Paine's Law

Irritation Note of the Day

2008-03-16T15:33:00.001-04:00

This apparently is what they play when Trevor Hoffman comes in for the Padres.

the greatest masturbation and soccer paragraph of all time

2007-11-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

David Hirshy, ostensibly discussing bicycle-kick goals:

So the kid would stash the magazines in a tree in Riverside Park near his home and late at night, wearing all black and camo, would risk his life by entering the dimly lit park, climb up into the tree and knock one off. "Wow, "exclaimed Relegation Zone Mikey, " a tree-beater." Not to be outdone, RZM regaled us with how he found his father's Beta porn tapes in his parent's bedroom and was thus introduced to the wonders of Seka. "She was quality," RZM said, noting that Seka was the Jenna Jameson of the late 80's, " I would bag a hat trick in the first half hour." Either RZM was inflating his numbers or he's a quicker on the draw than any of the strikers on his beloved Tottenham.

Bill Simmons (also mentioned in the piece) has A LOT to answer for.

Advanced Interviewing Techniques I

2007-05-29T07:20:00.000-04:00

How to tell the new au pair will be able to handle your family:

Ken: Have you been anywhere else on the East Coast?

TNAP: I went to Philadelphia. I wanted to see The Mutter Museum.

The Day Continues II

2007-05-10T23:01:00.000-04:00

12:00 noon: In recovery and conscious (it's a relative term); able to move extremities and on target for coming home as scheduled EOD Friday.

No room yet, but I continue to be more impressed by this hospital than our usual one.

4pm Update: Still waiting for a room (assigned, but there is still a patient there; since this will likely be our situation in reverse tomorrow, all is well).

11pm Update: She has a room (and has had one for a few hours). No working telephone yet, but all still on schedule for being ~~able~~ scheduled to leave the hospital by early Friday evening.

(Cross-posted from Marginal Utility)

The Day Continues I and 1a

2007-05-10T11:53:00.001-04:00

Out of surgery; took slightly longer than expected but was about the norm for this doctor and this procedure.

I like this hospital more than our usual one.

UPDATE: Surgery went fine per the doctor. All on schedule for late Friday departure.

(Cross-posted from Marginal Utility)

The Day Begins

2007-05-10T07:40:00.000-04:00

It may be the euphoria of having been up for three hours, but so far all has been excellent. We arrived at the hospital on time (5:30 a.m.), and (unlike some previous experiences elsewhere) the time was filled with activity until Shira went in for surgery.

Not to mention that the hospital provides free wireless internet access in the Surgery Waiting Room and a few other public waiting areas.

Song of the morning: Lucinda Williams, "Learning How to Live," which was the first song heard this morning on the best radio station in the New York area.

(Cross-posted from Marginal Utility)

Can Bufallo avoid playing a road game outside of the NYC area?

2007-04-24T11:30:00.001-04:00

(cross-posted belatedly from Marginal Utility)

The seedings are set. Burnside's first-round pick against the Swampers has once again gone down in flames, with the final game producing only one even-strength goal. The seeding, not to mention my optimal scenario, would not have the Sabres play a road game outside of the NYC area unless they reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

BUFFALO (1) v. NY Rangers (6). As noted previously, the Sabres didn't look fast against the Islanders. But I'm more inclined to attribute that to the team they played also being fast. Against the clutching, aging Berubes, expect a return to form.

But what the Berubes lack in speed, they make up for, sometimes, in scoring ability. The bad news is that, during the regular season, they scored precisely as many goals at the Sabres gave up.

The two teams split four games in the regular season, with the visitor winning all games, but their last meeting was December 1st. And Ryan Miller is not the alternating goalies that Bob Hartley used. Look for the Rangers to take two games at most; I'm expecting a sad but proud MSG after elimination in Game Six.

OTTAWA (4) v. New Jersey (2). My heart says this goes seven, and Brodeur wins the final game.* But the Senators are a stronger team than Tampa Bay, got some rest, and have some history to avenge. I would love to be wrong here—the Devils are starting to score, and Brodeur hasn't given up an even-strength goal in nearly three games—but Ottawa in six appears the way to bet.

*My heart also feels strange about Dany Heatley now that he's not playing for the Thrashers, but this isn't a Bertuzzi thing by any stretch—more cheer that he did not become another Vladimir Konstantinov. It's nice to see him able to play at all and the possibilities the Thrashers had when I was in grad school are nearly a hockey-career-generation past.

New York Area Professional Hockey Update

2007-04-24T11:27:00.000-04:00

(cross-posted belatedly from Marginal Utility)

No, I didn't expect the Berubes to sweep the Thrashers.

I had been thinking all week about writing a post about my naivete in taking Scott Burnside at his word in this post when he said they one thing I wanted to hear:

With Brodeur having played in 78 games, the theory is that, at some point, he will begin to wear down. It's more wishful thinking on the part of opponents than a real theory, though. Even if it does happen, don't expect it to happen in the first round.

I noted at the time that they were "Burnside's words, not mine," but I believed them.

For most of Games 2 and 3, and for the second period of Game 4, Brodeur looked human.

Since then, he's been Brodeur. And tonight he reminded everyone why, even those who would pick Roberto Luongo around whom to build a team (due to the age difference), there's no better right now.

As the Anonymous commenter said in the previous post at Marginal Utility, "Not to mention that [Burnside] takes shaky TB goaltending tandem to out duel Brodeur in game seven at The Swamp." That would have to happen now for the Lightning to take the series. Not currently the way to bet.

As for the series involving two New York State teams, I've noted elsewhere and before that I will never begrudge Buffalo getting a break from the officiating. But it would have been nice to see them have to go another game or two, since my best-case scenario right now has the Sabres playing every game in the first two rounds in the State of New York. As a friend who has managed to watch their games said, though, "I thought Buffalo was a fast team during the regular season, but the Islanders [played] right with them."

The future is encouraging.

One Down, 2007 Version

2007-04-12T22:12:00.000-04:00

It was more thrilling than I would have liked, but it went more according to my analysis than Burnside's.

Yes, Lecavalier and St. Louis scored, but no one else came close. And the "sick bay"—Gionta, Gomez, Elias, and Madden—produced a goal (Gionta) and four assists (Gomez three, Elias one), while Parise (+2) scored two goals

Meanwhile, Dan Boyle had an assist (on the power play) and was -1 on the night for Tampa Bay, while Lecavalier and St. Louis (both +2) played as well as could be expected.

It took just over a minute to break the tie.

I remain optimistic, more confident in Scott's prediction (which is probably my best-case scenario against Tampa Bay's offense) than Burnside's or even The World's Most Dangerous Professor.

Scott Burnside Does It Again

2007-04-12T22:06:00.000-04:00

I mentioned earlier that Scott Burnside holds low expectations for the New Jersey Devils. But I never expected to see something this skewed.

Understand, I believe the Lightning are going to be a dangerous team for New Jersey to face. But there's a rule of reviewing that your summary follows from your analysis. Let's check Burnside's analysis:

The Devils' sick bay. Burnside notes that the Devils are healthy and together for basically the first time all year, ending with "but their durability and productivity will bear a close watch."
Patience, patience, patience. His conclusion: "The Devils ranked first in the NHL in fewest penalties taken per game (10.1 minutes), so beating them five-on-five will be crucial for the Bolts." No discussion of the Lightning.
Scoring, anyone? This is really a recapitulation of the first point: "With the aforementioned top point producers still hobbled, it'll be up to young guns Zach Parise (31 goals to lead the team) and Travis Zajac (17 as a rookie) to shoulder more of the load." The way they've been doing all season. In fact, it will be up to them to shoulder less of the load.
1. And about that other point? "The conference's No. 1 seed, Buffalo, scored almost 100 [92, actually] more goals than the Devils." Yes, that would be an issue, if they were playing Buffalo. Also an issue would be that Buffalo gave up half-a-goal more each game (41 for the season). If they were playing Buffalo.
  
  They're not. They're playing Tampa Bay which scored 37 more goals than the Devils [which means 92-37 = 55 less than the Sabres, making the above comparison even sillier] but also gave up 60 more [3/4 of a goal a game].
The Brodeur factor. This is an outright rave, as it should be:
Effervescent Brodeur is coming off a sensational season that saw him establish a new record for wins in a season (48). He finished third in save percentage and goals-against average while playing more than any other netminder in the league. With Brodeur having played in 78 games, the theory is that, at some point, he will begin to wear down. It's more wishful thinking on the part of opponents than a real theory, though. Even if it does happen, don't expect it to happen in the first round.
Burnside's words, not mine. Compare to:
Who's minding the net? The Devils enjoy the ultimate in netminding stability with Brodeur, but the picture is a little bit fuzzier for the Bolts. Coach John Tortorella isn't one to coddle his players and has been known to call out any and all, including his goaltenders, a habit that has not endeared him to the netminding fraternity.

So, of the five points, the first might be a speculative negative for NJ; the second is a clear NJ win; the third, if it were placed in the context of Round One and not Round Three, is advantage-NJ, the fourth is an Unqualified Rave for NJ, and the fifth is a data-backed Speculative Negative for Tampa Bay.

So what is Burnside's conclusion (after a Wishful Thinking Key Matchup, a recapitulation of "The Devils Are Injured! The Devils Are Injured!" and an indifferent review of the Lightning's defence?

Given the Devils' injury problems and the attendant paucity of scoring, it might not matter that the Lightning have the worst penalty-killing record of any playoff team. Everyone says goaltending trumps scoring in the playoffs. We take the contrary view here and like the Lightning's superior offense to carry the day. Tampa Bay in seven.

Burnside did the same thing last year, neglecting to consider the Special Teams play of the Devil's opponent in his analysis. This year, he casually mentions it, without noting the magnitude (The Lightning were the worst team in Penalty Kill Percentage in the entire Eastern Conference—including those who didn't qualify for the playoffs—and second-worst in the league, ahead of only the Kings. No wonder the nicest thing he can say about their defence is that "underappreciated defenseman Dan Boyle [-5]" scored a lot)

Unless we conclude that Burnside is blinded by some previously-unrevealed hatred of Lou Lamoriello, the conclusion doesn't follow from the data presented.

The only remotely good news is the suffering of others: if Burnside is correct, the team of at Scott at LG&M and the team of Professor Berube at Crooked Timber (the referenced post is here) will be Unhappy in Seven as well.

But I'm rooting for Scott's team (especially considering their opponent) and wouldn't be surprised to see The Professor's boys playing the Sabres in the second round.*

*Wouldn't be happy; it would mean all of Buffalo's first eight wins [and any losses] would come in New York State, making them formidable in the Conference Finals. Then again, since they are the Old Team, I wish them All the Best. For now.

(Cross-posted from Marginal Utility.)

The Continued Mainstreaming of Stephen Colbert

2007-02-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

Those in NYC may (or may not) wish to attend the gathering this coming Monday of Columbia University's Cafe Science series, in which Sylvia Nassar (author of A Beautiful Mind, which was adapted into an obscure art film) interviews mathematician John W. Morgan.

But it's the description that is eye-catching:

WHEN MATH MAKES HEADLINES OR HOW THE POINCARÉ CONJECTURE WOUND UP ON THE COLBERT REPORT

He got a Ben and Jerry's ice cream. And now he's being used to promote talking with a mathematician.

In some obscure corner of the universe, Richard Cohen is turning over in his grave.

Proud Parent Moment of the Week

2006-12-09T18:43:00.000-05:00

Pictured below is Valerie's first lost tooth; bottom center, with the adult one well on its way up.

I feel old. Then again, I am old, so I guess that's appropriate.

Good Thing I don't need to do this

2006-12-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

Via Abby,

Those Six Years in which Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress and the Presidency were "Gridlock"

2006-11-08T19:58:00.000-05:00

CNN screen capture:

Big of him, no?

How Jeff Weaver became a great pitcher last night

2006-10-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

Note especially strike two, looking:

Turtleback Zoo

2006-10-01T16:38:00.000-04:00

2,000 words of Rosalyn Pandora:

Baruch HaShem. or Making the World Better by Kidnapping

2006-09-29T10:18:00.000-04:00

Understand that during the High Holy Days, there is an extra emphasis on performing mitzvahs (doing good deeds).

Understand also that those mitzvahs are supposed to be in the service of a Jealous God.

And understand that Jewish lineage is matriarchal.

But also remember that the recent invasion and bombing of Lebanon was allegedly provoked by the kidnapping of two adult soldiers.

Consider This:

[M]embers of Yad L'achim...snatched the girl during a night-time raid on a house in Tulkarm, in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank...the Yad L'achim unit, armed with assault rifles, [forced] the father and daughter into a van and [drove] off.

Good thing they aren't a terrorist group:

"We turned to the police and other services, but none of them was able to help us. So we used one of our undercover units," Mati Dushenski, a spokesman for Yad L'achim, told Reuters, confirming Wednesday's operation.

"We have done many similar operations in the past," he said.

And they certainly helped where there was no other recourse:

The mother was said to be preparing a legal suit to maintain custody of the child.

Which presumably would be heard in an Israeli court. Where both parents live.

So a case of "he said, she said" has turned into a kidnapping. Certainly, this will improve relations in the country, and lower any chance of future violence.

Duncan can wait until next year

2006-09-21T00:19:00.000-04:00

With due respects to Mr. Black(who also appears to have found out from The Colbert Report that they were awarded today), I am thrilled to see that John Zorn has been awarded a grant as a MacArthur Fellow.

And not only because he's one of the few people this year who is older than I.

Time to play the Shelley Hirsch version of "What's New, Pussycat?" from Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach again.

Is either of these a Great, at-bat? Are both at least Good?

2006-08-21T15:45:00.000-04:00

Following are back-to-back plate appearances in the current NY@BOS baseball game.

First, from the bottom of the seventh, Gabe Kapler v. Scott Proctor, just brought in for the Yankees in relief:

Note that he goes seven pitches, including one called a ball that appears to be on the strike area (but see NOTE below), against a new pitcher. The end result is P6, but it's a hard-working at-bat. Is it at least a good one? Does your answer change depending on whether you believe the fourth pitch should have been called a strike? Does it change back when you see Cabrera's at-bat?

The next at-bat is Nick Green, leading off the eighth inning for the Yankees against Boston starter David Wells:

Again, a lengthy at-bat (eight pitches, seven for strikes). The differences appear to be that the ball is clearly a ball, and the end result of the at-bat is a double to left field, after which Wells is relieved. (Green eventually scores the second, winning run for the Yankees on a wild pitch.)

Is an at-bat great only if it results in the batter reaching base (or at least advancing runners)? Is there a significant difference against a relief pitcher—that is, someone you're not likely to see again that game?

In this context, is Bob Klapisch's contention that the Yankees are a patient team likely to help them significantly in the playoffs?

Right now, I'm just asking. Maybe more later...

NOTE: As you can see from Cabrera's at-bat, the pitches on the border were consistently being called balls (which is what one expects from a home plate umpire: a consistent strike zone):

The Rich Stay Healthy, the Sick Stay Poor

2006-08-21T11:48:00.000-04:00

I want to say nice things about my job.

I'm now halfway through antibiotics, 20g having been dropped into my body over the past five days. I've made it into my assigned office one day in the past six working, and an office two days (this being the second).

If this were twenty years ago—or even ten—one of several things would have happened. I might have missed all of last week. I might have forced my way into the office and sweated and coughed all over people. Or I might have been told not to come in until the antibiotics were finished.

As it is:

As a salaried employee, I will be paid in full on Wednesday (paid sick leave, as Tom has noted, is an incentive in employer selection)
I was allowed to postpone this week's scheduled vacation trip to South Bend
The drugs were mostly covered by our insurance plan (not the best, but better than paying $110 out of pocket and eventually being reimbursed for some—or not being reimbursed at all)
I was able to work via VPN and file transfers so that I only lost two days to illness (and the company gained two days of productivity while I was out of the office).

All of these are advantages one could take for granted. But in reality, they are hard-fought accomplishments gained over several decades of effort—which we can tell, in part, by the simple fact that many lower-level workers are not provided with some or all of the advantages that are clear in that list above.

Today—and especially Wednesday—I celebrate the good fortune of an employment agreement that often seems far from ideal, but which is much better than the vast majority of workers have.

(Cross-posted from Marginal Utility)

Richard Nixon Plays His Piano Concerto #1

2006-08-20T12:38:00.000-04:00

My experimenting with YouTube continues:

2006-08-19T21:22:00.000-04:00

Liberace and Cassius Clay

Bush pardons S&L embezzler, Deserter, Coke Dealer

2006-08-16T23:22:00.000-04:00

Among the 17 Minor Criminals pardoned by George W. Bush today, three stand out:

-Kenneth Clifford Foner, Niobrara, Neb., conspiracy to impede the functions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., commit embezzlement as a bank officer, make false entries in the records of an FDIC-insured bank, and commit bank fraud. Sentenced July 19, 1991, to five years probation, conditioned upon performance of 1,000 hours of community service and payment of $17,750 in restitution.

Looks as if he's a minor fish from the S&L Crisis days. John McCain, as a member of the Keating Five, should be proud of this one. Can't wait until CJR Daily's Economics reporter tells us he "really didn't commit any crime." The FDIC's mileage may vary.

William Grover Frye, Indianapolis, Ind., absence without leave (two specifications), escape from lawful confinement, sale of a stolen motor vehicle in interstate commerce. Sentenced Oct. 3, 1968, by U.S. Army general court-martial to confinement at hard labor for one year, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a bad conduct discharge. Sentenced Oct. 15, 1973, in U.S. District Court to two years probation.

From those charges, seems to be a Viet Nam-era deserter who broke out of military jail, stole a car, and sold it to try to remain free.

Why does George W. Bush hate the troops?

And, finally,

Jerry Dean Walker, Newark, Del., possession with intent to distribute cocaine Sentenced April 10, 1989, to three years imprisonment, as amended Oct. 19, 1989

There are a couple of other soldiers and a couple of other drug dealers (as best I can tell Victoria Diane Frost of Medina, Ohio, was involved in methedrine "conspiracy to possess and distribute L-Ephedrine Hydrochloride"), but that, as per John Tierney, is not an epidemic, the way, say, cocaine is supposed to have been in the 1980s.

The Stingiest Pardoner has certainly selected an interesting cast of criminals this time.

(Cross-posted to Marginal Utility)

Charity Values

2006-08-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

At Marginal Utility, I asked if there was any way to help Lebanese refugees.

Juan Cole provided one good answer. (Direct link here.)

Badger Tracker noted that Catholic Relief Services is working with folks on the ground as well.

It took until today to realise that there may be someone who reads here but not there.

For those who want to help both sides, the American Friends Service Committee would be a good start.

This post will remain at the top of the blog until there is a cease-fire.

On the Internet, 137 AOL Users are Pete Townsend?

2006-08-09T14:45:00.000-04:00

Perhaps they really are doing research. Or were looking for a recent article.

Meanwhile, I hope User 17556639 is an aspiring mystery writer.

(Cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Compare and Contrast

2006-08-09T11:31:00.000-04:00

All of the attention, including the lede of this CNN piece has been on Joe Lieberman, the ~~Republican~~ candidate for Senate in Connecticut.

Note the subhead, in which the evil Democratic Party attacked one of its own--forcing her not just into a primary but a runoff. Which she lost.

Where is the outrage? Where is the horror that the Democratic system worked in Georgia?

Is My Brain Small Enough?

2006-08-04T13:02:00.000-04:00

Legendary Dead Kennedy's foil Doug Fieger is "expected to have a full recovery" from brain surgery.

"Chosen to Sit This One Out"?

2006-08-02T16:23:00.000-04:00

Via Dan Drezner comes a Michael Totten post at Instapundit:

Aside from my personal affection for Lebanon, the country where I recently lived, the only country other than the US where I've ever lived, this is what anguishes me the most: The Arab world's only democracy is being torn to pieces by another democracy.

But it's telling, I think, that the Lebanese army, the fighting institution that represents democratic Lebanon and not just one totalitarian-sponsored political party, has chosen to sit this one out.

A country's army that "sits out" an attack on its citizens can hardly be described as a citizen's army. But it is nice to see Totten implicitly acknowledge that Israel is at war not with Hezbollah, but Lebanon itself. And Drezner refers his readers to a book one might wish W had carried around as if he were reading it.

Cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Quote of the Day

2006-08-02T14:39:00.000-04:00

What keeps being overlooked is that wars should only be fought to achieve goals that cannot otherwise be accomplished. If invading Lebanon should be viewed as BATNA, then what are we to make of the reality of
the most unsuccessful war:

It is frightening to think that those who decided to embark on the present war did not even dream of its outcome and its destructive consequences in almost every possible realm, of the political and psychological damage, the serious blow to the government's credibility, and yes -- the killing of children in vain. The cynicism being demonstrated by government spokesmen, official and otherwise, including several military correspondents, in the face of the disaster suffered by the Lebanese, amazes even someone who has long since lost many of his youthful illusions.

If one changed "Lebanese" to "Iraqis," would the sentence still apply?

(Cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

With all due respects to Duncan...

2006-08-01T17:43:00.000-04:00

The normally-astute Duncan Black tries to trace the Lieberman sellout to 2004:

I'm really not sure I buy the "Joe got all pouty when no one wanted him to be president" theory. He was pretty wankerific before the presidential primary campaign heated up (and, of course, during it.)

Most of us would trace Lieberman's sellout of the party and its values to at least 2000, when he:

1. Allowed Dick Cheney to claim that "I tell you that the government had absolutely nothing to do with [his financial success at Halliburton]." It was only on October 9th--four days after the debate--that the Gore/Lieberman campaign responded, and

2. Did nothing in a timely manner during the Recount Time, most especially after the Republicans used out-of-state operatives to disrupt and delay the Dade County recount:
In a belated response to Wednesday's events, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman on Friday issued a meek appeal for the Republicans to curb their operatives' activities in Florida: "These demonstrations were clearly designed to intimidate and to prevent a simple count of votes from going forward," he said. "This is a time to honor the rule of law, not surrender to the rule of the mob." [emphasis mine]

What Connecticut--and the world--saw during the recount is the recurring Lieberman pattern: say too little too late, and only try to support Democratic values when they don't matter.

(cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Too Funny Not to Post

2006-08-01T16:53:00.000-04:00

I sent a link to Mel Gibson's second apology out to several people. Included in the responses was the following picture, allegedly of Mel's cat:

Maybe This is Why the Media Hasn't Talked about Iraqi Schools

2006-07-28T10:47:00.000-04:00

Because a CF is a CF?

The United States is dropping Bechtel, the American construction giant, from a project to build a high-tech children’s hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after the project fell nearly a year behind schedule and exceeded its expected cost by as much as 150 percent....

Now it becomes the latest in a series of American taxpayer-financed health projects in Iraq to face overruns, delays and cancellations. Earlier this year, the Army Corps of Engineers canceled more than $300 million in contracts held by Parsons, another American contractor, to build and refurbish hospitals and clinics across Iraq.

(Cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Credit Where Due

2006-07-27T22:47:00.000-04:00

Tom Maguire--hardly alone--was quick to make much of Floyd Landis's Stage 17 win that placed him back in contention for (and as the favorite to win) the maillot jaune.

He is just as quick to note today's confirmation of yesterday's rumour that it was Landis who has tentatively tested positive (with the second sample to be tested to confirm).

This may make moot my contention that it was a tactical mistake by Sastre's team not to start an earnest pursuit until the yellow jersey was "lost on the road."

Either way, it's a black eye on what remains my favorite sport.

(Cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Do the New York Shuffle, Babe

2006-07-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

The highlight of the Landis Sage so far:

Or maybe, the Tour de France winning rider speculated, it was the Jack Daniel's he drank the night before his historic Stage 17, though that would seem a more likely excuse from George Jones than a world-class athlete.

This is not the first time Jack, neat, has been the drink of choice for professional athletes:

Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar told Fox Sports that the team took shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey before Game 6 of the American League Championship Series and before all four World Series games.

There has to be a tie-in advert here...

(Cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Piling On -- but do need to?

2006-07-25T14:43:00.000-04:00

Brad DeLong has been fairly (imnvho, both senses of the word apply) pilloried for this post, in which his response to Juan Cole's summary:

The Israelis warn the small town Shiites of the south to flee their own homes and go hundreds of miles away (and live on what? in what?). But then they intensely bombing them, making it impossible for them to flee. The Lebanese have awoken to find themselves cockroaches. I repeat, this is nothing less than an ethnic cleansing of the Shiites of southern Lebanon... what Saddam Hussein did to the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq, and the Israelis are doing it for exactly the same sorts of reasons that Saddam did.

is:

The death toll was much, much, much higher in Saddam Hussein's ethnic cleansing of the marsh Arabs.

which is a matter of degree, not kind.

Should this be taken to mean DeLong is denouncing the actions of Israel's government? The title of the post implies that he is, as Michelle Maises at beyondintractability.org notes:

The rules of jus in bello aim to confine the destructiveness of war, rule out certain kinds of weapons, protect civilians, and limit the area and range of fighting.

So maybe we all ignored the subtext, and DeLong agrees that the tactics Israel is using cannot be justified. Certainly, we can hope such, as he has remained silent on the matter since.

Chesse Steak without the negative waves

2006-07-22T12:28:00.000-04:00

There may be Geno's, which is more famous, but the best place for cheesesteaks in Philadelphia has always been Pat's.

Rest in peace, Harry. Those of us who will die sooner because of the work you and Pat did have no regrets.

A Scary Thing to See

2006-07-20T20:14:00.000-04:00

No, not the article about how RNC fundraising claims bear no resemblance to reality. Look at the ad on the right, in the #1 position.

Horror of horrors; it's an ad against an incumbent Democrat. On KOS. Clearly, the blogofascists who run the site advertised have no sense whatsoever of the proper political process of deferring to the incumbent in all cases.

Oh, wait, it's not against Lieberman, so it's probably all right.

(cross-posted at Marginal Utility)

Head-Butt

2006-07-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

La Plage Records

Does anyone else think that seb@laplagerecords.com might have something to do with this blog?

SS, DD, Rumsfeld-style

2006-07-11T17:22:00.000-04:00

File Under: We Broke It, You Buy It

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has urged Europe to provide a "master overall plan" to fight Afghanistan's huge drugs trade, which has seen heroin flood Europe and Russia....More than 90 percent of the world's opium and heroin supply comes from Afghanistan via Iran and Pakistan, according to The Associated Press.

Isn't this production the Taliban had reduced?

Despite its own figures showing the Taleban had cut Afghanistan's heroin production by about 95%, the report claimed that heroin had "financed the former Taleban regime".

The UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report, released on 26 February, said that Afghanistan produced 3,400 tonnes last year, up from 185 tonnes in 2001.

That's from a 2003 report. What did we do then?

While the US report praised US-backed Afghan president Hamid Karzai for the measures he has introduced to cut heroin production, the UN report said his two executive orders had no practical impact.

and what do we do and claim now?

An international campaign costing hundreds of millions of dollars to curb drugs production in Afghanistan has been largely unsuccessful. Opium cultivation is reported to be growing, particularly in southern Taliban areas, where the militant group is believed to benefit from drugs money.

Once again, I saw this plot somewhere...oh, yeah!

Addendum: There are times when I want someone to translate Donald Rumsfeld's declarations into English. This is one of those.

He also said regional cooperation with Afghanistan's neighbors to stop Taliban and al Qaeda movements entering the country "has been helpful, but it has not reduced cross-border" activity.

How has it been helpful? If the purpose is to reduce entering the country, but cross-border entry is not reduced, what has been helped? Or did CNN just screw the pooch in its summary?

Bring Me the Head of Tyler Cowen?

2006-07-10T22:45:00.000-04:00

I spent the weekend out of town, chasing family and leveraging familial relationship to interview my betters and seeing old friends. So, except for the A1-top-right-above-the-fold headline on Saturday's Globe, I admit not having heard much about the "Stopped Plot to Destroy NYC."

From what I could tell, someone had some architectural diagrams and exchanged some bitter e-mails.

"It contained maps and bombing plans that were being prepared," Mr. Fatfat said on Saturday in a television interview in Lebanon. [emphasis mine]

Must be someone familiar with the area:

In the United States, a federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing, said that Mr. Hammoud had visited the United States at least once — a trip to California six years ago.[emphasis mine]

Fortunately, the F.B.I.--with significant Lebanese help--Prevailed:

Mr. Hammoud has been in Lebanese custody since April. Two others are also in custody in the case. United States investigators said the plot had been disrupted after coordinated efforts with officials in six other countries. Five suspects are at large. [emphases mine]

But those five are without their ringleader, so they won't know what to do

The F.B.I. said the suspects had planned to attack trains under the Hudson River using suicide bombers and backpack bombs.

Wait a minute, I know this plot! Oh...yeah!

But this is completely different:

The plan, which authorities said the suspects had hoped to carry out in October or November, was to flood Lower Manhattan by attacking the PATH train tunnels.

Masterminded by a gentleman who has been to California. But surely he must have more credentials. Say, an architecture degree?

Lebanese security officials said in interviews that they had obtained important information from Mr. Hammoud's computer and CD's seized from his office at the Lebanese International University, where he taught economics.

Wingbat Synchronicity Alert: today's WSJ ($ required)declared how Hezbollah has transformed itself from a terrorist organization to being a political force in Lebanon.

Clearly, the F.B.I. (and Western Union) have been tracking the wrong people. Surely, the new algorithm should weight the likelihood of a person committing an act of treason by whether they are economics professors.

UPDATE: Reason 714 why Tom Toles is a National Treasure.

Why Sportswriting all too often isn't, Part II

2006-07-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

The causality of one paragraph from this article escapes me.

The Reds made the trade a day after blowing two leads in extra innings before losing 6-5 in the 13th at Milwaukee. After the game, Cincinnati reliever Brian Shackelford was arrested on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault.

There is still a learning curve...

2006-07-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

Scene: The community pool, shortly after it has opened and the family have joined those of us who played water volleyball in the hour before opening. We have decided, in honour of the holiday, to bring breakfast foods and the like and make a "picnic" of it.

Eldest Daughter: "Why do we celebrate July 4th?"
Me: "Because that's the day that one of your ancestors and several other people signed a paper saying they no longer wanted to be British citizens."

Eldest Daughter appears unconvinced. Still, she is only five.

In other news, Barbaro ran in the Preakness this year

2006-06-30T15:22:00.000-04:00

ESPN reports that Jose Canseco will be pitching for the Surf Dawgs, who appear to have replaced my Newark Bears and the St. Paul Saints as the Independent team of choice.

They were alert enough to notice that Canseco has pitched before:

Canseco made one big league pitching appearance, working the final inning for the Texas Rangers in a 15-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on May 29, 1993. He walked the bases loaded and allowed three runs and two hits. He threw 12 strikes and 21 balls, most of which were far from the strike zone.

but they neglect to note what really happened:

However, I’m sure I don’t need to remind people who watch the Texas Rangers about Jose Canseco. For those who don’t remember, Canseco was summoned to pitch in a blowout at Fenway Park. However, he messed up his arm and had to miss the rest of the season on a club that was in the pennant race until his exit.

Good luck to the Surf Dawgs.

No One Told You When to Run...

2006-06-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

On 30 June 1996, my wife and I finalised the worst mistake of her life.

Ten years, two children, a house that is constantly being repaired, several cars, a few cats and too many books later, she's willing to keep going.

Happy Anniversary, Shira.

Feedback to print media

2006-06-27T17:15:00.000-04:00

Duncan states the obvious:

I will never stop finding the fact people who work in traditionally print-oriented outlets have gotten such little reader feedback over the years fascinating, and how shocked they are when they get some.

I did some very occasional (like, not more than once a year) freelance work for the Washington Post Book World a ways back and (1) heard about people asking questions on Usenet or similar and (2) was forwarded letters from WPBW readers.

I find it difficult to believe that people writing for TNR and the like regularly, over a period of time, have not received reader feedback through mail.

Whether they have paid any attention to it is left as an exercise to the reader.

Maybe there is a G-d--who has a nasty sense of humour

2006-06-27T13:58:00.000-04:00

Duke AD hurt in boating accident; son charged
The facts:

Joseph David "J.D." Alleva, 27, was charged with operating a boat while impaired Friday after the ski boat he was driving ran onto a pile of rocks at Hyco Lake....

His father [Duke athletic director Joe Alleva] was treated at a a hospital, where he got 42 stitches to his head.

"The nurse counted 42 outside stitches in the middle of his forehead into the hairline. It was a curved cut that penetrated deep," Sasser said. "They did several inside stitches. He took a pretty good lick. I call that a severe injury."

When in denial, DENY DENY DENY:

In a statement issued Tuesday, Joe Alleva said he wasn't seriously injured and was back at work. He said the accident "occurred as we were trying to navigate our way back to shore in dark, rainy conditions." The statement did not mention the charge against J.D. Alleva.

It's good to see Duke implemented those controls.

"Keeping Up With Developments in the English language":Words don't have meaning

2006-06-21T15:14:00.000-04:00

Someone has been watching too much Jonny Quest
Via a Sadly, No! link to Black Five comes an article from the Marine Times:

The video's title, apparently misspelled as "Hadji Girl," refers to a Haji, or wise person, who has traveled to Mecca. Many U.S. military members refer to all Iraqis as Haji, either neutrally or pejoratively.

Nice to see them concede that it's not used positively. After all, one would never call anyone a "wise person" except as an insult.

And then there is this, of which a Major Metropolitan Daily apparently decided that "fag" is not so offensive a term as (presumably) "shit" or "fucking."

And the paper has a defender in Ozzie Guillen, whose original statement "What a piece of [deleted] he is, [deleted] fag" prompted the column.

Guillen said that in Venezuela, that word is not a reference to a person's sexuality, but to his courage. He said he was saying that [Sun-Times columnist Jay] Mariotti is "not man enough to meet me and talk about [things before writing]."

Well, that's much more positive.

Clearly, the Venezuelan Guillen and the editors at the Sun-Times learned from the British, who have decided that gay is a perfectly acceptable derogatory term.

"The word 'gay,' in addition to being used to mean 'homosexual' or 'carefree,' was often now used to mean 'lame' or 'rubbish.' This is a widespread current usage of the word amongst young people."

Of course, it wasn't being used by a young person, but rather by Radio One host Chris Moyles, who

dismissed a ringtone by saying..."I don't want that one, it's gay."

Nice to know elders learn from the young as well.

A Quick One

2006-06-20T23:10:00.000-04:00

Occasionally, I (and several hundred others) take the same train home as the cutest woman in the area.

She works for All My Children, which I know partially because she is frequently reviewing scripts for the show.

Last week, she was reviewing a script for show 9,413.

Think about that a moment: 9,413. Even if they were doing a new show every day, that would be over 25 years of shows. As it is, they're in their in their 37th year.

I mention this because I'm trying to find a true advantage to Internet delivery of video. And one of the things about having done 9,000+ shows is that there is virtually no chance that you can sell them in DVD form to enough people to make it worth marketing them. As with the longer-running series that later hit syndication, it's almost too expensive to buy the rights to second-run the series.

But it would work over the Internet. As Mark Cuban, owner, of the apparently-soon-to-be-NBA-champion Dallas Mavericks*** noted, "The first Disney streams should have been their soap operas. In real time."

He just didn't take it far enough. He's absolutely correct when he notes the unique ability of the internet:

[T]he toughest to reach audience for Soaps is at work and the net is the best way to reach them. Affiliates aren't reaching them. Cable and Satellite aren't reaching them. Only the net does.

And once they're watching the current run on the Net, offering them deep-discount old episodes should be the next step. They don't have trouble with the technology. And they are willing to make the effort to access, in the same way as the first two days of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament this year led to CBS having to add servers and discovering new ways to market the product.

Poor Risk Management

2006-06-12T16:53:00.000-04:00

I'm as fond of research into brain injuries as the next person, but when a star NFL quarterback says:

ESPN: It's not the law in Pennsylvania to wear a helmet. Why don't you wear a helmet?

Roethlisberger: Because you don't have to. It's not the law. If it was the law, I'd definitely have one on every time I rode. But it's the law and I know I don't have to and your just more free when you're out there with no helmet on. [emphasis mine]

it's just recruiting for the neurology labs. Especially when he tries to argue that he's got the risk under control

I don't ride a sport bike. If I'm riding a sport bike and trying to do tricks, and going 200 miles down the highway, that's probably pretty stupid. But when you're riding a Harley or a chopper and you're riding with a group of people and you're not on the highway and you're cruising, you're relaxing. I don't think its as much of a risk as people make it out to be.

I believe that's what the people running LTCM said.

Good luck, Ben R. Hope it's not so bad as it could be.

Who needs Eric Lindros

2006-06-01T23:50:00.000-04:00

It's one of those Open Secrets that Rod Brind'Amour was traded from Philadelphia to Carolina in part because of a personal matter which forced Bobby Clarke to decide between keeping a talented leader or a concussion-prone, er, "superstar."

For those who were wondering, Clarke demonstrated the GM skill and acumen that has consistently made his teams Stanley Cup ~~contenders~~ paper-favorites.

I won't be rooting for Carolina, who beat the former favorite tonight after dispatching the current favorite in the previous series. But it is nice to see Brind'Amour playing in a Cup final. And there is always the video of Scott Stevens meeting Lindros in open ice (a video that appears have disappeared from ESPN's archives, but which ranks with Randy Johnson and the pigeon or Rebecca-whatshername spelling "euonym" as great ESPN moments).

Houston is 52 games into the season, Boston 49

2006-05-30T18:21:00.000-04:00

Clemens' agent deny report Rocket picks Astros

The catty rumor would only be exacerbated if an announcement were made before Boston played its 50th game, but after Houston did.

No Punchline Require

2006-05-30T16:39:00.000-04:00

'I WANT TO DIE A KNICK'

Doesn't the NBA do drug-testing off-season?

[Stephon Marbury] believes the current roster is playoff material, tons better than 23-59.

"I hope that every player on this team comes back next season," Marbury said.

"I honestly mean that. Every player. I think we have a great team. I think it will be so much different next year."

The Onion has nothing on Marbury, apparently.

Weird Question of the Day

2006-05-30T15:12:00.000-04:00

Has anyone else concluded that Fafnir, Giblets, and the Medium lobster were all Tom DeLay staff members?

This is not your father's--or even my--NHL

2006-05-22T16:24:00.000-04:00

With about six and one-half minutes left in the first game (Anaheim-Edmonton) on Friday, my wife valiantly attempted to send me downstairs to get her aspirin.

It was 2-1 and the Ducks looked threatening, so I said what I said throughout most of the late 1990s and early Naughts--I'll go at the next stoppage. Surely, there will be an icing, a penalty, a puck out of play, or a face-off.

The next stoppage was Todd Harvey's Empty Net goal with 42 seconds to go.

And it wasn't a European game, either; the players were hitting; playing the puck and the man, digging in the corners, passing, changing lines seamlessly.

It's one of the few times I've been delighted to have Comcast and its self-promoted "Outdoor Life Network."

The Daily Quickie nailed this one:

Seriously, if we make one plea to you, faithful readers, it is this: Start watching the NHL playoffs.

It's a shame that many cannot; Gary Bettman has to answer for a lot, but that no-risk-to-the-network contract he signed with NBC (which in large part precipitated the lockout of 2005) has marginalized the game he was trying to "save."

Christian Coalition and Moby Agree

2006-05-18T13:28:00.000-04:00

It has been fourteen years since Bruce Sterling first published his short story "Are You For 86?" in Globalhead. Among other noteworthy discoveries, he noted that being Christian doesn't at all mean that you don't use the Internet.

The Christian Coalition reconfirms that fact today, speaking up on the side of true net neutrality:

“What if a cable company with a pro-choice board of directors decides that it doesn’t like a pro-life organization using its high-speed network to encourage pro-life activities?” the Christian Coalition fretted in a statement Wednesday, announcing its support for a telecom law that would set rules to prevent network owners from discriminating against any Internet traffic.

The Coalition will have a Strange Bedfellow, though apparently one not invited to speak to the Committee:

Tomorrow, techno-rocker Moby is scheduled to voice his support for net neutrality rules at a Capitol Hill news conference

Anthemic Issues, Again; Someone is Wrong

2006-05-15T10:26:00.000-04:00

But No One is Likely to be Lying:

Edmonton's us-against-the-world energy undoubtedly got a boost shortly before the opening faceoff, when many fans loudly booed "O Canada," insulting the Oilers and the 10 Canadians wearing teal uniforms [emphasis mine].

"I didn't think too much of that," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "I'm sure our fans won't do that to the U.S. anthem."

Note the future tense.

Sharks officials thought their crowd was responding to a handful of Canadian fans that apparently could be heard booing the American anthem on the San Jose television feed before Game 4.

So a perceived slight becomes a slight. Soon to become 54 40' or Fight?

NOTE: The original ESPN article made no mention of the boos during Game Four, nor does their Recap of that Game. As with Sinead O'Connor lo those many years ago, did no one think it was an issue until suddenly it was made into one. Or was the sound-mix to San Jose just poor?

The Old Team Wins...

2006-05-13T23:42:00.000-04:00

...Not likely to face the current one.

Growing up in the Cincinnati area has forever warped my sports affiliations (much as New Yorkers root for the Yankees, even if they remember the pre-George days, or the Mets, if they remember the Yankees).

In hockey, we had the Swords. For a few years, the Sabres farm team played locally, winning an AHL championship, and--best of all--broadcasting all of their games on the radio, with announcers who knew the game.

So, as players such as Peter McNabb moved up, it was the Sabres who got a loyalty (made tenuous when the franchise moved away).

The New York media approach to the Rangers and the Islanders didn't change that, though it weakened over the years. Then we got the Devils, transfers from Colorado.

Wayne Gretzky called them a "Mickey Mouse organization." And one of the radio stations did a send-up of them to the tune (phrase used loosely) of "Men Without Hats."

And I heard a few games, and saw a few games, and was hooked.

John MacLean scoring a goal against the Blackhawks in overtime to give them their first playoff birth. Sean Burke performing well, followed by Martin Brodeur and three Stanley Cups that should have been four. Scott Stevens with a clean check that sent Eric Lindros in the next century, and probably still brings a smile to Rod Brind'Amour's face.

The series against Carolina won't change that. New Jersey has suffered strange goals, including a puck that was kicked in in Game Two:

[T]he puck...bounced off [Niclas Wallin's] skate through Brodeur's legs at 3:09 [in OT] to help the Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 Monday night and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

A video review upheld Wallin's first goal of the playoffs.

Buffalo fans know all about pucks being kicked in:

In 1999, Brett Hull and the Dallas Stars "won" the Stanley Cup after Brett Hull scored the winning goal Â? in triple overtime Â? with his skate planted firmly in the Buffalo Sabres' crease. Incredibly, officials declined to review the play (despite several angles showing the infraction) and the dodgy goal was allowed to stand. "Man in the crease, puck is definitely out of the crease Â? you can't explain that one to me," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff remarked. Fortunately, the NHL's supervisor of officials Bryan Lewis had an explanation. The play, he said, had been upheld after reviewing a secret "camera angle from down low that is mounted inside the net and not even available to television."

This year, Buffalo has gotten the breaks

The usually quiet Scotiabank Place [in Ottawa] crowd began to chant "Let's go, Senators!" in the third and Martin Havlat came close to rewarding them when he drove a slap shot off the left post with about 6 minutes left in the period.

Emery stopped Maxim Afinogenov's backhand with 3:54 remaining in the third.

Senators rookie Patrick Eaves shot high and wide on a scoring chance moments later. The rebound bounced off the glass and into the Sabres' crease, where Tallinder reached down and swiped it under himself as players from both teams converged in front of the net.

and needed them all to win probably the closest five-game Best-of-Seven ever:

All five games were decided by one goal in the series that featured a tie score or a one-goal lead for all but 1:40 of total play.

So I am happy for Buffalo, and would love to have New Jersey face them in the conference finals.

ESPN tries to warn that history is not on the Devils's side:

Colorado was the last team to win two in a row after losing the first three games of a playoff series. After falling behind San Jose 3-0 in their 2004 Western Conference semifinal, the Avalanche came back with consecutive wins over the Sharks before losing Game 6.

which would be intimidating except that 2004 was the last playoff season in the NHL.

Three weeks ago, the goal for the year was to face and defeat the Rangers in a playoff series, just because fans of the "1994"s retained only that as their point of pride.

That goal is accomplished. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit may be too much to ask.

If this is Chick-Lit, where's my Bazooka?

2006-05-11T15:00:00.000-04:00

In the midst of a rant last Friday at Sadly, No! about how the current Republican Party was molded almost entirely from the actions of gay men, I decided to post a link to Jessica Cutler's novelization of her blog, as it were. While bn.com is clearly inferior to Amazon, it's "you might be interested" is good.

A bunch of books with bright covers and pastels, curly typefaces, and multicolored titles. Chick-Lit, as it were.

Among the books listed was something called The Starter Wife, which appeared again a few hours later at the New York Public Library, where I was returning a DVD. I figured it was fate.

All of which is to say: I normally don't read this type of book. I don't know the reading protocols and am not in the target audience, any more than the people who read this are likely to be in the Lawrence Norfolk. So I'm not qualified to judge whether this is good, bad, or indifferent Chick-Lit.

(I do know that the author is the Wife Of Brian Grazer, that part of the joy is probably in guessing at the capsule-description-wives at the end of several chapters, and that the book is a pleasant read but not something I need to own--as with those Romance novels that came with DVDs I wanted to own, something to leave at the train station for someone else.)

But I do have to wonder when the Character Most Likely to Resemble the Target Audience--the title character's best female friend--is limned as:

Cricket was the type of mother who made hot lunches and never let another soul put her children to sleep; she was a wonderful, caring mother. Who would someday have to be institutionalized. [p. 54]

and

Cricket suffered from extreme empathy syndrome. If the friend is getting a divorce, she's getting a divorce; if her friend has strep, she develops a sore throat; if someone in China has a hangnail, Cricket can't get through the day. [pp. 96-7]

I'm just shy of halfway through the book (I couldn't find anything worth quoting in the scene where Cricket declares that the problem with her husband is that he still wants to have sex with her), and Cricket seems to be more sympathetic than the title character.

Does anyone know if this is typical of the genre?

UPDATE: The one loyal reader of this blog e-mails to tell me to stop reading the book now, out of fear I'll start buying Judy Garland records. I can assure him (and anyone else) that the lead character's other Best Friend (no benefits) is, of course, a gay male interior decorator. And he's so Precious he makes me want to play lacrosse or something. One funeral was enough to break me of any idea that I could accept Catholicism in my life; this one novel may well eliminate any vestige of bi-curiosity.

Hypocrisy Sells--and they think you're buying

2006-05-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

Via Bitch comes the story of an attempt to manipulate throught the press, and the complicity of same:

So the broadcast begins with the assertion that the website "is causing concern." But as it continues, they make it clear that they, Channel 4 news, brought dianablaine.com to the attention of the administration, not the other way around as implied. [L.A. Channel 4 "reporter" Cary] Berglund even reports that the spokesperson was "caught off guard" when asked about this supposed breach of professorial conduct.

So exactly who is "concerned"? The news never makes that clear because what's really happening is the manufacture of a scandal, for all the reasons detailed above.

As they say in the BlogSphere, Read the Whole Thing.

I wouldn't necessarily be addressing this--better people have done so, including Dr. Blaine herself--except that Dr. Blaine's previous post includes a link to the Channel 4 article and video. Note the advertisement:

A picture is worth a thousand words, but shouldn't Channel 4 have warned about the "Graphic Image" of their advert, instead of just presenting it?

There may even be a happy ending to it all, as Dr. Blaine notes:

I would like to thank those who have declared war on me for bringing me so much attention because I am writing a book on breast implants--why I won't get them in spite of cultural pressure to conform--and I am looking for an agent, someone who wants to make a LOT of money backing a beautiful, articulate, brilliant, highly educated compassionate woman who has tons to say and has the power to change women's lives for the better.

Which is more than Mr. Berglund and the staff at Channel 4--including their web managers--can say.

For those who thought computers were more complex than televisions

2006-05-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

Pull Quote:

Wal-Mart's entry into a category can raise alarms because the retailer's persistent price-cutting pressures competitors' profit margins. It has been blamed for bankruptcies in sectors ranging from groceries and toys.

Gee, that's a nice way to put it. Must have come straight from the company's press release.

But analysts said it was unlikely that Wal-Mart would pose much of a threat to the likes of Dell Inc., which mastered the made-to-order computer model and offers a much wider selection. They also noted that Dell makes most of its money selling computers to businesses rather than individuals.

But if I were running Gateway or HPQ, I might be a bit more worried.

Why Sportswriting all too often isn't

2006-05-02T13:07:00.000-04:00

Winning is the first-nine-paragraphs thing

Don't get me wrong; I'm still touchy about 2001, but that didn't expand to disliking Ray Bourque or Chris Drury or any other members of the Team That Should Have Lost(tm).

What I'm not understanding, though, is how Drury and Ira Berkow got snookered into that title. Let's look at the second paragraph:

Drury, co-captain and center, has helped the Buffalo Sabres to a franchise-best 52 regular-season victories and a 3-2 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in their first-round N.H.L. playoff series. Few people have won more major championships at so many levels and have captured more individual awards and accolades than the soft-spoken 29-year-old Drury. [italics mine]

Nor does Berkow leave that last without examples:

Drury's athletic success is extraordinary, if not unparalleled. As a youth, his Greater Bridgeport (Conn.) hockey team won the United States national amateur championship in 1989. Five months later, he hit and pitched his team from Trumbull, Conn., to the Little League World Series title with an upset of Taiwan.

He won a state championship in hockey in high school but was not drafted until the third round, 72nd over all. In his first season at Boston University, the Terriers won the N.C.A.A. hockey championship. As a senior, he won the Hobey Baker Award as the best collegiate player in the nation.

Now I'm as fond of that video of Drury catching the final out in that Little League World Series as anyone else who was bored by its broadcast-on-infinite-loop during the 2001 Cup Finals,* but we're now six paragraphs into a story about how Winning Isn't "the Only Thing" with no end in sight.

Indeed, there are three more (mercifully short) paragraphs about Winning before we get to the point:

"Not a day goes by that I don't think of Travis Roy," Drury said in the Sabres' locker room after a recent practice.

Stop. Pause. Take Deep Breath.

Eleven seconds into the first shift in the first game of Roy's college career, he crashed headfirst into the boards trying to check a North Dakota opponent. He fell to the ice, motionless....

Roy had snapped the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Football fans have Darrell Stingley. Basketball people have Hank Gathers writhing on the floor. Baseball people still talk about Ray Chapman.

As Albert Brooks said in Broadcast News, "I buried the lead." And, worse, so did Berkow.

Yesterday was Blog Against Diablism Day, and the human and inhuman stories flowed. Today, the New York Times proves that it's business as usual, and winning is still everything. Or at least the lead and the next eight 'grafs.

Working area of the Government: the IRS

2006-05-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

I note for the record that for the past two years, I (well, my accountant) have used the Electronic Filing option with Direct Deposit refunds.

In each year, it has taken 10 calendar days to receive the Federal refund, and 14 calendar days to receive the NY state refund.

The table from filing in 2000 onward appears below.

Czeched Out

2006-04-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to have been wrong. Despite the Rangers administrative changes, there was nothing even resembling the team that accumulated 100 points and was 18 games over .500 on the year to keep the Devils from winning their 15th in a row.

Our long-standing Czech, who missed half the season, was fresh, while their seven ranged from oops

Brian Gionta scored 4:30 into the third period with the Devils' third short-handed goal of the series after a terrible turnover by Petr Sykora, and Elias ripped in his fifth of the series, with 6:39 left to make it 4-1.

to not lasting a minute

[T]hings got much worse [for the Rangers] just 53 seconds in when team scoring leader Jaromir Jagr aggravated his injured left shoulder and was forced out of the game.

Giving up only four goals in four games to a team that averaged over three goals a game during the regular season leaves me cautiously optimistic about playing the winner of Philadelphia/Buffalo, and arguably beyond.

History Lesson

2006-04-28T16:48:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Atrios, this E&P story comes this news (to me) from Peter Beinart's forthcoming NYTimes article (which is in turn excerpted from Beinart's forthcoming book):

Their [Presumably Democrats, though the sentence implies "liberals"] most recent presidents: Jimmy Carter, considered a "failure" in the international field, and Bill Clinton, who allegedly didn't have to do much because foreign policy was "peripheral" when he was in charge.

That's Jimmy Carter, whose foreign policy "failure" was noticed by the Nobel Peace Prize committee. That's Jimmy Carter, who hosted these two men at Camp David. That failure.

And then there's the failure of Bill Clinton, leader of the longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history. Guess he didn't do anything on the foreign policy front, such as, say, work on the 1994 cease-fire and the subsequent Good Friday agreement or put any effort in the Middle East, which led to the Gaza-Jericho Peace Agreement, the 1994 Nobel Prize, and follow-on negotiations that led to his own multiple nominations for the prize.

Beinart calls those failures. I guess they compare poorly to the Bush administration having arranged the IAEA's 2005 prize through proving its report:

Where did Iraq's nuclear-weapons programme stand when inspections stopped in 1998?

The IAEA had removed all known weapon-grade nuclear material, i.e. highly enriched uranium and plutonium. Additionally, it had taken custody of all known remaining uranium compounds; destroyed all known dedicated facilities and associated equipment; and monitored all known "dual-use" equipment that could be associated with nuclear-weapons development.

or as the American Enterprise Institute noted:

It's now increasingly clear that the multilateral inspection and verification organizations--the IAEA Iraq Action Team, UNSCOM and UNMOVIC--hampered Saddam's WMD pursuits. And, they provided the clearest insights into the nature of those programs. David Kay likened the Intelligence Community's reliance on inspectors to being addicted to crack cocaine--the point being the IC had grown dependent on the quality "ground truth" information the inspectors provided.

In reading the UNMOVIC report, I was shocked to learn that even now, they have no access to the Iraq Study Group's work or what the ISG is finding. Nor has the ISG requested any information from UNMOVIC, which has a decade's worth of databases--30 million pages--on Iraq's WMD programs.

Meanwhile, as has been reported in the press, we continue to work with Ahmed Chalabi's network, whose information on WMD before the war appears to have been wrong.

Subtle that. As E&P notes parenthetically:

Beinart does not mention that Clinton at least ignored pleas to invade and occupy Iraq.

Apparently, in the world of Beinart, attempting to reach peace (as Carter and Clinton did) is a failure, while ignoring peace efforts is a "script," which he treats as A Good Thing.

There are days I am glad to be aligned with the Democrats by lack of alternatives, instead of by birth, training, or temperament. This is truly one of those days.

And Justice for All?

2006-04-28T12:39:00.000-04:00

There are so many things wrong with this story that someone should buy the movie rights:

According to [Connersville Police Department Detective Jason] Richardson, [Michael J.} Templeton, [Christopher D.] Hottman and [Billie J.] Erlewein were told by [Lloyd W.] Ailes that he was delivering a large quantity of crack cocaine from Dayton, Ohio.

So far so good (though we all know the best city for crack is Cincinnati, not Dayton).

Erlewein opened the door and Templeton entered and robbed Ailes at gunpoint, taking one gram of crack cocaine, Richardson said.

Now, if you were told a "large quantity," would you steal only one gram and consider it done? Neither would they:

Templeton asked Ailes where the rest of the drugs were as both men were outside the residence at that time, apparently believing more drugs were in a vehicle.

While I don't know the street value of one gram of crack in the Midwest, the next move is literally priceless

Ailes contacted City Police about 5 a.m. and said he had been robbed, Richardson said. [emphasis mine]

Because the police are always an aspiring drug dealer's best friend. It's about to become a very expensive gram:

Templeton was charged with possession of cocaine and robbery and was lodged in Fayette Jail under $12,000 bond.

Hottman was charged with robbery and jailed under $10,000 bond.

Erlewein was charged with robbery and neglect of a dependent and was lodged in jail under $12,000 bond.

Two children were taken from her residence by the Division of Family and Children Services.

Ailes was charged with dealing in cocaine and lodged in FCJ under $10,000 bond.

Standard economic theory, which tells us that people make rational decisions, may not have applied.

One to Go

2006-04-27T11:36:00.000-04:00

I missed my train last night by a couple of minutes. Standing on the platform to go to Penn Station, there were several people desperately clinging to envelopes with tickets in them.

By the time I got home, it was 8:00, and the game was effectively over. Patrik Elias to Jamie Langenbrunner, and then later Langenbrunner to Elias. Less than ten minutes into the game, 2-0 Devils.

It was certainly the longest New York Minute in history, but never let it be said the NYTimes would not emphasize the coincident:

The Devils scored their first goal 68 seconds into the game and every balloon burst. Jagr, a proud wearer of jersey No. 68, watched his digits take on a whole new connotation.

And the bitterness continues, reducing a matchup of two teams that finished the regular season one point apart to some grotesque David-and-Goliath parody:

As Jagr pondered the Rangers' run of futility, he said his team was lucky simply to have qualified for the playoffs.

He promised to play in Game 4, regardless of the risk, but he said the Rangers should drastically change their expectations. No longer should they think about winning the series.

They should just hope to score a goal.

This is the team with the Olympics-winning goalie, the prohibitive favorite for league MVP, a solid group of Czechs, and a decent farm system.

But the villain, once again, goes without saying:

Sandis Ozolinsh mishandled a pass. Patrik Elias took the puck. He skated down the ice, two-on-one, an arena holding its breath. Elias found Jamie Langenbrunner, and with one shot, the game and the series were basically over.

It wasn't as beautiful as Elias to Arnott in 2000, but it worked. And the chance of Ozolinsh being with the Rangers next year is virtually nil. For all of Jagr's whining, the team will need a scapegoat.

Halfway to Heaven

2006-04-24T22:55:00.000-04:00

The Devils will not win 15 in a Row

The Rangers came back and played hockey tonight but speed still kills.

UPDATE: The subtitle is, I think, accurate. The Ranger team that played the second and third periods last night was impressive enough that they should win one in the Garden. In fact, two series come to mind as Must to Avoid:

In 2001, facing Carolina in the first round, the Devils won the first two and then let the Hurricanes back into the series. They won in six, but the injuries from that series--and that it went more games than it had to--contributed greatly to losing the Cup to an Avalanche team they should have defeated.

In 2003, they dominated the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals. Then they lost two multiple-OT games in Anaheim, and the series ended up going seven games.

If the Rangers are still playing in May, this still will be a good series win, but it won't bode well for playing either Buffalo or Tampa Bay in the next round.

UPDATE 2: Berube summarizes the final nail in the coffin as I saw it; E. J. Hradek at ESPN makes an interesting comparison.

Hradek:

Late in the second period, with the Rangers turning some momentum in their favor, they received a huge break. With Grant Marshall in the box serving a double minor, Madden was whistled for hooking. The call gave the Rangers a 5-on-3 advantage for a full two minutes.

Again, the Rangers couldn't capitalize. Without Jagr, they moved the puck around the perimeter without purpose. They failed to get what you would call a "good scoring chance."

Berube:

Down 2-0 with 2:13 to play in the second period, the Rangers have a full two-minute five-on-three power play and a chance to get back into the gameÂ?and the series. They pass sloppily in the DevilsÂ? zone and turn it over a few times, but manage a couple of legitimate scoring chances, on one of which Petr Sykora hits the post after Brodeur barely gets a piece of his one-timer from twenty feet out. They were just that close to a 2-1 game.

No one will confuse me with a Ranger fan, but Hradek does no one anfavorsrs understating the threat the Rangers presented at the time.

Palace to play friendly in the States

2006-04-24T11:21:00.000-04:00

The Eagles Will Land

Ken: "Palace is playing a friendly in Virginia Beach"
Shira: "What's a friendly? And what's Palace?"

Clearly, not all things are revealed before marriage.

One Down

2006-04-22T19:50:00.000-04:00

I freely admit having been somewhat offended by the Sharks loss to Nashville Friday night, but that was without seeing the game. I thought there were a lot of penalties, and the idea that the penalties ecided the outcome--only the Sharks scored at even strength--did not bode well.

I saw much of the Devils-Rangers game, in which all of the goals for both teams were scored on the power play. (Technical exception: one goal was scored 0:01 after a Ranger penalty expired.)

Before the series, the people who saw many more games than I--that is, those whose children go to bed before the middle of the third period--all said that the Rangers couldn't match the Devils for speed. (Only Burnside seems to think otherwise, not bothering to mentiomn any difference in his column.)

The game pretty much demonstrated that speed was the difference. And the Rangers helped the Devils set a team record for power plays (and then kept going).

Most interesting stat from the announcers (ex-ranger goalie John Davidson?): the Rangers did not score a shorthanded goal on the road all season.

Let's go back to Burnside:

[T]he Rangers' power-play and penalty-killing units are more efficient. [emphasis mine]

He does hedge ("That must continue if the Rangers hope to upset their neighbors."), but does this "efficiency" match with reality? Not judging by Game One.

DSCC Redux

2006-04-20T13:07:00.000-04:00

As with some, I was encouraged when georgia10 indicated Harry Reid's response to a lie: calling it such.

Our Minority Leader isn't afraid of using the word "lie." The DNC isn't shrinking from the word "lying." Democrats are fighting back, and they're painting Republicans as the lying liars they are.

It's about time.

So I would expect that the DSCC, which considers Nevada (Reid's home state), Utah, and Arizona "races" would mention something about this. Or that the "issue ad" about John Kyl's voting record might touch on the subject.

Nope.

Good thing Harry Reid has nothing to do with the DSCC.

ESPN voters disagree with Burnside

2006-04-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

3) (3) N.J. Devils vs. (6) N.Y. Rangers: Who wins?

31.3% Devils in six
20.5% Devils in five
16.2% Devils in seven
13.6% Rangers in seven
11.1% Rangers in six
5.3% Devils in four
1.7% Rangers in five
0.4% Rangers in four

Just under three of four so far pick the Devils. Over 1/2 of those expect them to win the series in MSG (Game Four or Game Six).

On the other hand, all the good tickets are now gone for Game Five and Game Seven, possibly taken by Ranger fans.

I have a nightmare...

2006-04-19T07:20:00.000-04:00

I have a nightmare, and his name is Scott Burnside

But as long as Lundqvist doesn't get it in his head that he has to beat Brodeur all by himself, he can make the difference in what promises to be an interesting, emotional series. Given his play this season and at the Olympics, where he won a gold medal, it appears Lundqvist gets it. If that's the case, the door is open for the Rangers to make good on the promise this season suggests.

Maybe I should be buying Game Seven tickets, instead of Game Five?

Nah.

Bring On the Blueshirts!

2006-04-18T23:17:00.000-04:00

The Devils will face a team they have never defeated in a Playoff Series

And I doubt I should leave any comments at the blog of a certain Penn State ~~Enemy of the State~~ Professor of ~~Dangeral Studies~~ English Literature (hat tip: Sadly, No!) for the next two weeks.

Two Underdiscussed "Duke Lacrosse" Issues

2006-04-18T12:07:00.000-04:00

It's difficult to imagine anything about the incident of the Duke Lacrosse players being underdiscussed, but here are two suggestions:

Defense attorneys have urged Nifong to drop the case, saying DNA tests failed to connect any of the 46 team members tested to the alleged victim.

Nifong has said 75 percent to 80 percent of rape prosecutions lack DNA evidence. According to court records, a medical examination of the woman found injuries consistent with rape.

The idea that lack of DNA evidence alone would be exculpatory is a new one.

[S]chool officials said the lacrosse coach was warned last year that his players had too many violations of the campus judicial code and he needed to "get them in line."

Duke athletic director Joe Alleva said the university's executive vice president reviewed the lacrosse team's disciplinary record last year, then discussed his findings with Alleva.

"He said there were too many incidents, but there's not enough incidents to make a drastic change in the program at this point in time," Alleva told The Herald-Sun of Durham.

Alleva then met with Pressler, telling the coach that "his team was under the microscope, and he had to do everything he could to get them in line and to not have any more behavior problems," he said....

Sue Wasiolek, Duke's dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said the review showed the lacrosse team had a "disproportionate" number of violations of the campus judicial code. None was particularly serious, but administrators were concerned about the cumulative record and the fact that some players had several violations, she said.

I believe this is referred to in SportSpeak as "lack of institutional control."

Enlightenment escapes us

2006-04-17T22:38:00.000-04:00

Shouldn't this make Chuck Schumer the Wanker of the Day?

Via an ex-roommate (who may have seen the link at Eschaton), we discover why Joe Lieberman refused to support the winner of the Democratic primary in which he is battling Ned Lamont:

Lieberman (rough transcript, without the verbal tics): I'm very confident about the primary but ultimately I want to give all the voters in the state a chance to say whether they want me to continue to serve Connecticut. [emphasis mine]

Why are the gits who run the DSCC giving this man money? And why would they ever expect that any of us would be foolish enough to think them credible enough to give money to their "Take Back the Senate" effort?

If only the Bankruptcy Bill applied to the Administration...

2006-04-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

What happened to the ~~Pottery Barn~~ Powell Doctrine?

Out of Maryscott O'Connor via The Rude Pundit comes the final bell:

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from two Chinese Muslims who were mistakenly captured as enemy combatants more than four years ago and are still being held at the U.S. prison in Cuba....

Previously, a federal judge said the detention of the ethnic Uighurs in Guantanamo Bay is unlawful, but that there was nothing federal courts could do.

Lawyers for the two contend they should be released, something the Bush administration opposes, unless they can go to a country other than the United States.[emphasis mine]

So we captured innocent people--people we admit are innocent, beyond doubt reasonable or otherwise--but won't take responsibility for them, despite having imprisoned them for four years.

And the Supreme Court is fine with this.

Expect Canadian citizenship applications to skyrocket, espeically for those of us who, with 20 years of work experience in Financial Services and/or IT are preferred.

Pictures from the Long Tail

2006-04-17T10:32:00.000-04:00

My eldest daughter discovered the Doodlepad at Noggin.com and has become an artist. The above is called "Zee Water Picture." (Zee for those unfamiliar with him[?], can be found inside the blue area.)

If Democracy is such a good idea, why not support the elected?

2006-04-16T18:22:00.000-04:00

Iran to Give $50 Million to Hamas-Led Government

"We warn that if the aid is cut and if this continues in the near future, this land will witness a humanitarian disaster and the occupiers and their supporters will be responsible," the ISNA student news agency quoted Mr. Mottaki as saying, alluding to Israel.

Oh, really? Can't even keep that illusion into the next paragraph.

The European Union suspended its $600 million aid package and the United States a $400 million donation after Hamas's unexpected electoral victory in January.

Unexpected? Unlike Islamic Jihad, they promised non-violence during and after the campaign, they ran candidates known among the people, and they treated the voters as people who would eventually have self-rule. Only the Armchair AIPACers at the NYT could possibly have not expected the results.

Oh, and about those "16-day" bombs:

Iran announced last week that it had enriched uranium to 3.5 percent, a level of purity that, if enough could be produced, might fuel a nuclear reactor. If enriched to higher levels [something they have not come close to accomplishing], the uranium could be used for making nuclear bombs.

Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the [IAEA] who was in Tehran last week, said a team of technical inspectors was expected to visit Iran's nuclear plants this week.

Everything is proceeding apace. Expect the rhetoric to escalate in late August (Andy Card is gone), with a push into the November elections.

The Bush Administration does a Good Thing

2006-04-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

Johnny 99 was the lucky one

It's a great track, with a poignant opening stanza:

Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none
He came home too drunk from mixin'Tanqueray and wine
He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call'm Johnny 99

But, as with "They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light," the reality turns out to be even more pessimistic for Those Left Behind:

[L]ocal residents who claimed that the area had never been properly cleaned and that dangerous material left over from the assembly of millions of automobiles in a plant in nearby Mahwah was endangering their health.

Contractors hired by Ford dumped tons of paint sludge laced with toxic chemicals and other polluted debris in a remote area of Ringwood around two Revolutionary War-era iron mines....

Ford closed the Mahwah plant in 1980. Two years later the federal government proposed adding Ringwood to the National Priorities List, as the list of Superfund sites is known.

The dumping solution led to what an economist would call "unintended" consequences--and the rest of the world thinks of as "not thinking things through":

Some local residents, most of them members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian Tribe, have serious illnesses, including certain cancers and skin diseases that have been linked to the toxins. They also have leukemia rates that are twice the statewide average, according to a lawsuit they filed against Ford in January.

This story has a happy ending (so far):

The company has cleaned the area several times, and in 1994 the E.P.A. declared the area clean enough to be removed from the Superfund list. Once sites are removed from the list, they rarely are returned to it....

For the last two years, residents have demanded that Ford be ordered to remove tons of additional material. New Jersey officials also pressured the federal government to ensure that the area was properly decontaminated.

Ford has already agreed to undertake a comprehensive cleanup of the remaining material. The company, in an agreement with the E.P.A., also initiated widespread testing of the area to determine the full extent of the toxic material that might be dumped there.

It is a rare time when one can say that the Bush Administration has done a Good Thing for the Environment. Let us celebrate this achievement.

First Bryant Park, now San Francisco

2006-04-07T15:08:00.000-04:00

Sittin' on the Docking Station of the Bay

If the cost of this project, for a city as complicated to blanket as San Francisco, is even three times this, it's a bargain.

[San Francisco will] begin negotiations with Google and EarthLink, which decided to team together earlier this year (in a bid to "bid to blanket San Francisco with a free wireless Internet") after initially bidding against each other. The companies will pay to build the entire network, which is expected to cost at least $15 million.

More and more, I'm coming to believe that we will eventually treat bandwidth as a Giffen Good.

Business Travel becomes more pleasurable?

2006-04-07T14:57:00.000-04:00

Catman Do?

The question of Geographically Undesirable is again redefined:

"Rapture Online," a game Black Love Interactive LLC is set to launch next year, will also have three-dimensional characters, with a lot of attention paid to anatomical correctness. It will feature a networking component similar to that of a dating site, but it won't be necessary to use that feature.

"I'm hoping couples who are in a distance relationship will be able to use this privately between them," developer Kelly Rued said.

Busted for Bussing

2006-04-07T13:44:00.000-04:00

...And we're on our way--to jail

Pull quote:

"Don't dramatize this, we are not oppressors," city official Ahmad Lutfi was quoted as saying when asked whether people enforcing the law would be equipped with stopwatches to time public clinches.

Officials in the city were not immediately available for comment.

Of course, the clarification that makes this less of an issue is the last 'graf:

In Indonesia -- as in many other Asian countries -- couples, married or not, rarely kiss on the lips in public. Women often kiss their husband on the hand when saying goodbye in front of others.

So it's unlikely to be a problem for anyone who follows the local customs.

"Have a Nice Summer"

2006-03-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey W. Garner, 45 of Connersville, passed away unexpectedly at his residence on March 9, 2006.

When in doubt, one can always count on Joss Whedon for the easy answers. And the "invisible girl" episode ("Out of Mind, Out of Sight" being the title that didn't get a suit from Marvel) leaves us with the phrase "Have a nice summer" as the one you write in a yearbook "only...when he or she has absolutely nothing else to say."

I went digging through the high school yearbooks for the two previous years (I don't have the one from my graduation year), searching in vain for a picture of Mr. Garner. Found nothing. No pictures or references to him at all in either year, not even the little one they allocate to the Underclass.

Things probably were not well with him

He had been employed at Hillhurst Farms and Dougherty Orchards for several years and C & P Engineering for 2 years, retiring due to his health.

and I wouldn't have crossed paths with a Jehovah's Witness in any of his activities

He enjoyed working at odd jobs, listening to music, going to church, reading his bible and martial arts where he was a fifth degree black belt.

so the best I could say would be "Have a nice summer." Which isn't possible any longer.

Might as well blog.

Excerpt from an upcoming novel

2006-03-22T16:53:00.000-05:00

The novel itself is not showing on the B&N website, so if the link above came through, it's to an abridged CD. And, since this is from the galley, the finished text may be different:

How do you think Iraq got started? Four or five neocon theorists, totally committed to the cause, taking a few discredited reports from a handful of paid informants, completely unreliable, plus one forged memo on yellowcake uranium and a satellite photo of a mobile chemical lab that turned out to be making insecticide instead of anthrax. Pretty thin stuff, huh? But the next thing you know, 135,000 troops are slogging through the desert toward Baghdad.

And the thoughts of the main character to that?

...wondering if he really believed it. It seemed unlikely. But a few years ago, the idea of a war with Iraq would have seemed just as outlandish, and now half the globe was seemingly on alert, waiting nervously to see where the American hammer would fall next. [emphasis mine]

The American hammer? You mean the one with overextended troops who can't control the two countries in which they are currently battling?

Israel 'may rue Saddam overthrow'

2006-02-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

Israel 'may rue Saddam overthrow'

This comes as no surprise to anyone who has spoken with Israelis, who knew it well before 2002. The persistent rumour that the invasion of Iraq was "for Israel" was demonstrably false then, and is even moreso now.

Some of those who hide behind a stated goal of "affecting America's relationship with Israel", on the other hand, have revealed themselves to be a Fifth Column.

Songs for MLK Holiday: What am I missing?

2006-01-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

MLK Songs, roughly in chronological order:

1. Stevie Wonder – “Happy Birthday” (Hotter than July, but not available on iTunes and generally left off the collections except for “At the Close of the Century”). Probably the song that was most influential in turning the tide in favor of the holiday. Can’t listen to it any more after it was emasculated by the man himself at the Atlanta Olympics

2. Various Artists – “King Holiday” (original single) – doesn’t seem to be available from iTunes, but “Sing Sing Celebrate” still echoes and I like this one more than the “all-star” tribute that was made after the holiday passed Congress.

3. U2 – “Pride (in the Name of Love)” (The Unforgettable Fire) – U2 at their most earnest, Brian Eno at his most accessible

4. Public Enemy – “By the Time I Get to Arizona” (Apocalypse ’91…The Enemy Strikes Black) – the most relevant track to the holiday itself

Some songs (e.g., The Neville Brothers’s “Rosa Parks,” Run-DMC’s “Proud to be Black”) honor King indirectly, but aren’t really tributes. And archive.org has the text of the Capitol Steps speech, but not, apparently, the audio.

The Law is for the "little people," Governor style

2006-01-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

A 37-year record of disrespect for the law
Pull Quote:

Schwarzenegger, a Harley Davidson owner who rides regularly with friends along the California coast, said Tuesday that he never bothered to obtain a California motorcycle license because he "never thought about it."

Schwarzenegger said he had a motorcycle license when he lived in Europe but never considered obtaining another one after he immigrated to the United States in 1968.

"I just never really applied for it," he said.

The other obvious question is how someone can buy a vehicle for personal use without having a licence to use it.

First Night and Family Values

2005-12-31T13:28:00.000-05:00

Two sentences that I never expected to see together, let alone in a First Night ad for a kid's show:

Bullwhips, boomerangs and the amazing tablecloth pull! Fast-paced fun for the whole family.

Going to the artist's site, one sees (as my wife notes) "something for everyone?"

Maybe Ms. Marcotte is correct about "people who are frustrated that the world is changing without obtaining their permission," but I guess those people are still going out and drinking themselves one day closer to death on New Year's Eve--or just waiting for the late show, which is Lisa Lou solo.

CNN.com - Bush: Iraqi democracy making progress; estimates 30,000 Iraqis killed - Dec 12, 2005

2005-12-12T14:06:00.000-05:00

Turns out that George Bush has been briefed about Iraq Body Count at a very high level.

Capsule Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)

2005-11-20T14:03:00.000-05:00

The people who wanted to hire Mike Newell as director in the first place--and got him now--are the ones who originally selected Chris Columbus, which should tell you everything you need to know about directing skills or attention to acting.

If they really wanted sfx and product placement, Columbus is the Master of that Domain. Clearly, they doesn't care about the characters--unlike Rowling, who does, which is what makes us keep reading the books.

Steve Kloves, who spoke so much about his freedom under Cuaron, proves to write down to the level of his director here. That he is taking the next book off, but returning for the series's masterpiece, is a mixed bag at best.

Person I feel most sorry for: Emma Watson, who from all reports is the one who cares most about acting, instead of just getting a massive paycheck.

People I feel second-most sorry for: everyone who has watched her since the first movie, and knew that by the time they made this one, she likely would be able to pull off the "appearance-on-the-steps-at-the-Yule-Ball" scene, and who is now confronted with the poorly-shot result.

Ecological Economics in Action

2005-08-05T10:55:00.000-04:00

Ecological Economics in Action

For those who are gathering data points on reported v. observable behaviors, the Pull Quote has to be:

The findings suggest that about 40,000 doses of cocaine are consumed every day in the Po valley....

According to official figures, 1.1 percent of Italian adults aged 15 to 34 admit to having used cocaine at least once in the past month.

The official figures imply that the drug is taken about 15,000 times a month among the 1.4 million young adults living around the Po.

If that multiplier (40/15 = 8/3 = 2.66...) were anywhere near the baseline, population surveys about morality would go the way of Phlogiston.

Here's a sentence even the Times shouldn't be able to present with a straight face

2005-07-29T13:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a sentence even the Times shouldn't be able to present with a straight face

Opening 'graf, so it will be there even when archived:

John D. Negroponte, the new director of national intelligence, has imposed strict safeguards intended to ensure that the government's National Intelligence Estimates are based on credible information instead of the kinds of unsubstantiated claims that were the basis for prewar intelligence on Iraq, his top deputy said Thursday.

Yep, if I want strict safeguards. John Negroponte is the first name that comes to mind.

Either way, of course, Newsweek was wrong

2005-06-05T14:03:00.000-04:00

It's not that we tried to flush a Qu'ran down a toilet; there was no toilet involved:

The Pentagon confirmed Friday evening — after the networks' evening news shows had aired — that a U.S. soldier had deliberately kicked a prisoner's holy book. The report also said prison guards had thrown water balloons in a cell block, causing an unspecified number of Qurans to get wet; a guard's urine had splashed on a detainee and his Quran; an interrogator had stepped on a Quran during an interrogation; and a two-word obscenity had been written in English on the inside cover of a Quran. [emphasis mine]

Or we really saw some Muslim do it and continued about our business:

White House officials noted that the investigation last month, by Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, the commander of the detention center, also found 15 cases of detainees mishandling their own Qurans.

"These included using a Quran as a pillow, ripping pages out of the Quran, attempting to flush a Quran down the toilet and urinating on the Quran," Hood's report said. It offered no possible explanation for the detainees' actions. [emphasis mine]

That should satisfy everyone, right?

CNN's Fezzik Moment of the Day

2005-05-17T12:20:00.000-04:00

I do not think this word means what you think it does

The headline: White House refutes UK Iraq memo

The text:

"However, McClellan also said he had not seen the 'specific memo,' only reports of what it contained."

Scotty must be the only person ostensibly working as a journalist who doesn't know how to type "downingstreetmemo.com" into a Web browser.

Did the Washingtonian out Hillary Rosen?

2005-03-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

Did the Washingtonian out Hillary Rosen?

Via The Daily Howler, The Washingtonian notes that:

Hilary Rosen, former director of the Recording Industry Association, and Elizabeth Birch, former Human Rights Campaign executive director, sold a six-bedroom Tudor on Hillbrook Lane in Spring Valley for $2,300,000. The house listed for $2,350,000.

Does this consist of the outting of Ms. Rosen? For myself, I could care less if she’s muff-munching or being ploughed; she was arguing loudly and longly on the wrong side of an economic issue (and has been amply rewarded for doing so).

But once again, a proponent of "Values" appears to be living a life of which her supporters would not approve.

Los Angeles Times: Sex Vows Did Not Curb STDs

2005-03-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

How to tell when a virgin isn't

Facts are stubborn things. I can lie in a survey about whether I have had or will have sex. A woman can do the same, intrusive medical examinations aside.

However, getting a venereal disease is a pretty clear indicator of the accuracy of the answer.

You knew this going into the war

2005-03-21T13:25:00.000-05:00

Things you knew going into war are now the reason things went wrong later

If a leader fights with the troops and logistics he's given, why is he allowed to allocate blame because of his fantasy?

Oh, wait; there is some blame to be allocated:

"General Franks made a call, and he made a judgment that not only would they not be needed and it would not be appropriate, but that it would be ill advised to put that many more, quote, 'occupation forces' in," Mr. Rumsfeld said on the ABC News program "This Week."

But is that the whole story?

Mr. Rumsfeld - one of the most hands-on defense secretaries in a generation, whose concepts for modern warfare significantly shaped the military's plan for Iraq - did acknowledge in the interview that he officially endorsed General Franks's recommendations for troop levels.

And the liberators will need to provide more to ensure democracy, or, what's wrong with these two sentences?

"They had a successful election. The Iraqi security forces are increasingly taking responsibility."

The American military force in Iraq is down from a spike in January to 150,000 before the elections, the highest level since Baghdad fell, although Mr. Rumsfeld said the number would probably increase again for the next elections this fall.

But don't worry; we don't want it to be a truly free election

He cautioned the new Iraqi government against favoritism, which he said could weaken the counterinsurgency mission.

Jeffrey Sachs is no lightweight, and he gets it EXACTLY correct

2005-03-17T10:27:00.000-05:00

Jeffrey Sachs is no lightweight, and gets it EXACTLY correct

That CNN describes Sachs only as "Kofi Annan's top poverty adviser" speaks volumes.

Pull Quote:

One of those most vocally opposed to Wolfowitz's nomination was U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's top poverty adviser.

"It's time for other candidates to come forward that have experience in development," professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, told the U.N. Economic and Social Council.

"This is a position on which hundreds of millions of people depend for their lives," AP quoted him as saying. "Let's have a proper leadership of professionalism."

Pat Tribble retiring

2005-02-10T00:08:00.000-05:00

Retiring teachers

From a personal point of view, it is not news that Mitch Daniels is planning to cut the education budget in Indiana. Given his history, it would be surprising if he weren't.

The retiring teachers are Barbara Chaplin, 27 years as Connersville High School guidance counselor; Fred Halberstadt, 22 years MiMD at Fayette Central; Susan Jinks, 32 years MiMD at CHS; Janet Miller, 28 years physical education; Frank Paddock, 34 years at Frazee Elementary School; Peggy Paddock, 34 years at Everton Elementary School; Helen Sanders, 23 years math at CHS; Susan Scott, 26 years art at CHS; Wilma Studt, 42 years Everton; Sally Taylor, 31 years MiMD at Eastview Elementary School; Patricia Tribble, 40 years speech/language/hearing at Eastview; and Dorothy Horton, 32 years as a special education assistant at Eastview

Pat Tribble taught me probably everything I still remember about chess. (She probably also taught me how to pronounce words such as "water" so that I would sound as if I was a native of Indiana, not Philadelphia.) Most notably, she chastized me when I bollixed a game I dominated--a lesson never forgotten, if not always abided.

Happy retirement, Pat.

CBS, UNIVAC, and Credibility Issues of 1952

2005-02-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

CBS, UNIVAC, and Credibility Issues of 1952

From William Gibson's blog comes the Christie's "Origins of Cyberspace" auction, featuring among other interesting material this Lot.

Pull quote:

On election night programmers fed early return data from eight key states into UNIVAC 1 to be compared with voting patterns from past elections. On the basis of this comparison, the computer predicted a landslide victory for Eisenhower: 438 electoral votes versus 93 for Adlai Stevenson. This contradicted the polls, which had called for a close race, and nervous officials from both CBS and Remington Rand insisted that the parameters of the computer's calculations be adjusted to better match the pollster's predictions. After some tinkering, the UNIVAC was made to produce odds of 8 to 7 for an Eisenhower victory, and CBS used this revised prediction in its election broadcasts. However, when the final returns were in, UNIVAC's initial forecast of a landslide turned out to be correct: Eisenhower ended up with 442 electoral votes, while Stevenson had only 89. The computer had predicted the election's outcome with over 98 percent accuracy, and on the air that night CBS confessed to its mistake in not trusting the UNIVAC's original numbers.

Note for the record that this didn't destroy CBS's credibility.