CNN.com - Key Republican calls 9/11 warning report old news - May 18, 2002

I can't believe I agree with Richard "Benedict" Shelby, but this is pretty much the same way I see it. The White House didn't know about the attack, and saying they should have is unfair. They can't know everything. The blame lies more with the intelligence and law enforcement communities, who did have all the information and couldn't put it all together. I will say that it does look like the White House could have been more forthcoming about all of this.

The Nando Times: Turkish court convicts journalist who criticized Turkish courts

That is really a great moment in headline writing. Congratulations to the copy editor.

A lot of people have held up Turkey as a paragon of a secular Islamic state. It's not truly free yet, folks.

The Nando Times: India expels Pakistani ambassador; fighting escalates in Kashmir

Oh, this is not good at all. We're on the verge of open warfare between two nuclear powers, something that has never happened. While five or ten nuclear bombs would probably solve the Kashmir question for good, I don't think that's a solution anyone wants.

A Vatican Lawyer Says Bishops Should Not Reveal Abuse Claims

Well, he's a lawyer, what do you expect? He's also an asshole:

In the article, Father Ghirlanda also wrote that a priest who is reassigned to a new parish after being treated because of a history of sexual abuse should not have his "good reputation" ruined by having his background revealed to the new parish. It would be better simply not to place the priest in a new parish if the bishop lacks confidence about the priest, Father Ghirlanda said.

In other words, keep doing what you've been doing. It's worked out great so far.

Reuters Wire | 05/17/2002 | EU Wrangle Over Bethlehem Militants Drags On

Isn't this just perfect? All the Euros are willing to take them in to Europe. But none of the European countries is willing to take them, at least not all of them. Maybe they can all stay on the borders.

Meat from endangered whales said on sale in Japan

Our tour of Asia continues with Japan. Some whaling is allowed, but for whatever reason -- greed comes to mind -- Japanese whalers are cheating. They're hunting species -- notably humpback and gray whales -- that are protected. Probably they're taking more than their quota from other species. Cretins.

Middle East: Activists Oppose Israeli Military Actions, Seek To Dispel Stereotypes

Expanding a peaceful Palestinian resistance movement is also the goal of Grassroots International Protection for Palestinians.

Well, that's odd, because for some reason they went out of their way to protect violent militiamen. I'm sure there's a good explanation.

Hillary and Breaux, Do Si Do - On welfare, she's the "centrist" now. By Mickey Kaus

The "New" Kausfiles bugs me. Simple browser reason: if you click the back button you go to a forwarding screen of some sort, then right back to Kausfiles. It's a trap!

www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish

"There is no scandal! Dubya didn't know anything! It's all Clinton's fault anyway! I'm not listening to you! I have my fingers in my ears and I'm singing! God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen, God save the Queen!"

U.N. Urges Saudis to End Floggings, Amputations

``The committee itself had no doubt that flogging in almost every case constitutes torture, and amputation of limbs probably in every case...would constitute torture under our definition,'' said Peter Burns, Canadian law professor and committee chairman.

That seems self-apparent to me, except when is flogging warranted?

The Human Rights Commission won't take on the Sauds, but the UN Committee Against Torture is talking. And it's obvious to anyone that they're in violation of the Convention Against Torture -- which they signed. But the Saudis say that Sharia law prescribes these punishments; I don't think they're actually required, are they? If it does, then the law has to change.

Everybody Cut Footloose!

Here, as I see it, is the problem with high school administrators: They are all old pricks who don't want to see anyone have any fun. Schools are banning some dance types because they think they look obscene.

There are too many stupid quotes in this story to pick just one or two. Read and enjoy.

Re: Foreknowledge of 9-11

Regular correspondent Frank Helderman writes:

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor there were years of congressional hearings, and both the Army and Navy commanders in Hawaii never again commanded troops.

The difference, I believe, is in the nature of the response of those bodies being investigated. The Bush administration has stonewalled every single attempt to look behind the curtain of the administration, and has laid the groundwork for accusations of cover up to stick. Although I am not a scholar of the Pearl Harbor inquiries, it is my understanding that they received what one would consider the full co operation of the administration and the War Department, considering, of course that there was a very big war going on. I strongly suspect that getting the Bush administration to co operate fully with an investigation into 9-11 would be like bathing a cat. I strongly suspect the administration will have a great deal of trouble with the now inevitable investigation into 9-11, both from its (possible and by no means proven) misdeeds and its own temperament.

The two things that have so far been revealed that most stick in my craw are Ashcroft’s decision to not fly on commercial aircraft in the second half of the summer, and Bush’s avoidance of the White House in the aftermath of the attacks. Sure, they are important men, and if, God forbid, the worst happened, they would be sorely missed. But Bush and Ashcroft are not irreplaceable. In fact, there is a line of succession for their posts enshrined in the constitution. I wonder if, while Bush was in an undisclosed location, there was not someone vacuuming the Oval Office, someone who might not have a line of succession laid out for what would happen if they were to tragically die. If Washington, D.C. was not a safe enough place for a couple of grown men surrounded by the secret service, surely it was not a safe place for all the women and children who reside in that city. John Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, U. S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, and George Washington, and for that matter George Bush the Elder, all demonstrated at at least one time in their lives that they understood leadership means accepting the danger one asks others to accept. The actions of Bush and Ashcroft look, to this writer, craven in comparison.

I really don't have anything to add; the regard of members of the administration for their own personal safety seems all the more selfish when compared to their lack of concern for ordinary citizens. Ashcroft looks worse than Bush to me; after all, the President was already out of the city when the attacks occurred.

CNN.com - 11 more moons found around Jupiter - May 16, 2002

Are they still naming these moons? I mean, with 39 satellites, even Zeus would run out of lovers to name them after.

CNN.com - Belgium passes right-to-die bill - May 16, 2002

Normally, I would say something snide, in accordance with my Make Fun of the Euros policy. Something like, "If I lived in Belgium, I'd probably want to kill myself too." But this is a Good Thing, and good for the Belgians.

TVA: Restart Unit 1

At Browns Ferry nuclear plant:

Unit 1 began generating power in 1973, then was shut down as dangerous in 1985. The first run included a $100 million fire, frequent safety violations and the discovery that Unit 1's structure didn't match the plans that were supposed to describe it. That led the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and TVA to decide the plant couldn't be operated safely.

Imagine.

If I were one of those terrorists supposedly wanting to blow up a nuke plant on Independence Day, I'd take a close look at Browns Ferry.

With Folk Medicine on Rise, Health Group Is Monitoring

I wouldn't trust WHO to monitor a high school hallway, much less folk medicine.

Aides Say Pope Would Resign if Unfit to Work

I don't think the Pope can resign. They certainly can't make him.

Foreboding Increased, but No Single Agency Had All the Clues

Why is it that law enforcement and intelligence agencies find it so difficult to coordinate their efforts? The FBI knew about the flight schools, and had arrested Moussaoui. Intelligence agencies knew something big was being planned. Any nobody put this all together, because nobody knew all of it.

Carrying On For the Gipper (washingtonpost.com)

They gave Nancy Reagan the Congressional Gold Medal. This is getting ridiculous. It's for her great contribution to the wonderful, and oh-so-successful, drug war.

What it is is an insult to every deserving recipient of the award. I'm no Reagan fan, but giving him the Medal is fine. Giving it to his wife cheapens it.

Deju Vu All Over Again

Back in the early Nineties (remember the Nineties?) CBS and NBC each had a new doctor show on the schedule. CBS' entry was Chicago Hope, produced and written by David E. Kelley, who is probably the Antichrist. NBC had a little show called E.R., you may of heard of it. Both shows were set in hospitals in Chicago, and both were scheduled for 10 PM ET (9 CT) on Thursdays.

Flash forward to this week. CBS has announced a show called Presidio Med about a group of doctors (mostly women), set in San Francisco. It will air Wednesday at 10 PM ET. This comes on the heels of ABC announcing a show about doctors in San Francisco called Meds, which will air Wednesdays at 10 PM ET. Presidio Med even has E.R producers John Wells and Lydia Woodward.

In other words, even network programming has gone into repeats.

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall

I don't suppose anyone cares, but I'm a secular Democrat and I'm with the Israelis.

Questions Swirl Around Bush Over 9-11 Attacks
Administration Knew of Bin Laden Threat in May

May. May!

Obviously, this is Clinton's fault!

This would be a good time to run up your credit card debts

Seen on the marquee at First Free Will Baptist Church:

HE IS COMING

MAY 26, 2002

Well, it was nice while it lasted, I guess. By the way, why is it the guys with "Free Will" in the title who are most likely to tell you what you should do?

Abortion Issue Stalls U.N. Family Planning Funds (washingtonpost.com)

I can't take this anymore. The damned anti-abortion zealots can't get around the idea that there are a lot of desperately poor people out there who have more children than they can feed. That there are a lot of desperately poor countries whose economies and environments have collapsed at least in part due to overpopulation. But that's nothing compared to the need to promote the GOP's medieval social views. Jackasses.

Crusader Savings to Accelerate Development of Other Weapons (washingtonpost.com)

For instance, the "Excalibur" satellite-guided artillery system. I hope they don't run out of medieval names anytime soon. Of course, Congress already said that the Pentagon is going to have Crusader, like it or not. Maybe they can use the Osprey to transport it.

Brief note: I've finally gotten around to setting up my email account for this website. The email address is mac@warliberal.com. Does anyone know the record for most email accounts?

House Republicans Press Senate on Cloning

Human cloning makes me uncomfortable, but then I look at who's opposed to it. At any rate, the research will go on even if it's banned here; I don't think we should fall behind.

Adviser: Arafat to Hold Elections

Somehow I get the feeling that the choices here will be on the same order as Osama's online poll.

WORLD VIEWS

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Robert-Fisk.com. And its page of "WORLD VIEWS", which links to David Duke's website. Robert-Fisk.com isn't affiliated with Fisk, but I just wanted to point out that he and Duke have fans outside Arabia.

Duke's article in the Arab News has been removed. They really need to do a little more background research on their contributors.

Siegelman revives proposal for lottery

Gov. Siegelman campaigned largely on creating a lottery back in '98; it was rejected by the voters the next year. And now he's trying to bring it back.

I think lotteries are stupid and basically a tax on the poor and stupid. I also think saying it's for "education" is a con; money is fungible. So you can't use "lottery funds" to build a swimming pool in the governor's mansion, but you send less tax revenue to education.

On the other hand, Georgia and Florida have lotteries, and Mississippi has casinos. (I'm not sure about Tennessee. Anyone?) A lot of money leaves the state via those routes.

3 men killed, 1 hurt in video rental shop

An apparent robbery of a Blockbuster in Anniston went awry. There's a report that a man of similar description (white male, blond hair, about 20) stabbed a woman at a Movie Gallery (the main local chain) on Monday.

Climber's Grandson Ascends Everest (washingtonpost.com)

Tenzing Norgay's grandson, that is. Edmund Hillary's grandson was in a different expedition, but they don't know if he made it yet. You know, nobody actually knows who the first person to reach the summit was. The Nepalese swore it was Tenzing, the Brits that it was Hillary. And neither of them would say for sure.

Me, I think too many people are climbing Everest. At this rate, there'll be a bus line to the top in a few years.

The Nando Times: Christian Democrats prevail in Dutch elections

You'd think the CD would be far enough to the right to satisfy people. At any rate, Fortuyn's party would seem to be their logical allies in a coalition, but they'd need more than just the two for a government; the Liberals (described as "free-market") would be the third leg.

Hill Group Urges End To Sanctions on Cuba (washingtonpost.com)

Good luck with that. We should end the sanctions; they obviously haven't done much good. But as long as Florida is a key swing state -- as we're very much aware, thank you Palm Beach County -- and as long as the Cuban exiles are powerful there, no President is going to take the first steps.

ajc.com | News | Bush warned of hijackings

Incompetence. Simple incompetence. People (and I use that term advisedly) are going to accuse the Bush administration of allowing 9-11 to happen for political reasons. But the real problem is simple; we didn't see that it would happen. Maybe we should have. But nobody associated the hijacking plot with Atta and company going to flight school. Nobody thought that they would use planes as missiles.

Jurassic Carp

Australians Plan Genetically Modified Warfare Against Invading Carp

Science is fun. Here's Australia, worried about invading European carp, and they plan to fight it by releasing more carp, this time with a gene that will ensure only males are born from them. I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong here.

"If you turn everything into a male, sooner or later the population collapses," said Ron Thresher of the CSIRO, Australia's national research organization.

I am not going to touch that statement with a ten-foot pole.

China Craze Threatens Asian Turtles

Turtle jelly? I'm sorry that I seem to be on a pick-on-various-Chinese-people kick, but yuck.

"It's good for my skin," said 18-year-old waiter Jeff Cheung. "I eat it whenever I have pimples."

God, I hate people like this. Leaving aside that it doesn't work, grinding up members of an endangered species to cure pimples... I was going to say I hoped he got disgusting growths all over his body, but God knows what he'd do about that.

CNN.com - Report: Arctic warming imperils polar bears - May 15, 2002

Well, for one thing a lot of them live on ice sheets over water, don't they? If the ice melts, that would be kind of difficult... I understand, but dislike, the "symbol species" idea used by the (now one-and-only!) WWF and other environmental groups. It's not just polar bears that are endangered, but animals of many types through the arctic ecosystem. But the polar bears are showy, and they're so cute when they're computer-animated!

AP Wire | 05/15/2002 | Dead Dolphins Found in Farm Freezer

Oh, ick. This was in Taiwan, where dolphins are protected. The stories say that they're a "protected species", which is nonsense because "dolphin" describes several species of animal in at least two genera that I know of, but never mind...

Sources Say Pena Is Royals' Choice

Tony Pena -- who had the weirdest catching stance ever seen (it looked like a dancer warming up) -- is going to be the manager of the hapless Royals. Tony Pena, whose entire career I remember. I feel old.

Jimmy Carter's speech broadcast to the Cuban people

That vision includes a Cuba fully integrated into a democratic hemisphere, participating in a Free Trade Area of the Americas and with our citizens traveling without restraint to visit each other. I want a massive student exchange between our universities. I want the people of the United States and Cuba to share more than a love of baseball and wonderful music. I want us to be friends, and to respect each other.

Oh my God, how horrible. Stone him! Stone the infidel!

I am not using a U.S. definition of ''democracy.'' The term is embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Cuba signed in 1948, and it was defined very precisely by all the other countries of the Americas in the Inter-American Democratic Charter last September. It is based on some simple premises: all citizens are born with the right to choose their own leaders, to define their own destiny, to speak freely, to organize political parties, trade unions and non-governmental groups, and to have fair and open trials.

To everyone who was upset with Jimmy Carter going to Cuba -- and I wasn't too happy about it myself. -- have you been paying attention the last forty years? Isolating Cuba clearly hasn't worked. All it's done is hurt the Cuban people and given Castro someone to blame for any problems. Oh, and made the US look like a bully. I think it's time to try engagement, but that's politically impossible right now. So we're going to go on pretending that Castro is another Saddam. He's a bad man, but he's not in that class.

AP Wire | 05/15/2002 | Spanish officials: Terrorist attack thwarted

Their old pals, the Basque separatists of ETA, were looking to make an attack on a summit in Madrid involving leaders from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. (Apparently, the latter two will be hitting the former up for cash.) Just remember, terrorism isn't confined to the Middle East, and the Europeans do have a lot of experience with it. I'm not particularly impressed by the way they've handled it, though.

Napster executive, founder both resign as part of mounting turmoil

Napster probably isn't long for this world. Which comes as a great surprise to us who didn't realize it was actually still doing business. I still think that the labels made a horrible mistake by attacking Napster rather than embracing it. All they did was spread the virus throughout the net to too many sources to shut down.

ajc.com | Living | Paul McCartney: Getting better all the time

That headline is absolutely, 100 percent, completely incorrect.

Pre-Attack Memo Cited Bin Laden

In defense of the FBI, this was just speculation, and they couldn't -- and can't -- investigate everything suspicious. It's not just a matter of manpower, it's the boy who cried wolf. Most of the time, there's nothing to this sort of speculation, and if they'd spent all that time and energy chasing ghosts, eventually people would get sick of it.

Report: India, Pakistan Were Near Nuclear War in '99 (washingtonpost.com)

Some people, I know, worry that India and Pakistan might be more willing to go nuclear than the old-line nuclear powers. To a degree, that seems like a cultural judgment I'm not comfortable with. But in the case of Pakistan, at least, it makes sense. Pakistan is much smaller and weaker than its rival; if a full-fledged war did break out it might have to go nuclear or face ruin.

Bobbitt charged with assaulting new wife

You'd think that John Wayne Bobbitt would have learned his lesson by now. He's been kicked off of "Celebrity Boxing" for the incident. There is no place for violence in fake boxing!

CNN.com - Arafat urges overhaul of Palestinian government - May 15, 2002

OK, so you're Yasser Arafat. You're this close to being removed from power -- or this mortal coil. As a power-hungry petty despot, you have two choices. You can either grab hold tight and try to last as long as you can, or you can accept that you're going to be a figurehead. Surprisingly, to me anyway, it looks like he's going to take option two, but he's still going to drag his feet.

Backfence: Yoda, shmoda! Lucas can't direct

James Lileks dares to speak the truth. (Via Possumblog.)

The Miami Herald | 05/12/2002 | The high cost of changing Panhandle's name

Marketing types want to change the name of Florida's Panhandle region to the "Great Northwest". Which (a) sounds like a collegiate sports conference, and (b) also sounds like Oregon and Washington, or possibly even Canada.

Heck, they must really hate what we call the area -- especially Panama City and Pensacola -- around here: "Lower Alabama". Culturally, it's basically part of 'Bama anyway, you know.

Body discovered in attic after resident complains of blood dripping from ceiling

One of those things that seems to happen a lot in South Florida.

''It could be as innocent as someone going up in the crawl space and suffering a heart attack, or as sinister as a homicide,'' Schwartz said.

Um... People who suffer heart attacks don't normally start bleeding externally, do they?

Carter speech to be carried on local TV, radio

In Miami, anyway. The link says it will be available on the Internet as well, but the story doesn't. Anyway, I don't speak Spanish, though I can read it a little.

Bono To Tour Africa With Treasury Secretary

I don't think "Treasury Secretary" is a very good name for a band, do you? Oh, he's touring with the actual Treasury Secretary, and they're not doing concerts. Which is kind of weird, but OK, I guess.

BBC News | SCI/TECH | Starship dream moves closer

The Planetary Society is sponsoring a test of a solar-sail spacecraft, scheduled for this fall. Wow.

Stone Knives and Bearskins

NASA needs 8086 chips

They're also looking for eight-inch floppy drives. Heck, those were already obsolete in 1981, weren't they?

Jacko to moonwalk into space?

Michael Jackson wants to go to outer space... So many snide comments... Brain overloading... ARGH!

I just had an idea for the next poll. Excuse me a moment.

CNN.com - Parents of Aaliyah sue Virgin over fatal crash - May 14, 2002

Remember: No matter what happens to cause injury, you can always sue somebody. That's what America is all about!

Great Moments in Psychiatric Disorders

Moon's Dust Hides a Throbbing Heart

William J. Broad of the NYT appears to have some sort of sexual hangup involving the moon.

It takes two and a half seconds for a laser beam to flash from Earth to the Moon and back again. But it has taken 33 years of doing such experiments for scientists to glimpse what may be the Moon's greatest secret: that far beneath its cold craters and rocky landscape lies a heart that is warm and yielding.

Other words included in this story: "born", "sensitive", "pliable", "bulging", "melted heart", "Love numbers".

Seriously, current astronomical theory holds that the moon is the product of a collision between a rogue planet and the Earth in the very early days of the solar system. Scientists are hoping to discover that the lunar core is partially molten, which would reinforce the theory.

Maryland Priest Shot by Accuser, Police Say

This was inevitable. As long as these vermin are allowed to walk free and unpunished, is it any wonder that their victims try to take the law into their own hands? I'm not advocating vigilantism, but I understand the impulse. The Church isn't doing anyone -- even the perpetrators -- any favors by hushing things up.

Weird Things I Have Cataloged

Close the 49th parallel etc.; the Americanization of Canada

Just now, in fact. This book was published in 1970; I can't imagine what the authors of the essays included therein think now.

Canadians vow to fight U.S. farm bill

They claim it's a NAFTA violation. Go to it, but I doubt this will work.

I'm taken with the picture illustrating this story. First, it looks like one of the Onion's doctored photographs. Second, what is the deal with the teeth of the guy on the right?

Fight the welfare state: Bring Back Clinton!

[Thanks to Charles Kuffner for pointing out how horribly I messed up the html on this post. I forget to close quotes sometimes.]

I just wanted to drop a line inviting anyone who's a baseball fan to pay a visit to the newly refurbished Braves Journal.

Riley says he wants to ease tax burden on the poor

US Congressman Bob Riley, who is running for Alabama governor (and is leading in the polls, though I think he's going to lose anyway), is a Republican. And I don't think he got the party's memo.

The Alabama tax system is (in my mind) a scandal. The state relies heavily on sales taxes, which are placed across the board, including on food. In some areas, they reach over ten percent. There is an income tax, but it's a terribly designed one. As it works out, the tax burden falls disproportionately upon the poor and lower-middle class.

Riley is from Clay County, in East-Central Alabama; I have some family connections there. It's extremely rural, as rural as anywhere east of the Mississippi. (If this link works, the star is the county seat of Ashland.) Clay County's most famous native son, by far, is Hugo Black.

High Court Upholds L.A. In Bid to Curb Sex Shops (washingtonpost.com)

I'm guessing this is what the NYT thought it was headlining yesterday. I hate to agree with Scalia & Co., but I think this was the right call.

Officials Affirm Support For Palestinian State (washingtonpost.com)

But the United States government is a pawn of the Jewish lobby and never goes against Israel, right? I mean, that's what all the Arabs and their allies tell me.

Yourish.com

Imbeciles.

A group of Palestinian supporters in San Francisco attacked students at a "Peace in the Middle East" rally, organized by Hillel; it basically turned into an anti-Semitic riot. The Bay Area likes to believe it's more tolerant than the rest of America. It needs to understand that the one thing a tolerant society can not tolerate is intolerance.

TAP: Vol 13, Iss. 10. Civilization and its Discontents. Garrett Epps.

You know, I think I liked Civ II better. Civ III is good, but the prior version was a revelation.

Happy-Face mailbox bomb boy Luke Helder's band's website is back up.

File not found!

Ladies and gentlemen, Marvin the Paranoid Web Server. (Via Alice in TV Land.)

Turner: Frontier In American History

A little Manifest Destiny reading for everyone.

CNN.com - Billionaire seeks to glide to edge of space - May 9, 2002

What is the deal with rich people, anyway?

CNN.com - Monster iceberg breaks off Antarctic ice shelf - May 10, 2002

But there is no such thing as global warming! Don't worry your pretty little heads about it!

CNN.com - Cuban biotech boom: Risk or rescue? - May 13, 2002

A while back, I ridiculed the idea of including Cuba as a second-generation member of the Axis of Evil, thinking it was just the usual paranoia about Castro. I still think that's more or less true, but this does make me reconsider.

In Florida, a Limbo for Haitians Only

Mr. Jeanty and nearly 300 other Haitians seeking political asylum in the United States have been held in detention centers for more than five months, under a Bush administration directive that does not apply to refugees of any other nationality.

Gosh. What is it that Haitians have in common with each other, but not with most other people looking for sanctuary in the US? Hmm...

Great Moments In Headline Writing

May 13, 2002: The NYT uses a headline that has nothing to do with the story below except "High Court".

High Court Partially Upholds Adult Business Zoning Law

This is about the "Childrens Online Protection Act" -- i.e., an internet porn law. (I'm dying to make a pun here. It's the COPAcaBANa! Ha!) There's no zoning involved here. The justices, by the usual 5-4, said that the use of community standards doesn't make the law unconstitutional. Which is stupid, since the Internet is everywhere and almost anything is offensive in some community, but that never bothered the Ninoites. I'm disappointed in Clarence Thomas, really.

Anyway, the government won't be able to put the law into effect yet, because there are other problems. I think it will eventually be shot down.

Hindu Nationalists Are Enrolling, and Enlisting, India's Poor

While "poverty breeds terrorism" has been widely discredited, don't forget that the middle-class radicals who run revolutions do look to the poor for their muscle.

This is a very disturbing story, and the parallels between the Hindu nationalists of the title and some Islamist groups are scary. Consider:

Education is a centerpiece of the Hindu revivalist campaign, which is natural, considering its cause: to build a Hindu nation out of what is officially a secular country with rights accorded to religious minorities.

The next paragraph talks of critics describing the schools as the "madrassas of the Hindu right". What their educational program is can perhaps be seen from what the government has pushed on universities -- like astrology and "Vedic Mathematics". Or its version of world history, based on the Vedas -- unless the Vedas say uncomfortable things. For example, the Vedas are very clear that the Aryans invaded the subcontinent, but the Hindu right claims that they were the native people.

India has its problems, but it's one of the bright lights of Asia. Secularly governed, democratic, relatively progressive, and growing more prosperous even if more populous... And even there, religion-based extremism is rearing its ugly head. Then again, it made strong inroads in the US itself during the eighties.

[I just noticed that part of a phrase dropped out somehow -- most likely, I idiotically forgot to type it in the first place -- in the last paragraph. I've fixed it.]

CNN.com - Ex-Klansman faces trial in deadly 1963 church bombing - May 13, 2002

"Ex"-Klansman... Yeah, he's reformed all the way.

I've talked about this before. Bobby Cherry is certainly guilty; he's also certainly gotten away with the murder of four girls for forty years. Closure is nice, but let's not pretend that sending away a senile old man for what he did in 1963 is anything close to enough punishment.

Littlefield on Other Side of Thursday Battle

Warren Littlefield, who used to be the NBC Entertainment President, is producing a show that's going to air on the WB Thursdays, 730 CT. The funny thing about that is that Littlefield is the man who created the NBC tradition of airing nothing even vaguely watchable in that timeslot.

Sears to Buy Lands' End for $1.9 Billion

Hey, look who's back in the catalog business!

Bush Announces Arms Pact With Russia

These cuts -- if they actually happen -- will cut deep into the two countries' nuclear arsenals. I'm not sure why we needed seven thousand nukes, but we'll be getting rid of about two-thirds of them. A side benefit of this where Bush is concerned is that lower levels of nukes to worry about would make SDI more workable.

Carter gets a friendly welcome in Havana

To be fair, Cuba's no worse than any number of places (Saudi Arabia, anyone?) American presidents and ex-presidents (George the Elder, anyone?) visit all the time. But this is still really stupid.

CNN.com - Arafat prepared to accept Israeli state - May 13, 2002

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Sunday he is prepared to accept a Jewish state called Israel.

"As long as," he didn't add, "this 'Israel' is not in Palestine."