the grandest women I’ve ever known. She was a creator and among the things she had a hand in was the creation of the Food Network.
"We bought Julia’s old shows from WGBH in Boston as soon as we started the network. Because Julia was nobody’s fool she had kept a large piece of the rights for herself and to my great pleasure much of what we paid to WGBH went to her.
"Went we were on the air, she signed up for a weekly commentary on Food News and Views. Every thing she said was right on and rightly said. Her appearance gave the Food Network credibility in the food world. She made us respectable."
"Julia Child died last week as all of you must know by now. She was one of the grandest women I’ve ever known. She was a creator and among the things she had a hand in was the creation of the Food Network.
"We bought Julia’s old shows from WGBH in Boston as soon as we started the network. Because Julia was nobody’s fool she had kept a large piece of the rights for herself and to my great pleasure much of what we paid to WGBH went to her.
"Went we were on the air, she signed up for a weekly commentary on Food News and Views. Every thing she said was right on and rightly said. Her appearance gave the Food Network credibility in the food world. She made us respectable."
Errol Morris Gets Political
Philip Gourevitch in the New Yorker on another Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker for Kerry:
"Errol Morris, whose inventive and stylized documentaries include 'The Thin Blue Line,' 'Mr. Death,' [Note to the New Yorker's famous fact-checkers: the title is acutally 'Dr. Death'] and an Oscar-winning portrait of Robert McNamara, 'The Fog of War,' is also a prodigious director of TV commercials—the ultimate message movies. It’s a lucrative sideline in which he takes considerable pleasure. He’s made successful advertisements for such brands as Miller High Life, Adidas, and Volkswagen, although some of his favorite spots—one for Quaker Oats, for example, which shows an orangutan spooning porridge into his mouth, then setting aside the utensil and blissfully plunging his face into the breakfast bowl—have never been broadcast. A few years ago, Morris directed Apple’s enormously popular 'Switch' campaign, which consisted of vignettes about real people who had abandoned PCs for Macs. And, while he has never before been involved in electoral politics, this year Morris decided to make a series of documentary political ads featuring Republican switchers, people who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and will vote for John Kerry this time around.
"Morris, who lives in the echt-liberal enclave of Cambridge, Massachusetts, didn’t actually know any such people, but, he told me, 'the pollsters said they’re out there—in America—and I’m really interested in what they have to say.' After all, the outcome of the election is expected to hinge largely on swing voters, and, Morris said, 'these ads are a way of talking to them. It isn’t pollsters talking through actors. It isn’t longtime Democrats talking to themselves. It isn’t longtime Democrats hectoring Republicans. It’s thoughtful Republicans—many of whom have decided to remain Republican—saying it’s not us who are abandoning Bush; he’s abandoned us, abandoned the Republican Party we’ve supported all these years. That is a very powerful message.""
I met Morris several years ago, and he was kind enough to tell me at that time that he thought my film, Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die?, "was the best documentary I have ever seen."
So what can I say, other than read the New Yorker story?
"Errol Morris, whose inventive and stylized documentaries include 'The Thin Blue Line,' 'Mr. Death,' [Note to the New Yorker's famous fact-checkers: the title is acutally 'Dr. Death'] and an Oscar-winning portrait of Robert McNamara, 'The Fog of War,' is also a prodigious director of TV commercials—the ultimate message movies. It’s a lucrative sideline in which he takes considerable pleasure. He’s made successful advertisements for such brands as Miller High Life, Adidas, and Volkswagen, although some of his favorite spots—one for Quaker Oats, for example, which shows an orangutan spooning porridge into his mouth, then setting aside the utensil and blissfully plunging his face into the breakfast bowl—have never been broadcast. A few years ago, Morris directed Apple’s enormously popular 'Switch' campaign, which consisted of vignettes about real people who had abandoned PCs for Macs. And, while he has never before been involved in electoral politics, this year Morris decided to make a series of documentary political ads featuring Republican switchers, people who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and will vote for John Kerry this time around.
"Morris, who lives in the echt-liberal enclave of Cambridge, Massachusetts, didn’t actually know any such people, but, he told me, 'the pollsters said they’re out there—in America—and I’m really interested in what they have to say.' After all, the outcome of the election is expected to hinge largely on swing voters, and, Morris said, 'these ads are a way of talking to them. It isn’t pollsters talking through actors. It isn’t longtime Democrats talking to themselves. It isn’t longtime Democrats hectoring Republicans. It’s thoughtful Republicans—many of whom have decided to remain Republican—saying it’s not us who are abandoning Bush; he’s abandoned us, abandoned the Republican Party we’ve supported all these years. That is a very powerful message.""
I met Morris several years ago, and he was kind enough to tell me at that time that he thought my film, Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die?, "was the best documentary I have ever seen."
So what can I say, other than read the New Yorker story?
Are We Losing Iraq?
Michael Rubin thinks so:
"If the National Security Council wants to put their hope in Ayad Allawi, they will be sorely disappointed. Allawi is a former Baathist. His close association with the Central Intelligence Agency, Britain's MI6, and Jordanian intelligence have not helped him among a Shia population in which he has little if any constituency. The Kurds also distrust Allawi, who, in 14 months of Coalition rule failed to engage in any serious way with the Sunni community. Najaf ends Allawi's honeymoon. The CIA may sing his praises to the president, but Langley's assets seldom make good leaders. They certainly don't make good democrats."
"If the National Security Council wants to put their hope in Ayad Allawi, they will be sorely disappointed. Allawi is a former Baathist. His close association with the Central Intelligence Agency, Britain's MI6, and Jordanian intelligence have not helped him among a Shia population in which he has little if any constituency. The Kurds also distrust Allawi, who, in 14 months of Coalition rule failed to engage in any serious way with the Sunni community. Najaf ends Allawi's honeymoon. The CIA may sing his praises to the president, but Langley's assets seldom make good leaders. They certainly don't make good democrats."
Youssef Chahine's Love-Hate Relationship With America
The Egyptian filmmaker's new release, "Alexandria...New York," is profiled in The Washington Post:
"Chahine said that he, like many Egyptians, is disturbed by the relentless violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as Iraq. "All the time I am faced by these scenes, every night on TV. We Arabs feel rejection. But if it was only us, it may not matter. It seems it is also 1 billion Muslims are being rejected," he said.
"He says he longs for the days of Busby Berkeley musicals, Fred Astaire dance numbers and Frank Sinatra crooning. Instead, he finds exploding cars and computerized robots. "All we see is Spider-Men and musclemen like Stallone and Willis," he said, referring to action stars Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. "America has become violent like the new movies."
"Alexandria . . . New York" opens with the Arab filmmaker character deciding to travel to the United States despite his unease over its support for Israel. "It's hard to rip my deep love for America out of my heart," the character says."
"Chahine said that he, like many Egyptians, is disturbed by the relentless violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as Iraq. "All the time I am faced by these scenes, every night on TV. We Arabs feel rejection. But if it was only us, it may not matter. It seems it is also 1 billion Muslims are being rejected," he said.
"He says he longs for the days of Busby Berkeley musicals, Fred Astaire dance numbers and Frank Sinatra crooning. Instead, he finds exploding cars and computerized robots. "All we see is Spider-Men and musclemen like Stallone and Willis," he said, referring to action stars Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. "America has become violent like the new movies."
"Alexandria . . . New York" opens with the Arab filmmaker character deciding to travel to the United States despite his unease over its support for Israel. "It's hard to rip my deep love for America out of my heart," the character says."
Composer Elmer Bernstein Dies
From the Washington Post:
"Pot-bellied, with a mop of shaggy gray hair, Mr. Bernstein worked much of his career in a filthy West Los Angeles apartment.
"Music is a romantic art," the composer said. "It's an art of shades and sounds and it's an emotional art. It deals with feelings rather than intellect. But the making of it is an intellectual exercise. And therefore it can be done in any surroundings. "
"Pot-bellied, with a mop of shaggy gray hair, Mr. Bernstein worked much of his career in a filthy West Los Angeles apartment.
"Music is a romantic art," the composer said. "It's an art of shades and sounds and it's an emotional art. It deals with feelings rather than intellect. But the making of it is an intellectual exercise. And therefore it can be done in any surroundings. "
Jim Lehrer on John Kerry's War Record
A really interesting segment on the NewsHour last night about John Kerry's decorations:
"JIM LEHRER: More now on the charges and counter-charges over John Kerry's war record. John O'Neill is co-founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that sponsored the ad against Kerry. He also wrote 'Unfit for Command,' a book critical of John Kerry's service in Vietnam. And we're also joined by Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant, who has covered and written extensively about John Kerry. Mr. O'Neill, are you doing President Bush's dirty work for him?"
Lehrer is a former Marine, and does a good job with military issues. Certainly, it is unseemly for supporters of a President and Vice-President who avoided military service, who have no medals of their own, to make an issue of John Kerry's medals. While it is legitimate for them to make an issue of his throwing his decorations away as a protest against the Vietnam war, his casting aspersions on Vietnam veterans as war criminals, his subsequent efforts to have it both ways, or whatever else is a matter of principle.
Likewise, Kerry might want to come up with something he has done since fighting in Vietnam--which was some 30 years ago, after all. Lots of people won medals, and are not qualified to be President. It takes something extra, and Kerry hasn't shown it, yet.
After all, Bob Dole was a war hero, Bill Clinton wasn't, and the American people elected Clinton.
On the other hand, the Kerry critics have some juicy tidbits to bait him with...
You can watch the whole Lehrer segment here.
"JIM LEHRER: More now on the charges and counter-charges over John Kerry's war record. John O'Neill is co-founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that sponsored the ad against Kerry. He also wrote 'Unfit for Command,' a book critical of John Kerry's service in Vietnam. And we're also joined by Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant, who has covered and written extensively about John Kerry. Mr. O'Neill, are you doing President Bush's dirty work for him?"
Lehrer is a former Marine, and does a good job with military issues. Certainly, it is unseemly for supporters of a President and Vice-President who avoided military service, who have no medals of their own, to make an issue of John Kerry's medals. While it is legitimate for them to make an issue of his throwing his decorations away as a protest against the Vietnam war, his casting aspersions on Vietnam veterans as war criminals, his subsequent efforts to have it both ways, or whatever else is a matter of principle.
Likewise, Kerry might want to come up with something he has done since fighting in Vietnam--which was some 30 years ago, after all. Lots of people won medals, and are not qualified to be President. It takes something extra, and Kerry hasn't shown it, yet.
After all, Bob Dole was a war hero, Bill Clinton wasn't, and the American people elected Clinton.
On the other hand, the Kerry critics have some juicy tidbits to bait him with...
You can watch the whole Lehrer segment here.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Iraq: Democracy Can Be Fun
Zeyad reports on the National Conference:
"Watching the proceedings of the controversial National Conference for the last three days, most of it transmitted live on Al-Iraqiya channel, has been an enjoyable experience. I have to mention here that the majority of Iraqis are unfamiliar with the rules of parliamentary sessions. The closest thing we had to a parliament was abolished in 1958 with the introduction of 'Revolutionary' Republican rule. Whatever the level of political maturity Iraqis had accumulated at that stage, it slowly disintegrated year after year under the successive totalitarian ('Revolutionary') regimes. Today, 45 years later, we are back again at point zero.
"Under Ba'athist rule, proceedings from the so-called National Council were televised from time to time. The Revolutionary Command Council was the sole source of legislation, so basically the National Council had no other function but to approve and stamp the endless amendments. Votes were always unanimous. It was a joke really. A farce.
"The National Conference also looks like a farce on the surface, but of a totally different kind. Here you have 1000-1300 delegates from all over Iraq, from all ethnicities, religions, sects and social backgrounds. A curious mix of people all put together in one room to try and choose 81 individuals that are supposed to represent Iraqis.
"Young and old clerics in black and white turbans, groomed men in suits and carefully pressed shirts, tribal Sheikhs traditionally dressed, women shrouded in black abayas, others in the latest hairdressing style and glamorous fashion trends and some in headscarfs of every imaginable colour. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, judges, engineers, professors, teachers, generals, businessmen, artists, actors, activists, priests, imams, even sportsmen and a musician...."
"Watching the proceedings of the controversial National Conference for the last three days, most of it transmitted live on Al-Iraqiya channel, has been an enjoyable experience. I have to mention here that the majority of Iraqis are unfamiliar with the rules of parliamentary sessions. The closest thing we had to a parliament was abolished in 1958 with the introduction of 'Revolutionary' Republican rule. Whatever the level of political maturity Iraqis had accumulated at that stage, it slowly disintegrated year after year under the successive totalitarian ('Revolutionary') regimes. Today, 45 years later, we are back again at point zero.
"Under Ba'athist rule, proceedings from the so-called National Council were televised from time to time. The Revolutionary Command Council was the sole source of legislation, so basically the National Council had no other function but to approve and stamp the endless amendments. Votes were always unanimous. It was a joke really. A farce.
"The National Conference also looks like a farce on the surface, but of a totally different kind. Here you have 1000-1300 delegates from all over Iraq, from all ethnicities, religions, sects and social backgrounds. A curious mix of people all put together in one room to try and choose 81 individuals that are supposed to represent Iraqis.
"Young and old clerics in black and white turbans, groomed men in suits and carefully pressed shirts, tribal Sheikhs traditionally dressed, women shrouded in black abayas, others in the latest hairdressing style and glamorous fashion trends and some in headscarfs of every imaginable colour. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, judges, engineers, professors, teachers, generals, businessmen, artists, actors, activists, priests, imams, even sportsmen and a musician...."
Mark Steyn Remembers Fay Wray (1907-2004)
In The Spectator:
"Born in Alberta, raised in Arizona and Utah, and sent at the age of 14 to live with a male friend of her sister’s in Hollywood, Fay Wray had no reason to wind up a movie star other than her own determination: she was good-looking in the way the gal serving you hash in the greasy spoon back in Arizona might be. She was a smart, largely self-taught woman who loved writers. Between them, her husbands and lovers wrote the screenplays of Wings, The Dawn Patrol, It Happened One Night, Lost Horizon, You Can’t Take It With You, Golden Boy, The Big Knife and Rhapsody In Blue. After acting, Miss Wray turned to playwriting herself – her last work was premiered in New Hampshire a few years back – and also came up with a very beguiling memoir with a Kong-alluding title, On The Other Hand."
"Born in Alberta, raised in Arizona and Utah, and sent at the age of 14 to live with a male friend of her sister’s in Hollywood, Fay Wray had no reason to wind up a movie star other than her own determination: she was good-looking in the way the gal serving you hash in the greasy spoon back in Arizona might be. She was a smart, largely self-taught woman who loved writers. Between them, her husbands and lovers wrote the screenplays of Wings, The Dawn Patrol, It Happened One Night, Lost Horizon, You Can’t Take It With You, Golden Boy, The Big Knife and Rhapsody In Blue. After acting, Miss Wray turned to playwriting herself – her last work was premiered in New Hampshire a few years back – and also came up with a very beguiling memoir with a Kong-alluding title, On The Other Hand."
eBay Buys Craigslist Stake
Leslie Walker reports:
"Part of the site's appeal is that it still feels like the early days of the Web, with a text-only design and simple publishing tools that predate the flashy graphics, big ads and other commercial flourishes prevalent on leading Internet sites today.
"But users fear that could change after last week's announcement that eBay, one of the giants of Internet commerce, has bought a 25 percent stake in the tiny company for an undisclosed sum. Users have been grousing in Craigslist's open forums that eBay may push to inject advertising and make other changes that would spoil the site's relaxed, back-porch atmosphere.
"Newmark insists that such worries are unfounded. "If anything, all this questioning is just reinforcing our sense of our current mission," he said this week.
"Part of the site's appeal is that it still feels like the early days of the Web, with a text-only design and simple publishing tools that predate the flashy graphics, big ads and other commercial flourishes prevalent on leading Internet sites today.
"But users fear that could change after last week's announcement that eBay, one of the giants of Internet commerce, has bought a 25 percent stake in the tiny company for an undisclosed sum. Users have been grousing in Craigslist's open forums that eBay may push to inject advertising and make other changes that would spoil the site's relaxed, back-porch atmosphere.
"Newmark insists that such worries are unfounded. "If anything, all this questioning is just reinforcing our sense of our current mission," he said this week.
Mariel Zagunis: Fencing's Female Knute Rockne.
From the University of Notre Dame:
"The Beaverton, Ore., native is the only fencer ever to win three gold medals at one World Championships. She was a member of the first U.S. team ever to capture teh gold medal in World Championship competition. She won three consecutive Junior World Cup trophies.And she compiled an unprecedented eight medals at Cadet and Junior level World Championship events. "
"The Beaverton, Ore., native is the only fencer ever to win three gold medals at one World Championships. She was a member of the first U.S. team ever to capture teh gold medal in World Championship competition. She won three consecutive Junior World Cup trophies.And she compiled an unprecedented eight medals at Cadet and Junior level World Championship events. "
The Truth About Olympic Water Polo
From The Washington Post:
"Sure, all these swimming races are exciting and inspiring and all that, but after a few days of watching people paddle back and forth across a pool, your average red-blooded American sports fan begins to wonder: Hey, where's the violence?
"Fortunately, the happy answer is just a couple hundred yards away, in the indoor pool, where the preliminary rounds of water polo are in progress. There's enough violence in an average water polo match to fill all your brutality needs, at least until football season starts."
"Sure, all these swimming races are exciting and inspiring and all that, but after a few days of watching people paddle back and forth across a pool, your average red-blooded American sports fan begins to wonder: Hey, where's the violence?
"Fortunately, the happy answer is just a couple hundred yards away, in the indoor pool, where the preliminary rounds of water polo are in progress. There's enough violence in an average water polo match to fill all your brutality needs, at least until football season starts."
The Botswanan Fandorin
The Scotsman reports on the publishing phenomenon (tip from Artsjournal):
"With sales topping five million in English, Precious Ramotswe is fast becoming to Mr McCall Smith what Harry Potter is to JK Rowling and Inspector Rebus is to Ian Rankin. "
"With sales topping five million in English, Precious Ramotswe is fast becoming to Mr McCall Smith what Harry Potter is to JK Rowling and Inspector Rebus is to Ian Rankin. "
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Solzhenitsyn: The Lion in Winter
By Anatoly Korolev:
"Solzhenitsyn's recent appearance on television has dispelled the persistent rumors about him suffering from a serious illness. He still comes across as energetic, lively and witty, thank God. But the reason behind his reemerging in the public eye has a somewhat comic flavor to it. The governor of the Kuban province, southern Russia, Tkachev came to visit the world-famous writer in his retreat outside Moscow-only to receive lavish praise from the host for handing his late grandfather's two-storied house over to a local church. Isn't it a noble gesture? Very much so. Why, then, the event has been taken with a sigh of general disappointment? Solzhenitsyn's detractors claim that this is a publicity stunt rather than a sincere effort to be helpful to the community. The Russian people may topple their idols as easily as they put them on the throne. But their present skepticism vis-a-vis Solzhenitsyn is understandable-they have expected him to act like Christ -- not like Pyotr Stolypin."
"Solzhenitsyn's recent appearance on television has dispelled the persistent rumors about him suffering from a serious illness. He still comes across as energetic, lively and witty, thank God. But the reason behind his reemerging in the public eye has a somewhat comic flavor to it. The governor of the Kuban province, southern Russia, Tkachev came to visit the world-famous writer in his retreat outside Moscow-only to receive lavish praise from the host for handing his late grandfather's two-storied house over to a local church. Isn't it a noble gesture? Very much so. Why, then, the event has been taken with a sigh of general disappointment? Solzhenitsyn's detractors claim that this is a publicity stunt rather than a sincere effort to be helpful to the community. The Russian people may topple their idols as easily as they put them on the throne. But their present skepticism vis-a-vis Solzhenitsyn is understandable-they have expected him to act like Christ -- not like Pyotr Stolypin."
Mark Twain v. Jane Austen
James Fenimore Cooper wasn't Twain's only literary target. He also had some choice words for Jane Austen:
"I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."
Mark Twain Letter to Joseph Twichell, 9/13/1898
"I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."
Mark Twain Letter to Joseph Twichell, 9/13/1898
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