tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378660732024-03-12T19:28:56.468-05:00My Weekly FatwaNo, really. THIS is where rational discourse comes to dieM.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-17691873591585464402007-02-08T20:42:00.000-06:002007-02-08T19:22:12.990-06:00Will getting busted while driving a white Ford Taurus hurt Eminem's street creds?<a href="http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070208/NEWS0101/702080390/1075" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5029361070433649122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RcvhPzJgQeI/AAAAAAAAAHs/OPNuGDv3lUU/s200/Mammon+mug+shot.jpg" border="0" /></a>When knocking over mailboxes while driving drunk and naked in a white Ford Taurus is outlawed, only outlaws will knock over mailboxes while driving drunk and naked in a white Ford Taurus.<br /><div></div><br /><div></div>M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-42062106069295941162007-02-08T19:12:00.000-06:002007-02-04T16:40:59.821-06:00Most Unflattering WSJ Pencil Drawing Award<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/02/08/atlantic-city-a-rumble-out-on-the-promenade-or-in-the-courtroom/" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5029336507515683266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RcvK6DJgQcI/AAAAAAAAAHY/K8lxiVizNJY/s200/wsj_law-higbeec.gif" border="0" /></a>I don't think I'd want to get held in contempt by <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/02/08/atlantic-city-a-rumble-out-on-the-promenade-or-in-the-courtroom/" target="_blank">Judge Higbee</a>. (That's the Sarlacc Pit, for all you non-lawyers out there.)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-45419896990276516732007-01-31T18:35:00.000-06:002007-01-31T20:04:15.480-06:00Boston needs to watch more Aqua Teen...bigtime<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RcE7um4f41I/AAAAAAAAAHA/rKKo-tymtSk/s1600-h/mooninite3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5026364331019723602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="144" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RcE7um4f41I/AAAAAAAAAHA/rKKo-tymtSk/s200/mooninite3.jpg" width="179" border="0" /></a> Looks like all of <a href="http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10890113/detail.html#" target="_blank">Boston shut down</a> because of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monday%2C_Tuesday%2C_Wednesday%2C_Thursday%2C_Friday%2C_Saturday%2C_Sunday" target="_blank">Mooninites</a>. As Carl might say, that's just so sweet!<br /><br />Jeebuz, anyone who watches the Cartoon Network could tell you that no terrorist would make a bomb that looked like a Mooninite. For one thing, you pretty much have to be stoned geek to even know who Ignignokt and Err are. And I just don't think stoned terrorists are all that motivated to make improvised explosive devices. Elaborate bongs, maybe. But not IEDs.<br /><br />So maybe Boston's finest needs one or two stoner Adult Swim fans to help them identify the pranks from the terrorists. There's bound to be one or two on the other side of the river. <a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RcE7L24f4zI/AAAAAAAAAGw/84yNGAEfBuE/s1600-h/Mooninite+IED.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5026363734019269426" style="CURSOR: hand" height="118" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RcE7L24f4zI/AAAAAAAAAGw/84yNGAEfBuE/s200/Mooninite+IED.jpg" width="154" border="0" /></a>Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Showing the world you can have someone say "shithead" in a cartoon, provided you say it in German.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-8029322420193610512007-01-27T22:17:00.000-06:002007-01-27T22:33:08.485-06:00When gender equity smacks into socialized medicine<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/Rbwnc24f4xI/AAAAAAAAAGc/bLih8qxCkHk/s1600-h/gyn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024934660960936722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/Rbwnc24f4xI/AAAAAAAAAGc/bLih8qxCkHk/s200/gyn.jpg" border="0" /></a>Oh, what will the Swedes think of next? <a href="http://www.thelocal.se/6222/20070127/" target="_blank">Choosing sex of gynecologist to be banned</a>.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-64832567321388813192007-01-27T22:13:00.000-06:002007-01-27T22:17:44.821-06:00How to inflate your silver currency<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/Rbwj3G4f4wI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/C8MuV0XqbN8/s1600-h/Spanish+inflation.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024930713885991682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/Rbwj3G4f4wI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/C8MuV0XqbN8/s200/Spanish+inflation.jpg" border="0" /></a>I thought this article was cool. (<a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=74517" targte="_blank">Historic Discovery: Spanish Funny Money</a>) So colonial-era Spanish inflation wasn't just due to an influx of gold and silver from the New World. They were also punching their own slugs.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-13246322216309077042007-01-23T00:07:00.000-06:002007-01-27T22:34:24.233-06:00Recent CNET review of the "Boomberry" feature<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RbWnZ24f4vI/AAAAAAAAAGE/Wv0HhjsG2eA/s1600-h/Boomberry.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023105022072709874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RbWnZ24f4vI/AAAAAAAAAGE/Wv0HhjsG2eA/s320/Boomberry.gif" border="0" /></a>A recent news "exclusive" from CBS says that cops are worried about a gun that looks like a knife. Personally, I don't see the point. (See <a href="http://wcbstv.com/local/local_story_022171646.html" target="_blank">CBS 2 Exclusive: A Weapon That Even Scares Cops</a>)<br /><br />But what I actually found interesting was the "gun that's disguised as a Blackberry". I want that feature. Because every day I get an email that causes me to think, "Gee, I wish my Blackberry had a gun attachment, so I could just shoot myself!" Many days I get several of those emails.<br /><br />I'm willing to bet it would be a very popular feature. Probably the best thing since cyanide-flavored memo paper.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-30851362216376330752007-01-22T06:31:00.000-06:002007-01-22T10:39:47.759-06:00The UN's role in setting international law/poppadum standards<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RbToNm4f4uI/AAAAAAAAAF4/Zg62NHDQGd0/s1600-h/Poppadums.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5022894804898407138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RbToNm4f4uI/AAAAAAAAAF4/Zg62NHDQGd0/s200/Poppadums.jpg" border="0" /></a>I've been wondering exactly what the United Nations' proper role in the world should be. Deterring war? Yeah, it and what army! Promoting democracy and human rights across the world? You guys crack me up!<br /><br />But I finally found it! Poppadum standards! See, some are like crackers, some are like bread...there's just no consistency! Somebody has to step in to make sure our poppadums are up to par, and I can think of no better somebody than the United Nations.<br /><br />See article <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2559333,00.html" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a>.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-57983010109089702112007-01-16T23:01:00.000-06:002007-01-16T23:03:50.991-06:00Chait on overlearning the lessons of the last warJonathan Chait has an interesting article in the LA Times, repeated in the New Republic, on why it doesn't matter if you were right about the Iraq war. (An interesting side point: only Al Gore is batting 100.)<br /><br />See <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-chait14jan14,1,4802828.column" target="_blank"><strong>We can't surrender to the doves</strong></a>M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-42297720208004421302007-01-14T22:56:00.000-06:002007-01-14T23:04:30.337-06:00The Great Molasses Flood<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RasKpyALN7I/AAAAAAAAAE8/KlsFe1h-01c/s1600-h/Molasses+Flood.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020117922547972018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RasKpyALN7I/AAAAAAAAAE8/KlsFe1h-01c/s320/Molasses+Flood.jpg" border="0" /></a>Over dinner conversation with friends tonight I learned of the <a href="http://edp.org/molasses.htm" target="'_blank"><strong>Great Molasses Flood</strong></a> of 1919. The horror...the sweet, sticky horror. Seriously, 21 dead.<br /><br />(See <a href="http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/molasses.htm#add" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a>, if you don't believe the first link.)<br /><br />Since it's called the "Great" Molasses Flood, does this imply there have been lesser molasses floods?<br /><br />(Image from the Boston Public Library.)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-40720202962133148742007-01-12T06:21:00.000-06:002007-01-12T06:24:24.695-06:00Today's assignment, children...<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/Rad98iALN6I/AAAAAAAAAEw/NApfF7QOyzs/s1600-h/Fish+eye.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019118788600870818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/Rad98iALN6I/AAAAAAAAAEw/NApfF7QOyzs/s320/Fish+eye.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...is to write a headline for this photo.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-13650819527929604642007-01-09T19:16:00.000-06:002007-01-10T23:20:07.922-06:00I'm not suggesting anything here<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RaQ-y0F_rUI/AAAAAAAAAEI/0o-HJ5-fbd4/s1600-h/Trump+signature.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018204927495744834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="83" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RaQ-y0F_rUI/AAAAAAAAAEI/0o-HJ5-fbd4/s200/Trump+signature.jpg" width="168" border="0" /></a> ...but Donald Trump wasn't by chance born in Brazil or Argentina, was he?<br /><br />I'm just saying his signature on the recent Rosie-Donald tiff missive (see <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/pdf/trump_rosie_letter.pdf" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a>) looks a little like someone else's... who was also a megalomaniac.<br /><div><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RaQ-p0F_rTI/AAAAAAAAAEA/0rDmYYnaRaY/s1600-h/Himmler+signature.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018204772876922162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="51" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RaQ-p0F_rTI/AAAAAAAAAEA/0rDmYYnaRaY/s200/Himmler+signature.jpg" width="174" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />(Oh, yeah, and props to Mary-n-Texas...even if she can't figure out how to get herself a legitimate blog display name.)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-634884102524009472007-01-08T23:39:00.000-06:002007-01-08T23:48:56.651-06:00Today's Princeton Review analogy test<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RaMsfEF_rSI/AAAAAAAAAD0/miPNz5Y0GO0/s1600-h/submarine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5017903322007317794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RaMsfEF_rSI/AAAAAAAAAD0/miPNz5Y0GO0/s200/submarine.jpg" border="0" /></a>Fill in the blank:<br /><br /><strong>Tokyo</strong> is to <strong>Godzilla</strong> as <strong>Japanese ship</strong> is to [ <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/japan.us.ship/index.html?eref=rss_topstories" target="_blank">click here</a> ].M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-89841267784736337792007-01-07T02:20:00.000-06:002007-01-07T02:26:24.948-06:00A prime example of [fill in the blank] run amokI'm really not sure what to make of <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007000744,00.html" target="_blank"><strong>this UK story</strong></a> about some poor gambling shmuck who died from a heart attack because the ambulance drivers were in the middle of their European Union-mandated lunch break and it was illegal for them to put down their sandwiches and drive to the emergency. Is this an example of regulation run amok? Labor unions run amok? Socialized medicine run amok? Euroclerosis run amok? Lack of common sense run amok?<br /><br />So many choices.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-67564398303996064402007-01-06T01:33:00.000-06:002007-01-06T01:42:36.281-06:00Oh, my gawd...did you see the rock BPM 37093 gave her??<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3492919.stm?Awesome" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5016819422585662738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RZ9Sr0F_rRI/AAAAAAAAADo/vR9wQBRRXgY/s200/Diamond+star.jpg" border="0" /></a>Yeah, and you thought she was going to be impressed with that little chip you bought her down at the mall. (Think <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3492919.stm?Awesome" target="_blank">10 billion trillion trillion carats</a>.)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-7546085869223567822007-01-02T20:53:00.000-06:002007-01-02T21:03:23.624-06:00Happy Gangsta Feet<a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1574755863"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5015633644142306498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RZscObKZpMI/AAAAAAAAADY/NbW3jtY9h0Y/s320/Happy+Gangsta.gif" border="0" /></a>Crap, when Smooth B took the niece to see Happy Feet, I really should have gone along. He didn't tell me it was a gangsta flick! <br /><br />No wonder Little E has started calling me "Uncle Dawg" (Click the picture)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-81669459823107215382007-01-02T15:12:00.000-06:002007-01-02T15:16:38.348-06:00Jesus and Imam Mahdi to appear soon and kick everyone's asses<a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53577" target="_blank"><strong>This would be so cool</strong></a>! It would be like Spiderman joining up with Batman. Except that Spiderman opposes violence and preaches forgiving your enemies, and Batman...apparently doesn't.<br /><br />Of course, the news is coming from Iran's official state media website, so we know how ironclad solid the news is. (Besides, I think I saw this on an episode of South Park.)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-67251775276150572252007-01-02T00:48:00.000-06:002007-01-02T00:59:52.716-06:00More on Iraq War casualtiesJeff Donn of the Associated Press has a surprisingly interesting analytical piece on why we feel the 3000 casualties suffered in Iraq is a large number, despite it being miniscule in historical terms. See <a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070101/D8MCCVU00.html" target="_blank"><strong>U.S. Toll in Iraq Lower Than Past Wars</strong></a>. This part, in particular, caught my eye:<br /><br /><blockquote><p><span style="color:#663366;">Polling analysts believe Americans are more sensitive to casualties than in the past because they neither see vital interests at stake nor feel the "halo effect" from a clear prospect of success. </span></p><p><span style="color:#663366;">"When is it going to stop? We're losing a lot of youngsters," says former tanker Ed Collins, 82, of Hicksville, N.Y., who survived the assault on Normandy's beaches in World War II. "I went in when I was 18; that was young, too. But we fought for something. Now we have no idea who we're fighting for and what we're fighting for."<br />That's partly because the mission's focus has shifted repeatedly, the experts argue: from finding weapons of mass destruction, to deposing Saddam Hussein, to fighting terrorists. </span></p><p><span style="color:#663366;">When the number of Americans lost in Iraq recently passed the 2,973 killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the parallel was noted by some. Some have also noted that Iraqi deaths far surpass those of the American military, with tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed in the violence. </span></p><p><span style="color:#663366;">Building a stable democracy in Iraq has been given as a justification for the war's sacrifices, and yet close to two-thirds of Americans think a stable, democratic government is unlikely to take hold in Iraq, according to a Dec. 8 poll by AP-Ipsos. Many believe Iraq has fallen into the chaos of civil war. </span></p><p><span style="color:#663366;">Americans instead tend to back wars to stop aggression, like the invasion of Kuwait before the first war with Iraq in 1991, polling indicates. "If the public really believed that our war in Iraq now was about stopping aggression, stopping terrorism, then we would see a greater degree of tolerance for casualties," says Bruce Jentleson, a former policy planner in President Clinton's State Department who now teaches at Duke University.</span> </p></blockquote>That makes sense. But this part doesn't:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#663366;">America's young no longer feel personally threatened, either. The military draft is history. These days, mostly working-class teenagers volunteer to do the fighting.<br /><br />Charles Moskos, a sociologist at Northwestern University, believes America has lost zeal for warfare because the children of its elite rarely serve. The all-volunteer military is one of many legacies of Vietnam today.<br /><br />Bobby Blair, a Vietnam veteran from Holliston, Mass., recently spoke about Iraq to a church youth group. "None of them personally know of anyone who's in Iraq," he said. "They didn't realize how serious it was. I said, 'Do you think we're watching a video game?' And some of them said it was almost that."<br /><br />Greater wealth and smaller families make Americans even more protective of their children and more loath to send them into battle than they once were, some argue. They are "sort of hothouse kids," says Harvey Sapolsky, the retired head of security studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who notes, "My grandparents had seven kids, my parents had two."</span><br /><br /></blockquote>If America's young and elite no longer feel threatened by war, then you have to ask why they care at all about so few casualties. You'd think it would go the other way -- because they aren't threatened and don't know anybody in the military, the cost of the war would be far more acceptable.<br /><br />I think the answer lies with the foggy and changing explanation for the war, rather than some kind of "hothouse kids" phenomenon. After all, there were expectations of much higher casualties in Afghanistan, and most of America was not willing to shy away from that fight.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-52502788750420494642007-01-01T19:52:00.000-06:002007-01-01T19:54:10.623-06:00Bombs can't kill Bangkok's charms, visitors say......but they can sure kill <em>you</em>, beeyotch. (See <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/02/asia/AS_GEN_Thailand_Bombing_Tourism.php" target="_blank">The International Herald Tribune</a>)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-17671343303346753322007-01-01T18:51:00.000-06:002007-01-01T18:58:20.868-06:00And one other thing...The most disturbing thing about the Saddam hanging is the "Muqtada" chants you hear from the guards. (See <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7532034279766935521" target="_blank">here</a>, provided you aren't queasy.) Sayyed Mugtada al-Sadr is, of course, the young Shi'ite leader of the Mahdi Army, which, from what I'm told, now causes our troops more grief than the Sunnis (mostly because it is directly supplied by the Iranians). The chants mean the Iraqi military and police are thoroughly compromised by the militias. Nothing new, for sure, but just graphic proof.<br /><br />There's no hope for a continued unified Iraq under such a situation.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-76249811537421128052007-01-01T12:16:00.000-06:002007-01-01T12:21:47.721-06:00The meager death toll in IraqWith the combat death toll in Iraq reaching 3000, Time Magazine has an article noting that the death toll in Iraq is "a pittance" compared with previous wars. (See <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1573263,00.html" target="_blank"><strong>America's Lost 3,000</strong></a>.)<br /><br />As disclosure, and so I don't hear any crap from someone saying "you'd think differently if those were your kids over there," I actually have friends and an in-law in Iraq at the moment. For me, the strange thing about the casualties in Iraq is the prominence it plays in the media, and the relative lack of prominence it plays in the lives of most Americans, despite the media attention. I think there are several reasons for this:<br /><br /><ol><li>The media likes bad news and conflict (because, let's be honest, it sells), so a heavy emphasis is placed on casualty numbers;</li><br /><br /><li>Despite this emphasis, as wars go and for a country of 300 million people, 3000 is a very small number, particularly over three years; </li><br /><br /><li>Because the U.S. military is all-volunteer and relatively small (about a million less than, say, 15 years ago), most Americans don't know anyone serving in Iraq, and certainly don't know someone who's been killed or wounded.</li></ol>The end result is something a little strange. As wars go, this one is relatively cheap, both in terms of money and lives. Of course, even one life is too much if it is yours or someone you care about. But that's the case about all wars. And saying this is a "war of choice" isn't really a very good response, either, since most wars that the US has been involved in have been wars of choice. Even WWII. Had the US not embargoed Japan, there would have been no Pearl Harbor. For that matter, it's good to remember that WWII did not technically begin for Britain and France in May 1940 when German troops crossed into the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on their way to Paris, but with the UK and France declaring war on Germany in September 1939 after Germany invaded Poland -- i.e., the so-called "Phony War". In either case, the path to war was clear and possible deviations from that path existed. It's just that none of the parties believed the benefits of deviating from war worth the price.<br /><br />Historically, it's also not just the incompetence with which the US has fought the war in Iraq. The first few years of the Civil War (for the Union) and, again, even World War II were fought more incompetently, in some cases. MacArthur lost the Philippines to the Japanese, despite having received warnings of a likely Japanese invasion months beforehand, and after rejecting an offer by George Marshall in August 1941 to supply with Philippines with an additional Army division. (MacArthur even had 8 hours advance notice of an incoming Japanese air attack after Pearl Harbor, but "Dugout Doug," as some of his troops called him, refused to meet with his air force chief or authorize his planes to be dispersed.) Similarly, Vice Admirals Frank Fletcher and Robert Ghormley failed to provide air support for the US amphibious landings in the Solomons, which put the entire invasion in danger and may well have led to the loss of hundreds of American lives. In the Atlantic, US Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, refused to adopt British convoy tactics against German U-boats in 1942, despite clear British experience demonstrating the efficacy of this approach. The result was that throughout most of the year, German submarines sank hundreds of US merchant ships, killing thousands of American civilian sailors. And, while many US troops in Iraq have lacked the latest body armor and up-armored Humvees, these logistical and material complaints pale in comparison to the near-criminal weapons and logistical failures of WWII -- for example, <a href="http://www.ww2pacific.com/torpedo.html" target="_blank">non-detonating torpedoes</a> contracted without adequate testing, and poorly performing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SB2C_Helldiver" target="_blank">dive-bombers</a> purchased by the thousands before the prototypes even flew.<br /><br />But, of course, one of the differences between previous wars and this one is the media. And, to a degree, that's a good thing. MacArthur, despite his incompetence, wasn't fired until the next war. There was no public outcry about US servicemen being put in danger by malfunctioning weapons because the public never learned of them. On the other hand, there was no public doubt that the US would prevail in that war, even when, factually speaking, the actual outcome really was in doubt.<br /><br />That said, there is one thing that many previous war presidents have had that President Bush does not. And that is a much freer hand with military resources. Bush did not hedge his bets on Iraq -- he gambled it all on a single number. Unfortunately, it was not a winning number. Or, perhaps to be more sympathetic, the guys he ordered to place the wager put the money down on the wrong place (by attempting to occupy Iraq with woefully few troops). Given that the United States has relatively little recent experience with occupation (as opposed to war-fighting), there has been no clear plan to adapt to the change in circumstance.<br /><br />This is very different from previous wars. In WWII, while MacArthur dithered around the South Pacific, Nimitz nonetheless brought the war directly home to the Japanese through his island-hopping campaign. Churchill's repeatedly mistaken attempts to find the German "soft underbelly" was a sideshow rendered moot by Soviet victories at Stalingrad, Kuban and Kursk. Even in the failure that was Vietnam, the American presidents had the luxury of being able to massively increase troop numbers in the country, even if that strategy eventually proved futile. However, in Iraq, U.S. forces seem to be playing a reactive game, attempting to keep the snakes from escaping from the snake pit. Worse, the President's hands are more or less tied with regard to troop numbers. Unlike Lyndon Johnson, Bush hasn't shown himself willing to jeopardize his domestic program to fight this war -- something he would need to do if he were to increase the size of the US military to the point where it could successfully restore order in Iraq. (Bush would either need to reinstitute the draft -- which ain't gonna happen -- or seriously increase military pay, which would require a significant tax increase. Alternatively, Bush could cut back on future weapons programs, but that would undermine US security even further.)<br /><br />And, because of the media, the American people know about it. This isn't a bad thing at all. While a quiet media gave the United States time to work through the many disasters that accompanied World War II, the same type of quiet media allowed Japan and Germany to continue making mistakes until they were defeated. George Bush is, in a sense, much like a modern CEO -- the shareholders are getting quarterly reports and can tell how good a job he's doing. Quarterly reports tend to focus the minds of business executives, but they have also been accused of creating a short-termist mindset.<br /><br />In short, 3000 is a very small number, as wars go. During the first World War, tens of thousands died within a few hours at the Somme. 3000 is just a fraction of the number of gun-related fatalities that the American people tolerate each year in our own country. Nearly that many Americans died at Pearl Harbor. But the issue for 2007 isn't about the lives or the money, but about the plan. Are we engaged in a stay-the-course war of attrition in Iraq? Given the casualty rates and budgetary costs so far, we can do this. We can incur 1000 deaths per year in Iraq and it will take us 50 years before we reach the number of casualties we suffered in Vietnam.<br /><br />If so, what do we envision victory looking like from such a conflict? I've got the feeling that, at this point, we don't.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-52752679008645081922006-12-30T01:45:00.000-06:002006-12-30T02:31:40.121-06:00Saddam and the proceduralist confusionFormer Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed earlier today. I actually have an old book from my grad school days called "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Social-Classes-Revolutionary-Movement-Iraq/dp/0863565204/sr=1-1/qid=1167464919/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3127854-0632133?ie=UTF8&s=books" target="_blank">The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq</a>" by Hanna Batatu, written in 1978. It's a history of Iraq during the first three quarters of the 20th century. Lots of Marx and Weber. Anyway, I bring this up because I first read it right around the time of the first Gulf War, at which point Saddam had been firmly in control of Iraq for more than a decade. Having been published a year before Saddam's rise, however, the book only mentions Saddam in passing, as a deputy party member. (In an extensive table on Ba'ath party members, "Saddam Husain at-Takriti" is listed as an Arab Sunni born in 1937 in Takrit, formerly a secondary school teacher, party worker, deputy chairman, and Revolutionary Command Council member, and having attended law school. He is also described as a son of a peasant from the al-Begat tribal group.)<br /><br />Leading to and following Saddam's execution, a number of human rights groups have decried the execution (1) as the result of an unfair trial and (2) under the theory that the death penalty is always wrong. (See <a href="http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm" target="_blank"><strong>Human Rights Watch</strong></a> and <a href="http://web.amnesty.org/pages/irq-281206-statement-eng" target="_blank"><strong>Amnesty International</strong></a>.)<br /><br />I'm not sure I get either of these points at the theory level. In law, procedure is necessary in order to achieve a fair result -- the discovery of whether or not the defendant is guilty of the crimes of which he or she is accused. Procedure is not sufficient for a fair result, nor is it necessary. It is just a very useful tool to getting there.<br /><br />With Saddam, of course, the facts are not in dispute. The trial literally could have been run by kangaroos and the question of whether or not Saddam was responsible for ordering the deaths of thousands of people would still have been answered correctly (at least insofar as kangaroos could write out a verdict). So I'm not sure what these groups are getting at on the "unfair trial" point. Are they disputing that he was responsible for the atrocities with which he was accused? If not, why is procedure so important to them? Are they concerned about precedent? (That seems particularly odd, since Iraq has a civil law system that doesn't rely on precedent.) So, if the procedure is secondary, how was the conclusion of the court unfair? (Were the conclusions of the mobs that killed Benito Mussolini and Nicolae Ceausescu "unfair"? They certainly weren't inaccurate...)<br /><br />The second point just seems like sloppy thinking. A lot of people oppose the death penalty on the grounds that it's irrevocable -- you make a mistake and execute the wrong guy, and you've committed a grave injustice that can't be rectified. But that's clearly not the case here. We all know the guy did it. And since we know that what Saddam did was about as heinous as crimes come (rape rooms, feeding children to dogs in front of their parents, delivering decapitated heads of political dissidents to their wives, etc. -- for a taste, read "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200205/bowden" target="_blank"><strong>Tales of the Tyrant</strong></a>" by Mark Bowden in The Atlantic), to still oppose the death penalty is to oppose the death penalty on all grounds, no matter what the crime and no matter how sure you are of who did it.<br /><br />Why? The human rights groups offer only platitudes.<br /><br />“Saddam Hussein was responsible for massive human rights violations, but that can’t justify giving him the death penalty, which is a cruel and inhuman punishment,” said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program. “The test of a government’s commitment to human rights is measured by the way it treats its worst offenders,” said Dicker. “History will judge these actions harshly.”<br /><br />Really? Why is it cruel and inhuman? Why is this a test of a government's commitment to human rights? Has history judged the execution of the Nazis harshly?<br /><br />All I'm asking for is a thought out philosophical argument here. You know, a little Kant maybe?M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-58382697407078648972006-12-28T14:52:00.000-06:002006-12-28T16:19:27.880-06:00Sen. Harry Reid too busy pretending to be relevant to foreign policy to attend Ford funeralSince foreign policy is the domain of the executive branch, even if "U.S. relations with some of the countries are in need of improvement" (as Reid's spokesman Jim Manley apparently believes), how is <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061228/ap_on_go_co/ford_senate_leader" target="_blank"><strong>Harry Reid's trip to South America</strong></a> not just a junket? Since they have absolutely no influence over U.S.-Latin American relations (except in the negative sense, if they don't vote in favor of a trade agreement), isn't that a lame excuse for missing Gerald Ford's funeral? (I'm not saying these senators should go -- I'm just saying that "I'm on a junket to South America" is a lame excuse.)M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-76040051131175341912006-12-27T11:02:00.000-06:002006-12-27T11:33:00.948-06:00I love polar bears...but they have got to go<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RZKtQqSHyQI/AAAAAAAAACs/EZ8siPkUVtA/s1600-h/Polar+bear.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5013259836956592386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RZKtQqSHyQI/AAAAAAAAACs/EZ8siPkUVtA/s200/Polar+bear.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is one to file under "People who haven't a clue". CNN is reporting that the US Interior Department <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/12/27/polar.bears.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories">will list polar bears as a "threatened" species</a>.<br /><br />I love polar bears. Not only are they cute, but they eat people, too. It's win-win all around. But what caught my eye about the polar bear story is that "<span style="color:#663366;">Environmentalists hope that invoking the Endangered Species Act protections eventually might provide impetus for the government to cut back on its emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping 'greenhouse' gases that are warming the atmosphere</span>." The story quotes Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, as saying, "<span style="color:#663366;">This is a victory for the polar bear, and all wildlife threatened by global warming. There is still time to save polar bears but we must reduce greenhouse gas pollution immediately</span>."<br /><br />I've got news for you all: the Endangered Species Act has never been used as an impetus for massive social and economic change, and it never will be. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require very real changes that will effect the lives (and pocketbooks) of every American. A lawsuit by an environmental group asking the courts to force the government to protect polar bears by, for example, mandating strict new standards for cars, powerplants, beef consumption, etc. is a sure way to see the Endangered Species Act repealed or seriously watered-down.<br /><br />Even if Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-53145570982317516912006-12-24T19:31:00.000-06:002006-12-25T01:55:50.072-06:00Happy Holidays!<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RY-D8KSHyOI/AAAAAAAAACY/cMoRCpIeCiQ/s1600-h/grinch.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012369979862403298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RY-D8KSHyOI/AAAAAAAAACY/cMoRCpIeCiQ/s320/grinch.jpg" border="0" /></a>Er, I mean, "Merry Christmas!"<br /><br />I, for one, don't mean to be starting any wars against Christmas. I saw what happened to Walmart. Given how powerful we know Walmart to be, anyone who can pull that off... I mean, when St. Nick's occupation forces come rolling in, I, for one, plan to be a loyal citizen of the new order. And when that whole "know who's naughty or nice" elvish secret police thing comes knocking, you better believe I will sell you out faster than a Frenchman at an Octoberfest brawl! As far as I'm concerned, snitchin' is bitchin'.<br /><br />I'm still up this wee hour mostly because of tomorrow's feast. The fam's at my place this year, so my menu is:<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Dolmades (to celebrate my Greek roots)</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Thai rice sausages (because they're just so hard to find around here, I have to make them)</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spinach and pomegranate salad</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Roasted beets with balsalmic vinegrette</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Roasted fennel with beans (my version of that bean with cream of mushroom soup thing)</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Creole spoon bread</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spiced glazed ham</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Horseradish and pepper-crusted beef tenderloin with port reduction sauce</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream</span><br /><br /><br />So, I've pretty much been working on it since Saturday. Hope you're jealous.M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37866073.post-39379230119112723282006-12-22T01:14:00.000-06:002006-12-24T11:14:02.228-06:00My own private Turkmenistan<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/12/21/turkmen.leader.quirks.reut/index.html" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011249916816115890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ujV3rmqruv0/RYuJP6SHyLI/AAAAAAAAAB0/eaDvDAlgwLU/s200/niyazov.jpg" border="0" /></a>All of us mourn for the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-turkmenistan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin" target="_blank"><strong>passing of Turkmenistan's president-for-life</strong></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BCrkmenba%C5%9Fy" target="_blank"><strong>Turkmenbashi</strong></a> Saparmurat Niyazov -- and not just <a href="http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=936367" target="_blank">Pakistan</a>, of course. After all, who hasn't experienced times, when life is going a little rough, where we thought about that great man and all that he has accomplished, and said to ourselves, "I, too, can do great things! Someday, I too will rename three months of the calendar, write a rambling book of my deepest thoughts, and have a gigantic copy of that book put in the middle of my hometown, with a device to turn a page of that book every day and read out over a loud speaker what I've written therein!"<br /><br />I'm telling you, it's thoughts like those that get me through the day. More days than you care to imagine.<br /><br />But getting back to the great man himself, I thought we should honor his memory with a short list of just some of his great accomplishments:<br /><br /><ol><li>His face is on the country's currency. Also its teabags, vodka, postage stamps, pretty much every vertical surface, quite a few horizontal surfaces, ...</li><br /><br /><li>He renamed January "<em>Turkmenbashi</em>" (after his own glorious leadershipness); he renamed October "<em>Rukhnama</em>" (the title of his book, the best-selling title in all of Turkmenistan); and, of course, he renamed December "<em>Gurbansoltan</em>" after his own mother. How sweet is that??</li><br /><br /><li>He introduced his own line of cologne</li><br /><br /><li>He banned Turkmen singers from performing to recorded music and newscasters from wearing make-up</li><br /><br /><li>He created a big gold statue of himself in the capital city that rotates to follow the sun</li><br /><br /><li>He banned gold teeth, beards and long hair in young people, because they're all a bunch of hippie freaks</li><br /><br /><li>He banned all hospitals and libraries anywhere other than his capital</li></ol><p>That last one, to be honest, might not have been the smartest for someone with heart problems. But who's to say his heart wasn't in the right place? Well, let me rephrase -- he meant well, right?</p>M.D. Fatwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00111923702768768345noreply@blogger.com0