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Friday, April 30, 2004 I take it back... about Ba'ashir. The Indonesian police re-arrested him, this time on terrorism charges. The new arrest inspired a crowd of his supporters to throw rocks and "firebombs" at riot cops, and generally blame America."Clearly this is intervention from foreigners, namely the United States," said well-known Muslim leader Din Syamsuddin. Wasn't me, I swear. All I did was blog about it. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 8:01 AM Bye-bye DubaiMy friend Ines, from Boston, leaves Dubai this week after six months in the United Arab Emirates. She's a modern German chick who takes no guff, as a rule, from backward-minded Arab men, but she writes in an e-mail that she'll miss the place. "I will miss the calls for prayer from the nearbymosque, I will miss the green Gulf coffee, I will miss the sand and the sun and the palm trees. I wish everybody had the opportunity to experience a different culture at least once in their lives, to see for themselves how similar we are, how the same things matter and how much we can learn from each other." Isn't that sweet? But what could she mean about green Gulf coffee? Here's a snapshot of a camel crossing somewhere in the UAE: 
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Thursday, April 29, 2004 Grief of Various KindsThom Gunn and Hubert Selby, Jr., resquiat in pacem; and the editrix of Waterbones writes eloquently on the death of her father. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:32 PMWednesday, April 28, 2004 Jokers Left and RightIndonesia will free Abu Bakar Baashir this Friday, "despite intense pressure from Washington and Canberra and a series of police statements indicating that new, incriminating evidence [about the Bali bombing] has surfaced." Baashir leads Jemaah Islamiyah. But it's an election year, and the Sukarnoputri government can't be seen bowing to "foreign pressure." I guess terrorist pressure is OK, as long as it's domestic. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 10:16 PMTuesday, April 27, 2004 The Passion of the MullahsRodger Jacobs has a hard, well-written essay on both Mel Gibson and an Iranian porn star over at 8763 Wonderland. Jacobs got in touch with me after reading Too Much of Nothing. I've never met him, but the site's worth checking out. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 8:45 PMGood LordCheney gave a cynical speech about Kerry and his war record at Westminster College in Missouri:In 1946, Winston Churchill went to Westminster College with President Harry Truman to deliver his famous speech about the growing threat of Communism, in which he coined the phrase "Iron Curtain." Speaking at the same venue, the vice president drew a parallel between the Cold War and the current war on terrorism -- and between Bush and the famed British wartime leader. Why was he not laughed off the stage? posted by Michael Scott Moore | 6:35 PM Library RouletteHere's an amusing game from Dr. Frank, via Matt Welch.* Grab the nearest book. * Open the book to page 23. * Find the fifth sentence. * Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. From a review copy of Wakefield, a new novel by Andrei Codrescu: "It started raining as soon as he was out the door." Yes, well. I'm having that kind of week myself. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:56 AM Sunday, April 25, 2004 AarrrrrrrghOne thing about Indonesia: pirates. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 7:04 PMSaturday, April 24, 2004 Department of Contrary OpinionsRegular readers know how little we like the Saudi family here at Radio Free Mike, and highlights from the Woodward book give us a lot to despise. But here's a discussion with Walter Russell Mead, who argues that Bush's policy toward Iraq and terrorism has improved things in Saudi Arabia, and maybe avoided the disaster of a coup in Riyadh by Osama.Before September 11, writes Mead, I think we were looking at a possible death spiral in Saudi Arabia, with the chance of a pro-Al Qaeda faction in the royal family or from elsewhere taking over. Removing US troops from the Kingdom has already had a big impact in changing the balance of forces in Saudi Arabia. If Osama had succeeded in his original goal of overthrowing the government there and setting up a government of his own, we would be facing much greater threats and much uglier choices than we now have. Of course, keeping the Saudis in place is not real reform. It's just a bulwark against Wahhabists. And Mead has nothing to say about the family friendship between the Bushes and the al-Saud. But here's what bothers me. The standard Radio Free Mike line these days is that Saudi Arabia should have been "dealt with" before Iraq, because Saddam wasn't sponsoring Al Qaeda, while certain Saudis were. So what, exactly, do I mean by "dealt with"? A threat of war? Something like: Tame your terrorists, or we change your government? (or at least secure those oil fields, which lie in the east, away from Mecca and Medina)? Unimaginable. Iraq's been easy by comparison. Still, the the Wahhabist virus, undermining a corrupt and faltering royal regime, hasn't gone away. We invaded Iraq hoping the House of Saud stays intact. But it can't, not forever, and not if we're dedicated to democracy in the Middle East. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 1:22 AM Friday, April 23, 2004 What's so dangerous about this photograph?
Absolutely nothing. Huh. Say it again -- posted by Michael Scott Moore | 3:13 AM Wednesday, April 21, 2004 It's to Be CoolPart of the Indonesia trip next month will involve a meet-up with some young artists in Jogjakarta who used to belong to an outfit called Apotik Komik, before it disbanded. Apotik Komik means "comic medicine," or "comic pharmacy"; their artwork is comic-book-inspired. I met an Apotik founder named Sam Indratma while he and his friends built and painted new murals in San Francisco last fall. (They're some of the best murals in a city that badly needs good ones. I'll post photos later.) I gave Sam a copy of the novel; we talked for all of five minutes; now he's arranging a colloquy of writers to discuss Too Much of Nothing in Jogja. And otherwise being very helpful."I will go with you with my motorcyle around to meet my friends," he writes by e-mail. "It's to be cool man." posted by Michael Scott Moore | 1:18 AM Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Another Pier Image
... from Stephen Linsley. I'm addicted to this guy. You can almost smell the ocean off his photos. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 2:44 AM Monday, April 19, 2004 Reason for DespairSome people have clucked with worry over the trip to Indonesia next month, but politics in that country are going better than politics here. There's hope for peace in Iraq (and the Middle East) only if Israel makes peace with the Palestinians, or vice-versa, and Bush knows that damn well. But even staid outlets like the Newshour and the Christian Science Monitor have been unequivocal about Bush's support for Sharon last week. "He appears to have cemented the view widely held across Arab states that the US is no longer the 'honest broker' it once was in the Middle East," writes the Monitor.The U.S. does not need to be loved around the world in order to serve as a responsible stabilizing force, but Bush's utter blindness or apathy toward Arab opinion is appalling. I'll feel safer in Indonesia. UPDATE: The King of Jordan snubbed Bush over this issue from California, meaning he decided to cancel his date in Washington even though it was on the way home. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 12:24 AM Friday, April 16, 2004 Shut up about Vietnam alreadyComparisons to Vietnam still sound weak to me, in spite of near-constant buttressing by stories on Reuters. The real analogy is Lebanon. "Vietnam" may work as fuzzy Western rhetoric about quagmires and hopeless causes, but I think for Arabs the parallel between Iraq and Lebanon are clear. Israel occupied Lebanon to control PLO terrorists operating across its border, thinking Lebanese Shi'ites would welcome liberation. They were wrong. Israel pulled out 18 years later. (Vietnam lasted 13.)OH YEAH: I haven't mentioned Bush's speech on Tuesday because there isn't much to comment on. His opening pep talk was ringing but obvious; the news conference was bumbling. Of course our troops have to stick around as long as it takes to stabilize Iraq. But Bush is in charge; he should have something visionary to say. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 11:22 PM Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Banana Trees in L.A.Spending time around Hollywood this afternoon made me realize I was dead wrong about something -- L.A. is lousy with banana trees. They're almost as common as palms or sycamores. Why I never registered that is a mystery. I think banana fronds must be such an old, natural memory for me in L.A. that I never bothered to think out loud, "Those are bananas."Also, the novel is on shelves and available at the rather incredible Los Angeles Public Library. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 7:10 AM Tuesday, April 13, 2004 Scalia apologizes... and just barely escapes a drubbing on this blog. Bob Herbert got to him, though. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 6:45 AMMonday, April 12, 2004 SkylightThe reading from Too Much of Nothing went well on Saturday. Thanks to Ms. Tedford at Beverly Hills High for sending some of her English students. Where, though, was Ms. Tedford herself? She and I went to Mira Costa together, in another century. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 9:30 PMFriday, April 09, 2004 The New LebanonThe miserable news from Iraq is hard to comment on, aside from calling it miserable. Vietnam comparisons aren't helpful yet, but comparisons to Lebanon are. Sullivan hopes the uprising will calm after June 30, because it'll be Iraqis in power, not Americans. I think that's laughable. Iraq is too splintered to be quelled by any provisional government; and the simple presence of American troops — outfitted like Israelis, running checkpoints — would be enough to recruit new terrorists.We can't pull out, though. The war was an all-or-nothing gamble. If it works, the Middle East might improve. If it fails, we might think about colonizing someplace else in the solar system. (I hear one of Saturn's moons has good surf.) Sullivan makes a cutting point about Bush's leadership: "We need a real speech and a thorough explanation of what is going on. We need an honest, candid, clear war-president. Where is he?" Hah. Leadership -- as opposed to patronizing, leave-it-to-us bumbling, flip-flopping, and deception -- has not been the White House's style. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 6:32 PM Thursday, April 08, 2004 BOOMI woke up listening to Condoleezza Rice talking on the radio about national-security warnings before September 11, which is not exactly starting the day in style. But it made me think of the old Radio Free Mike cover story about a bomb threat over the Atlantic in May 2001.UPDATE: My friend Marc calls this post "egregious." posted by Michael Scott Moore | 5:22 PM Wednesday, April 07, 2004 Too Much of Nothing event!Mike reads from the novel at Skylight Books this Saturday, April 10, at 7:30 pm -- not 7pm, the time reported elsewhere on this site. The mix-up won't be so bad; it is a good browsing store.Skylight Books 1818 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027 Kevin Roderick has posted something over at LA Observed... posted by Michael Scott Moore | 7:59 PM Dang
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Reason for HopeMonday's election in Indonesia (to select a parliament, and winnow down the presidential candidates) is being called "history's biggest one-day vote" by Reuters and some other outfits. And it went okay. No fundamentalist sweep, no explosions; early results show an erosion of support for the corrupt ineffectual Megawati Sukarnoputri (who faces re-election in July) and a surprise boost for General Susilo Bambang Yudyohono, a small-party underdog who may be the least bad of all the possible presidential candidates. Nothing I read three months ago predicted he would be a serious contender.The ugly part is that corrupt former tyrant Suharto's party, Golkar, may be gaining ground. Or, as one watcher put it in the Reuters piece: "Actually, Golkar has not reaped any gain... What they have done is maintain [their] level." But then, Indonesia has one of the most corrupt governments on the planet. These results are, in general, really not all that spectacularly bad. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 2:00 AM Monday, April 05, 2004 Hezbollah in Iraq?A few weeks ago we pointed out that Hezbollah was looking for a foothold in the new, free Iraq. The New York Times adds a detail in its piece on Moktada al-Sadr, the young Shiite who let loose his dogs this weekend after Bremer shut down his newspaper:On Friday, he announced that he was opening Iraqi chapters of Hezbollah and Hamas, militant pro-Palestinian groups that Israel and the United States consider terrorist organizations. "I am the beating arm for Hezbollah and Hamas here in Iraq," he said. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 8:54 AM Friday, April 02, 2004 Ralph Nader, Patsy?According to the Dallas Morning News:Nearly 10 percent of the Nader contributors who have given him at least $250 each have a history of supporting the Republican president, national GOP candidates or the party, according to computer-assisted review of financial records by The Dallas Morning News. ... "Republicans are well aware that Ralph Nader played a spoiler role in the 2000 election. And there is no reason why they wouldn't want to encourage and help him do so again in 2004," said Jano Cabrera, a spokesman for the Democrat National Committee. Via Rick Berlin. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 7:07 AM Thursday, April 01, 2004 Alternative Book Cover
Perhaps the coolest photo of the Manhattan Beach Pier in existence. It also, eerily, works as a near illustration of the novel's opening scene. The real gelatin print is larger, and copyrighted (by Stephen Linsley). Click the photo for an online gallery of more sublime Linsley pier images. posted by Michael Scott Moore | 8:58 AM | |
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