a berlin blog
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a berlin blog |
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Thursday, May 29, 2003 Weapons of Mass whateverThe U.S. government's latest and best information on Iraq's WMD program is compiled here, and Josh Marshall has some general comments from a few days ago. He's right: It's still too early to know if the weapons threat was an absolute hoax, but it sure looks like there was some political exaggeration.UPDATE, 5/30: The more I read about this, the angrier I get. Another NY Times piece has this little aside: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz cited bureaucratic reasons for focusing on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, and said a ``huge'' result of the war was to enable Washington to withdraw its troops from Saudi Arabia. So part of the idea, if I have this straight, was to give in to Osama without seeming to give in? "Well, you're right, Mr. Terrorist, we don't want our troops in Saudi Arabia, either. So we'll just invade Iraq and pretend to be tough while avoiding at all costs any confrontation with Riyadh. Then we'll get our troops out of the Holy Land." Smart idea, Paul. Not honest, but wily as hell. Now how do you propose getting our troops out of Iraq? posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:39 PM Sunday, May 25, 2003 Department of Homeland ScrutinyJosh Marshall is doing a nice job blogging the Department of Homeland Security scandal in Texas. Start near the bottom if you're not familiar with the details. I think it's fascinating as well as scary that Tom Ridge's new outfit has been turned to domestic political spying so soon. I mean, it's not like they were just sitting around with nothing to do, right? I've also noticed how even libertarian bloggers — Instapundit, Sullivan — are covering the matter no better than their favorite whipping-boy, the liberal press. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 1:44 AMFriday, May 23, 2003 Long Strange TripMy wife and I once hiked half a day into the Sierra Chincua mountains in Mexico to see where monarch butterflies hang upside-down in trees, flutter around in the sunlight, and reproduce before their descendants start flying north again, to Canada. The trip in each direction takes not just several months, but two or three generations of butterflies. They're hard-wired, in other words, for the route across North America. Here's some new research on how it works, but this older piece on magnetic navigation is even curioser. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:09 PMTuesday, May 20, 2003 Bin Laden and FamilyI just found a somewhat old piece by investigative reporter Greg Palast — darling of the British left, but originally from the San Fernando Valley — that gives details on the great Saudi terrorism cover-up stretching back to Clinton and Bush père. The story fleshes out hints by Bob Graham that official Saudis financed, knew about, or were otherwise involved up to their beards in the September 11 assaults. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 8:39 PMMonday, May 19, 2003 Ocean Beach 2The troublesome photo should now be working. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 6:14 PMSpend or squander?Instapundit links to this Jonathan Rauch piece in Reason about the Iraq invasion. Did Bush "squander" world support after September 11 — as we've argued more than once on Radio Free Mike — or "spend" it, on a bold new foreign policy? Rauch says he spent it, wisely:Bush is no sophisticate, but he has the great virtue — not shared by most sophisticates — of knowing a dead policy when he sees one. So he gathered up the world's goodwill and his own political capital, spent the whole bundle on dynamite, and blew the old policy to bits. However things come out in Iraq, the war's larger importance is to leave little choice, going forward, but to put America on the side of Arab reform. I actually think that's convincing. Our earlier policy was no good. But Rauch and Glenn Reynolds both seem optimistic about Bush's spending spree; most of us at Radio Free Mike are not. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 3:19 AM Wednesday, May 14, 2003 Reading materialTwo new books I've been reading, and liking, by friends of mine are Gearheads, by Brad Stone, about the history of battle robots, and a novel called Sunset Terrace, by Rebecca Donner, about scrappy girls and their husbandless moms in a low-rent Los Angeles apartment complex.Naturally I think it's a good year for books. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 11:17 PM Salam PaxSince I keep linking to his site, I should point people to the Salam Pax controversy raging over at Little Green Footballs, among many other blogs. A Candian journalist just published a piece arguing that Pax is a spoiled Ba'athist child, shilling for Saddam, who's jerked fawning Western readers around by the nose. The evidence that he comes from a privileged Ba'athist family is hard to deny. But the rest is sheer speculation. Just because he doesn't like how the U.S. has gone about its war, and says so on his blog — which has been harsh on Saddam in a free, sarcastic way I doubt Saddam would have tolerated — doesn't mean he's a spy. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 11:04 PMTuesday, May 13, 2003 News from Baghdad... is not good lately. Here's a pessimistic column by Martin Walker from UPI, backed up by Salam Pax's observations on the street. Both writers want to know why the American civil administration seems to have no idea what to do. "I keep wondering," writes Pax, "what happened to the months of 'preparation' for a 'post-saddam' Iraq ... Why is every single issue treated like they have never thought it would come up?" posted by Michael Scott Moore | 11:46 PMi-Loos!The idea was that Intenet-ready portable toilets, powered by Microsoft, would be world-premiered at British music festivals this summer. I heard this story on NPR last night — a good two weeks after Microsoft emitted a press release on it from its British division — and to me, encouraging people to check e-mail or update their blogs from the toilet seat sounded like an excellent way to keep bathroom lines from moving. But the story's a hoax. Microsoft got around to correcting itself today.Urinal-based videogames are a far better idea. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:45 PM Fifth Column watchWhy is an associate of bin Laden's defending him in the Manchester Guardian? Instapundit wants to know. George Galloway's involved, too. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:34 PMFriday, May 09, 2003 The oil trustIn theory and in name, the oil trust idea is a good one. From Slate a few days ago: "An Iraqi [oil] trust, insulated from greedy politicians and the daily demands of government, could fund the best long-term investments the nation can make in itself." The ideal is a pool of money to hold oil profits for the Iraqi people, to keep some new leader from coming in and growing rich and corrupt off the country's natural resources. That includes, of course, the U.S. But as the Post reports it, in the proposal we're handing the U.N., "the proceeds would be placed in a trust fund controlled by the United States and its military allies." Never mind how that looks and sounds; opening such a catch-free revenue stream for ourselves, even temporarily, is one way to insure we'll stick around and meddle.Of course, giving the U.N. control of the cash is just a way of encouraging other countries to stick around and meddle. [sigh] posted by Michael Scott Moore | 9:16 AM Thursday, May 08, 2003 Ocean BeachBlogging will be light for a week or so, because we're moving. Here's a view of Ocean Beach from the rooftop of our new building. No, the apartment does not have an ocean view. But still.
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Ring Them Bells 2After a blogging silence as long as the war itself (brought on by the destruction of Baghdad's phone system), Salam Pax is alive and well. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 1:14 AMMonday, May 05, 2003 Urine ControlThis is hilarious. But don't tell Bill Bennett.UPDATE: Here's a guide to peeing while standing, for women. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 12:56 AM The (Wavering) Moral CompassBill Bennett has gambled away about 8 million dollars, says the Washington Times, but hasn't touched the "milk money." I'm not sure which is more disgusting, that the pompous arbiter of our national morals has a whispered-about gambling jones, or that his family can absorb the hit when their patriarch dumps millions into slot machines. Beautiful quote from a Sullivan reader: "I'd certainly never let him in on advance inside information about a big planned drug bust, not ever again. Gambling at the Bennett level is not bean bag. The connection between drug dealing and organized gambling is clear and people who are in one pursuit are always — always! — linked to the other." Via Josh Marshall. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 12:54 AMThursday, May 01, 2003 14 SaddamsA new play about the war is going up in London's West End, and Michael Hyatt, former director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a front-runner to play Saddam Hussein. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:21 PM | |
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