A pint of Guinness and a packet of redundant ad executives, please
Will no-one rid of us this turbulent multinational corporation, Diageo, that owns Guinness? Here, courtesy of one of the sane parts of the Wall Street Journal, is their latest wheeze (subs. req'd). The headline promises
Guinness Warms To Vintage Ads For Newer Beer
and so one thinks: are they bringing back the classic ads like Guinness is Good For You, and the images of the man carrying a railway beam on his shoulder, and the beloved pelican? But read on and weep:
This summer, Diageo plans for the first time to dig into its advertising archive and to bring back some of its old TV ads to market Guinness Draught Extra Cold, a chillier version of its signature dark-brown beer...
It is looking at reviving a Guinness character from the 1990s -- a man who does a series of crazed, comical dances around a pint of Guinness in anticipation of his first sip...
The image of a cycling fish from the "Not Everything in Black and White Makes Sense" campaign that ran in the early 1990s also may return. In the ad, as Rodgers and Hammerstein's "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair" plays, Gloria Steinem's quip "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" is flashed before a giant fish gripping a bike's handlebars rides across the screen.
Where to begin? The 1990s is now "vintage" so what's going on here is more to do with tapping into the same audience demand that has made the BBC/VH1 decade review shows so popular. In this case what that means is that Guinness is staying with the genre of beer marketing that can't just stop telling us how downright wacky beer can be, complete with lame sitcom-style histronics and faux-absurdity in the ads. God be with the days when a product was pitched in terms of intrinsic characteristics.
But the biggest problem is that this is not an ad campaign for the original blackstuff, but the odious Guinness Extra Cold. Last year we brought to your attention the outrage that this glass of gullet-freezing shards of ice had brought to that fine barometer of Irish public opinion, the letters page of the Irish Times. The letters are sufficiently funny that we recommend you check it out again. If Diageo can dig up old ads, then we can certainly refer you to old posts.
Perhaps to end the week on a constructive note, let us suggest an alternative Guinness Extra Cold ad campaign for the suits at Diageo...we get OutKast to do just a slight reworking of the brilliant Hey Ya:
Andre "Extra Cold" 3000: What's cooler than being cool?
The Love Haters: Extra Cold!
UPDATE: The evil that Diageo does knows no bounds. They are increasing the price of a pint. The knockon effect of tax and a matching increase from pubs will be substantial.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Read Headlines With Care
DOZENS OF SAME-SEX COUPLES MARRY IN MASS.
Mass., as in Massachusetts; the Catholic Church is not suddenly doing gay religious weddings.
DOZENS OF SAME-SEX COUPLES MARRY IN MASS.
Mass., as in Massachusetts; the Catholic Church is not suddenly doing gay religious weddings.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
The nightmare in Gaza
There is an interesting post and subsequent discussion on the Crooked Timber blog-collective about the relative lack of punditry, either of the institutional or freelance variety, on yesterday's civilian deaths in Gaza, apparently from the use of heavy weapons by the Israeli military on a civilian demonstration. From our own perspective, the problem in commenting on this latest loss of life is the futility of the rounds of condemnation that occur after events like this in the face of complete impotence to do anything about it. Everyone knows that Ariel Sharon has the nod and wink from Dubya to be ultra-repressive in the Occupied Territories, and anyway the civilian casualties in Iraq undercut much of the moral authority of the US to complain about civilian casualties in Gaza -- the US being the only critic that Ariel would take remotely seriously.
One of the followup comments to the CT post draws on the Irish history of the march gone wrong:
...whilst leaving a great deal of room for nasty possibilities in between [that Israeli military deliberately targets civilians versus it being scrupulously careful not to]. To take an example from another conflict: did the British Army have a deliberate policy of killing civilians back in 1972? No. Were most British soldiers decent people who would not knowing fire into an unarmed crowd? Yes, most of them probably were. Did soldiers from the Parachute Regiment kill thirteen people on Bloody Sunday? They sure did.
Indeed, we had used a Bloody Sunday reference to highlight the bad historical predecent for the US Army's killing of civilians last year in Fallujah -- and we all know how well things in Fallujah turned out since.
But we also have one addition to the "Where's the Outrage?" -- where are the Arab governments? Playing the condemnation game of course, getting a rare UN Security Council resolution, and surfing as best they can the wave of popular outrage in their domestic media. But is it really plausible that Israel is running a massive military operation within a stone's throw of Egypt without some acquiescence from Cairo? And is Prince Bandar using his access to the White House to air Arab grievances in this case? We can sit in Blogistan and condemn Israel all we want. But with absolutely no mechanism to make such criticism effective, it'd be a better use of our time to just stare at the Sleeping Beckham video for a while.
There is an interesting post and subsequent discussion on the Crooked Timber blog-collective about the relative lack of punditry, either of the institutional or freelance variety, on yesterday's civilian deaths in Gaza, apparently from the use of heavy weapons by the Israeli military on a civilian demonstration. From our own perspective, the problem in commenting on this latest loss of life is the futility of the rounds of condemnation that occur after events like this in the face of complete impotence to do anything about it. Everyone knows that Ariel Sharon has the nod and wink from Dubya to be ultra-repressive in the Occupied Territories, and anyway the civilian casualties in Iraq undercut much of the moral authority of the US to complain about civilian casualties in Gaza -- the US being the only critic that Ariel would take remotely seriously.
One of the followup comments to the CT post draws on the Irish history of the march gone wrong:
...whilst leaving a great deal of room for nasty possibilities in between [that Israeli military deliberately targets civilians versus it being scrupulously careful not to]. To take an example from another conflict: did the British Army have a deliberate policy of killing civilians back in 1972? No. Were most British soldiers decent people who would not knowing fire into an unarmed crowd? Yes, most of them probably were. Did soldiers from the Parachute Regiment kill thirteen people on Bloody Sunday? They sure did.
Indeed, we had used a Bloody Sunday reference to highlight the bad historical predecent for the US Army's killing of civilians last year in Fallujah -- and we all know how well things in Fallujah turned out since.
But we also have one addition to the "Where's the Outrage?" -- where are the Arab governments? Playing the condemnation game of course, getting a rare UN Security Council resolution, and surfing as best they can the wave of popular outrage in their domestic media. But is it really plausible that Israel is running a massive military operation within a stone's throw of Egypt without some acquiescence from Cairo? And is Prince Bandar using his access to the White House to air Arab grievances in this case? We can sit in Blogistan and condemn Israel all we want. But with absolutely no mechanism to make such criticism effective, it'd be a better use of our time to just stare at the Sleeping Beckham video for a while.
And such expensive portions
In the raid on Ahmad Chalabi's Baghdad operation:
Aides to Mr. Chalabi said members of the raiding party had helped themselves to food and beverages from the refrigerator...
Mr. Chalabi's group has received at least $27 million in United States financing in the past four years, an Iraqi National Congress official said earlier this week...Internal reviews by the United States government have found that much of the information provided as part of the classified program before American forces invaded Iraq last year was useless, misleading or even fabricated.
In the raid on Ahmad Chalabi's Baghdad operation:
Aides to Mr. Chalabi said members of the raiding party had helped themselves to food and beverages from the refrigerator...
Mr. Chalabi's group has received at least $27 million in United States financing in the past four years, an Iraqi National Congress official said earlier this week...Internal reviews by the United States government have found that much of the information provided as part of the classified program before American forces invaded Iraq last year was useless, misleading or even fabricated.
Land of 99,999 welcomes
Here's a sign of how far down Dubya has driven the image of the US in the world -- it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the Republic of Ireland will seek to cancel or otherwise dodge a planned visit of Dubya to Ireland in late June. As we have noted several times, Taoiseach Bertie "Charlemagne" Ahern is the President of the European Union Council until the end of June, and a capstone event consisting of an EU-US summit, to take place at the modern day Aix-la-Chapelle i.e. Dublin, was envisaged. Dubya would come and do one of his whirlwind photo-op foreign tours, getting Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie some material for the November campaign ads.
But as Atrios notes on a related context, the overseas and US media are just on completely different worlds in terms of Iraq coverage these days, and the question of whether the US yesterday attacked a wedding or a den of insurgents has brought things to a head in Ireland. Much as with Aznar right up to 11-M, Bertie has up till now managed to avoid any substantive costs in being part of an unpopular war -- partly by sticking to the official line that we were not, to the point of hyping up our exclusion from the reconstruction contracts as evidence.
There was a debate in the Dail (lower house) today and the government was on the ropes, a deafening silence regarding their attitude to Dubya's visit:
[RTE news] The Tanaiste [Deputy PM], Mary Harney, pointed out that Mr Bush would be in Ireland for an EU/US summit, but did not answer when Mr Higgins [Socialist] asked if she would be comfortable shaking Mr Bush's hand.
[Irish Times] John Gormley [Green] asked if Mr Bush would be bringing a leash with him on his visit to put around the neck of the Taoiseach, as this "would be symbolic of the relationship" between Ireland and the United States.
All this in the middle of an increasingly tendentious election season. With Ireland's VIP government always looking for the electoral short-cut, our American friends shouldn't take it personally if there's a change in Dubya's travel plans. Look for the theme song of Bertie's election campaign to borrow from Jay-Z: "I got 99 problems, but Dubya ain't one."
UPDATE: It gets worse for Bertie: now the Bishop of Killaloe (approx = County Clare) is unhappy:
Speaking on RTE Radio, Bishop Willie Walsh said he feared that the visit, and particularly the protests that are expected, could damage Ireland's relationship with the US.
He questioned whether the high-level talks to take place during the trip required Mr Bush's presence.
Let the excommunications begin!
FURTHER UPDATE: We had meant the references to Charlemagne and Aix-la-Chapelle as a joke. But we were outdone by the pomposity of the EU itself. From Friday's Irish Times:
For the crowning moment in a European political career, there could be no better setting that the Coronation Room in the Town Hall of Aachen, home of Charlemagne, Europe's first great integrator.
Pat Cox beamed as he sat on the podium, waiting to become the first Irishman to receive the Charlemagne Prize, an award established in 1950 to honour those who promote the cause of European unity.
"There he is, Pat Cox, sitting on Charlemagne's throne," said Mr Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who gave a warm, witty appraisal of Mr Cox's career in Europe.
But as Atrios notes on a related context, the overseas and US media are just on completely different worlds in terms of Iraq coverage these days, and the question of whether the US yesterday attacked a wedding or a den of insurgents has brought things to a head in Ireland. Much as with Aznar right up to 11-M, Bertie has up till now managed to avoid any substantive costs in being part of an unpopular war -- partly by sticking to the official line that we were not, to the point of hyping up our exclusion from the reconstruction contracts as evidence.
There was a debate in the Dail (lower house) today and the government was on the ropes, a deafening silence regarding their attitude to Dubya's visit:
[RTE news] The Tanaiste [Deputy PM], Mary Harney, pointed out that Mr Bush would be in Ireland for an EU/US summit, but did not answer when Mr Higgins [Socialist] asked if she would be comfortable shaking Mr Bush's hand.
[Irish Times] John Gormley [Green] asked if Mr Bush would be bringing a leash with him on his visit to put around the neck of the Taoiseach, as this "would be symbolic of the relationship" between Ireland and the United States.
All this in the middle of an increasingly tendentious election season. With Ireland's VIP government always looking for the electoral short-cut, our American friends shouldn't take it personally if there's a change in Dubya's travel plans. Look for the theme song of Bertie's election campaign to borrow from Jay-Z: "I got 99 problems, but Dubya ain't one."
UPDATE: It gets worse for Bertie: now the Bishop of Killaloe (approx = County Clare) is unhappy:
Speaking on RTE Radio, Bishop Willie Walsh said he feared that the visit, and particularly the protests that are expected, could damage Ireland's relationship with the US.
He questioned whether the high-level talks to take place during the trip required Mr Bush's presence.
Let the excommunications begin!
FURTHER UPDATE: We had meant the references to Charlemagne and Aix-la-Chapelle as a joke. But we were outdone by the pomposity of the EU itself. From Friday's Irish Times:
For the crowning moment in a European political career, there could be no better setting that the Coronation Room in the Town Hall of Aachen, home of Charlemagne, Europe's first great integrator.
Pat Cox beamed as he sat on the podium, waiting to become the first Irishman to receive the Charlemagne Prize, an award established in 1950 to honour those who promote the cause of European unity.
"There he is, Pat Cox, sitting on Charlemagne's throne," said Mr Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who gave a warm, witty appraisal of Mr Cox's career in Europe.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Someone who'll make the camels run on time
The confusion deepens amongst the Wall Street Journal editorial page people. Today from opinionjournal, a slam at King Abudullah of Jordan:
Do the opponents of Iraq's liberation wish for Saddam Hussein's return to power? We were referring to American opponents, but the New York Times reports Jordan's King Abdullah II seems to want if not Saddam, at least somebody like him--in the Times' words, "a strongman--possibly drawn from the ranks of Saddam Hussein's army."
Which merely means that the King agrees with Mark Helprin, who made the same proposal in one of their op-ed pieces yesterday:
We already have ceded part of Sunni Iraq: What remains is to pick a strongman, see him along, arrange a federation, hope for the best, remount the army, and [invade Saudi Arabia, but he doesn't quite put it that way]
Maintaining spin is hard.
The confusion deepens amongst the Wall Street Journal editorial page people. Today from opinionjournal, a slam at King Abudullah of Jordan:
Do the opponents of Iraq's liberation wish for Saddam Hussein's return to power? We were referring to American opponents, but the New York Times reports Jordan's King Abdullah II seems to want if not Saddam, at least somebody like him--in the Times' words, "a strongman--possibly drawn from the ranks of Saddam Hussein's army."
Which merely means that the King agrees with Mark Helprin, who made the same proposal in one of their op-ed pieces yesterday:
We already have ceded part of Sunni Iraq: What remains is to pick a strongman, see him along, arrange a federation, hope for the best, remount the army, and [invade Saudi Arabia, but he doesn't quite put it that way]
Maintaining spin is hard.
God Save the Queen, 2004 Version
By Morrissey
Irish blood, English heart
This I'm made of
There is no one on earth I'm afraid of
And no regime can buy or sell me
I've been dreaming of a time when
to be English is not to be baneful
to be standing by the flag, not feeling shameful
racist or racial
Irish blood, English heart
this I'm made of
There is no one on earth I'm afraid of
And I will die with both of my hands untied
I've been dreaming of a time when
the English are sick to death
of Labour, and Tories
and spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell
and denounce this royal line that still salute him
and will salute him
FOREVER...
We're all in favour of a good nationalist tirade but Morrissey's version of history has us a bit confused here. We've made clear before that we don't think much of Cromwell, but he's also the dude who chopped off the head of one of the Queen's predecessors. But perhaps the song is rescued by a good tune.
By Morrissey
Irish blood, English heart
This I'm made of
There is no one on earth I'm afraid of
And no regime can buy or sell me
I've been dreaming of a time when
to be English is not to be baneful
to be standing by the flag, not feeling shameful
racist or racial
Irish blood, English heart
this I'm made of
There is no one on earth I'm afraid of
And I will die with both of my hands untied
I've been dreaming of a time when
the English are sick to death
of Labour, and Tories
and spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell
and denounce this royal line that still salute him
and will salute him
FOREVER...
We're all in favour of a good nationalist tirade but Morrissey's version of history has us a bit confused here. We've made clear before that we don't think much of Cromwell, but he's also the dude who chopped off the head of one of the Queen's predecessors. But perhaps the song is rescued by a good tune.
Liverpool Lotto
More government lunacy. We've posted before about the Thai PM's plan to purchase an ownership stake in Liverpool Football Club. Things are only getting more bizarre. The initial impression had been that the PM would buy the stake a la Berlusconi i.e. from his own personal wealth. But over the last fortnight, the noises have gotten louder that the stake will come from public money. About $100m is at stake. Now this is really odd. Thailand is in many ways an impressively stable place, but it's still a poor country. How exactly is poverty in Thailand reduced by taxpayers spending $100m on a foreign football club? And of course, as a public investment, some government officials will have to travel to Anfield on a frequent basis to inspect this investment, right? Part of the appeal of English football to Thais is the multitude of gambling opportunities that it provides. Even that instinct is catered for in how the deal is structured:
[Wall Street Journal] Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved plans to establish a new state lottery, the proceeds of which will be used to buy the Liverpool stake. Mr. Thaksin [PM], a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, earlier estimated the stake would cost around 4.6 billion baht ($110 million)..."All the funds will be raised by the lottery and we expect to raise about 10 billion baht," said Santiphab Tejavanija, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, estimating that it will take about three months to raise the money. Buyers of the lottery tickets, which will cost 1,000 baht each, will receive a 200 baht share in Liverpool and also have a chance to win a one billion baht jackpot, he said.
The lottery angle seems like a wheeze to simultaneously create yet another wager while getting around a Dubya Senior-style No New Taxes pledge. And as the Journal politely puts it:
Mr. Thaksin has recently said Thailand's association with Liverpool will create economic opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs and help burnish the country's image as an attractive destination for foreign investment. But he hasn't elaborated on exactly how that might play out.
More government lunacy. We've posted before about the Thai PM's plan to purchase an ownership stake in Liverpool Football Club. Things are only getting more bizarre. The initial impression had been that the PM would buy the stake a la Berlusconi i.e. from his own personal wealth. But over the last fortnight, the noises have gotten louder that the stake will come from public money. About $100m is at stake. Now this is really odd. Thailand is in many ways an impressively stable place, but it's still a poor country. How exactly is poverty in Thailand reduced by taxpayers spending $100m on a foreign football club? And of course, as a public investment, some government officials will have to travel to Anfield on a frequent basis to inspect this investment, right? Part of the appeal of English football to Thais is the multitude of gambling opportunities that it provides. Even that instinct is catered for in how the deal is structured:
[Wall Street Journal] Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved plans to establish a new state lottery, the proceeds of which will be used to buy the Liverpool stake. Mr. Thaksin [PM], a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, earlier estimated the stake would cost around 4.6 billion baht ($110 million)..."All the funds will be raised by the lottery and we expect to raise about 10 billion baht," said Santiphab Tejavanija, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, estimating that it will take about three months to raise the money. Buyers of the lottery tickets, which will cost 1,000 baht each, will receive a 200 baht share in Liverpool and also have a chance to win a one billion baht jackpot, he said.
The lottery angle seems like a wheeze to simultaneously create yet another wager while getting around a Dubya Senior-style No New Taxes pledge. And as the Journal politely puts it:
Mr. Thaksin has recently said Thailand's association with Liverpool will create economic opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs and help burnish the country's image as an attractive destination for foreign investment. But he hasn't elaborated on exactly how that might play out.
Dubya's politics defined
Fintan O'Toole writes (subs. req'd) in today's Irish Times about a new policy of Ireland's permanent party of government, Fianna Fail. It's a harebrained scheme to tackle the magnetic pull of development in Dublin by spreading government administrative offices around the country. A moment's reflection would show that when other countries have sought to move government functions out of the orbit of the big cities, they still tend to put those functions in one place (e.g. Canberra, Washington DC, Islamabad, Brasilia). But now every town in Ireland will have a pub, an undertaker, a parish pump, and a government office. In seeking to explain this lunacy, Fintan offers a deeper insight, a remarkably apt description of a typical Dubya policy proposal as well:
What becomes clear when you read the [decentralisation] report is that this is a classic Fianna Fail operation, in that it appeals vaguely to a broad swathe of the population and sharply to an insider elite.
No wonder Dubya and Bertie get along so well.
Fintan O'Toole writes (subs. req'd) in today's Irish Times about a new policy of Ireland's permanent party of government, Fianna Fail. It's a harebrained scheme to tackle the magnetic pull of development in Dublin by spreading government administrative offices around the country. A moment's reflection would show that when other countries have sought to move government functions out of the orbit of the big cities, they still tend to put those functions in one place (e.g. Canberra, Washington DC, Islamabad, Brasilia). But now every town in Ireland will have a pub, an undertaker, a parish pump, and a government office. In seeking to explain this lunacy, Fintan offers a deeper insight, a remarkably apt description of a typical Dubya policy proposal as well:
What becomes clear when you read the [decentralisation] report is that this is a classic Fianna Fail operation, in that it appeals vaguely to a broad swathe of the population and sharply to an insider elite.
No wonder Dubya and Bertie get along so well.
Monday, May 17, 2004
About time that reparation payment showed up
The Eurovision song contest. It makes American Idol look positively tasteful. We wrote about last year's version here. Voting on the songs is now done by mobile phone rather than national juries. The Republic of Ireland used to have a disturbing comparative advantage in this contest, but here's how bad things got this year:
[Irish Times] After 15 countries had snubbed us, the UK finally threw us seven points. Centuries of mass emigration to Britain, it seemed, had finally been good for something. Those points, however, effectively ended our interest in the competition. Nobody ever remembers who came second last and as the British discovered last year, there can be a sneaky enjoyment to be had from the achieving the perfect ignominy of "nul points." If he had managed it, [Irish entrant] Doran would have been remembered in pub quiz questions for years to come. They were our only points and it was a long wait before it was over.
The Eurovision song contest. It makes American Idol look positively tasteful. We wrote about last year's version here. Voting on the songs is now done by mobile phone rather than national juries. The Republic of Ireland used to have a disturbing comparative advantage in this contest, but here's how bad things got this year:
[Irish Times] After 15 countries had snubbed us, the UK finally threw us seven points. Centuries of mass emigration to Britain, it seemed, had finally been good for something. Those points, however, effectively ended our interest in the competition. Nobody ever remembers who came second last and as the British discovered last year, there can be a sneaky enjoyment to be had from the achieving the perfect ignominy of "nul points." If he had managed it, [Irish entrant] Doran would have been remembered in pub quiz questions for years to come. They were our only points and it was a long wait before it was over.
The Pentagon follows the Becks PR strategy
[Guardian April 6, 2004] [David Beckham's] absence from the [Real Madrid match] was ensured by allegations in the News of the World that he had had a three-month affair with Rebecca Loos, a one-time employee of his former management company SFX...In a statement issued on Sunday, Beckham described the claims as "ludicrous", but stopped short of a denial of the paper's central allegations.
[via Josh Marshall , the Pentagon's response to the latest Abu Ghraib allegations] "These assertions on activities at Abu Ghraib, and the abuse of Iraqi detainees are outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled with error and anonymous conjecture"
[Guardian April 6, 2004] [David Beckham's] absence from the [Real Madrid match] was ensured by allegations in the News of the World that he had had a three-month affair with Rebecca Loos, a one-time employee of his former management company SFX...In a statement issued on Sunday, Beckham described the claims as "ludicrous", but stopped short of a denial of the paper's central allegations.
[via Josh Marshall , the Pentagon's response to the latest Abu Ghraib allegations] "These assertions on activities at Abu Ghraib, and the abuse of Iraqi detainees are outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled with error and anonymous conjecture"
Friday, May 14, 2004
Piercing the veil
Do pundits know more about the goings-on amongst top political figures than they tell us? Of course. Most discussions of this issue tend to revolve around Journalism 101 debates about whether to put the private lives of politicians into circulation, and in that regard most of the hacks seem to have settled on the pleasing formulation (as the Daily Howler would say) that such stuff is strictly private unless there is some point of public policy relevance; now this exception, which was presumably intended to be a small loophole, instead became a means of political attack by using the legal system to put private lives in the public arena; witness the impeachment of Bill Clinton. The bastard child of this culture is the Heathers-style sneering trash peddled by the crypto-neocon Wonkette.
But that's another story. What about the true opinions or feelings of politicians on policy issues, which pundits may know about because of their access to them, but don't tell us? Again, the incomparable Daily Howler has les mots justes: Millionaire Pundit Values. These people know all kinds of relevant stuff but pull their punches for the columns and interviews. But maybe the veil between what they know and what they are willing to tell us is cracking a bit. Example: the dinner/cocktail party at some bigwig's house, to which some scribes are invited with everything off-the-record.
Strangely enough, one of the few pundits willing to stretch the rules of these events was Lady Black, the now ex-columnist for the Daily Telegraph. We can think of two instances where Barbara Amiel spilled the beans about what was really said -- once catching the then French Ambassador to the UK (since deceased) refer to Israel as "that shi**y little country," and later finding Roger Ailes (not the blogger) blithely crossing the line between his private (Fox News) and quasi-public (White House propagandist) roles.
Add the Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt to the list of fearless pundits who might have sacrificed an invitation or two. Because in his Thursday column (subs. req'd), he reports on a Washington dinner he seems to have attended a few weeks ago. As far as we can tell, this is the same dinner that prompted rumours that Colin Powell was quitting as Secretary of State to become President of the World Bank. But anyway, here's what Al either saw or was told by another indiscrete hack:
A while ago [Rumsfeld] was a guest at a small Washington dinner party thrown by World Bank President James Wolfensohn. Other guests included United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Senators Ted Kennedy and Chuck Hagel and a few prominent journalists.
The topic turned to the detainees at Guantanamo and Secretary Rumsfeld was asked why not treat all prisoners under Geneva Convention rules. He grew increasingly agitated and finally, turning to his wife, declared, "Joyce, we're leaving." He subsequently walked out.
At the very least we learn that Rummy is a bit more flustered in reality about the military detention controversies than the usual profiles would have us believe. Note also that the timeline for this dinner is prior to the Baghdad prison scandal, which leads us to believe that there have been long-standing tensions behind the scenes about this issue from which our betters in the press corps have chosen to protect us. As Howler says, Millionaire Pundit Values.
Do pundits know more about the goings-on amongst top political figures than they tell us? Of course. Most discussions of this issue tend to revolve around Journalism 101 debates about whether to put the private lives of politicians into circulation, and in that regard most of the hacks seem to have settled on the pleasing formulation (as the Daily Howler would say) that such stuff is strictly private unless there is some point of public policy relevance; now this exception, which was presumably intended to be a small loophole, instead became a means of political attack by using the legal system to put private lives in the public arena; witness the impeachment of Bill Clinton. The bastard child of this culture is the Heathers-style sneering trash peddled by the crypto-neocon Wonkette.
But that's another story. What about the true opinions or feelings of politicians on policy issues, which pundits may know about because of their access to them, but don't tell us? Again, the incomparable Daily Howler has les mots justes: Millionaire Pundit Values. These people know all kinds of relevant stuff but pull their punches for the columns and interviews. But maybe the veil between what they know and what they are willing to tell us is cracking a bit. Example: the dinner/cocktail party at some bigwig's house, to which some scribes are invited with everything off-the-record.
Strangely enough, one of the few pundits willing to stretch the rules of these events was Lady Black, the now ex-columnist for the Daily Telegraph. We can think of two instances where Barbara Amiel spilled the beans about what was really said -- once catching the then French Ambassador to the UK (since deceased) refer to Israel as "that shi**y little country," and later finding Roger Ailes (not the blogger) blithely crossing the line between his private (Fox News) and quasi-public (White House propagandist) roles.
Add the Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt to the list of fearless pundits who might have sacrificed an invitation or two. Because in his Thursday column (subs. req'd), he reports on a Washington dinner he seems to have attended a few weeks ago. As far as we can tell, this is the same dinner that prompted rumours that Colin Powell was quitting as Secretary of State to become President of the World Bank. But anyway, here's what Al either saw or was told by another indiscrete hack:
A while ago [Rumsfeld] was a guest at a small Washington dinner party thrown by World Bank President James Wolfensohn. Other guests included United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Senators Ted Kennedy and Chuck Hagel and a few prominent journalists.
The topic turned to the detainees at Guantanamo and Secretary Rumsfeld was asked why not treat all prisoners under Geneva Convention rules. He grew increasingly agitated and finally, turning to his wife, declared, "Joyce, we're leaving." He subsequently walked out.
At the very least we learn that Rummy is a bit more flustered in reality about the military detention controversies than the usual profiles would have us believe. Note also that the timeline for this dinner is prior to the Baghdad prison scandal, which leads us to believe that there have been long-standing tensions behind the scenes about this issue from which our betters in the press corps have chosen to protect us. As Howler says, Millionaire Pundit Values.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Too stupid by half
Yesterday we noted a preferred editorial technique of the Wall Street Journal editorial page -- the use of insinuation to thinly disguise their contempt for those who will not join the personality cult around Dubya. There's no need to say "tell us what you really think" when the true feelings are so obvious. But here's a case where the contempt was expressed in internal e-mail, accidentally sent to one of those infidels who questioned Dubya's competence in the War on Terrorism. It turns out that one of the "Jersey Girl" 9-11 widows submitted a substantive response to a piece written by enraged Dubya groupie Dorothy Rabinowitz, which as much as said 9-11 Bereaved = Democrats. Rabinowitz was e-mailing with one of the editorial hacks about whether to publish it -- but accidentally sent the e-mail to the 9-11 widow as well. Amongst the highlights or views about Kristin Breitweiser's submission:
total and complete - not to mention repetitive - nonsense from people given endless media access to repeat the very same stupid charges, suspicions, and the rest...but this is just an opportunity for these absurd products of the zeitgeist - women clearly in the grip of the delusion that they know something, have some policy, and wisdom not given to the rest of us to know - to grab the spotlight. again. and repeat, again, the same tripe before a national audience...My thoughts - we don't publish nonsensical contentions that offer no news, no insight - solely on the grounds that those who feel attacked get a chance to defend their views...
Take any day's WSJ editorial page (e.g. this one) and in light of her claim that we don't publish nonsensical contentions that offer no news, no insight, you'll conclude that it depends on the meaning of publish.
UPDATE: Predictably, this revealing blunder is the subject of much blogging. Here's TAPped. And Sullywatch.
Yesterday we noted a preferred editorial technique of the Wall Street Journal editorial page -- the use of insinuation to thinly disguise their contempt for those who will not join the personality cult around Dubya. There's no need to say "tell us what you really think" when the true feelings are so obvious. But here's a case where the contempt was expressed in internal e-mail, accidentally sent to one of those infidels who questioned Dubya's competence in the War on Terrorism. It turns out that one of the "Jersey Girl" 9-11 widows submitted a substantive response to a piece written by enraged Dubya groupie Dorothy Rabinowitz, which as much as said 9-11 Bereaved = Democrats. Rabinowitz was e-mailing with one of the editorial hacks about whether to publish it -- but accidentally sent the e-mail to the 9-11 widow as well. Amongst the highlights or views about Kristin Breitweiser's submission:
total and complete - not to mention repetitive - nonsense from people given endless media access to repeat the very same stupid charges, suspicions, and the rest...but this is just an opportunity for these absurd products of the zeitgeist - women clearly in the grip of the delusion that they know something, have some policy, and wisdom not given to the rest of us to know - to grab the spotlight. again. and repeat, again, the same tripe before a national audience...My thoughts - we don't publish nonsensical contentions that offer no news, no insight - solely on the grounds that those who feel attacked get a chance to defend their views...
Take any day's WSJ editorial page (e.g. this one) and in light of her claim that we don't publish nonsensical contentions that offer no news, no insight, you'll conclude that it depends on the meaning of publish.
UPDATE: Predictably, this revealing blunder is the subject of much blogging. Here's TAPped. And Sullywatch.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Too clever by half
A recurring feature of the Wall Street Journal online editorial page is the carefully constructed insinuation; they're clever enough to know that you can't outright say "John Kerry = Osama Bin Laden," for example, yet stupid enough to betray that that is what they really think -- or at least that it's what they think Karl Rove wants them to write. Here they are today discussing the supposed equivalence between the Abu Ghraib prison photos, some shown by the media, and the sickening videoed beheading of Nick Berg, which can only be found in the more edgy parts of the web. This becomes an opportunity to criticise Howard Kurtz for essentially saying that the Abu Ghraib photos do have public value, whereas the Berg video does not, and they conclude:
But Kurtz really seems to be tying himself in knots with his varied opinions about networks' responsibilities vis-à-vis disseminating enemy propaganda.
Got that? The beheading AND the prison photos are "enemy propaganda." Now, they propound this slime by way of supporting the Jonah Goldberg position on this. Which is relevant because in a seemingly separate item further down the column, they run a clarification of one of yesterday's insinuations which was not quite fine enough, and conclude:
[opinionjournal] rejects the idea that Arabs and Muslims should be held to lower standards than everyone else.
Which is an odd thing to say for worshippers at the Goldberg Altar because right up above, they had approvingly cited him:
Huge percentages of Arabs are illiterate, which means these pictures will tell the whole story, particularly in the hands of the vilely anti-American Arab media.
So the equation here is Arabs = illiterate = people easily manipulated by propaganda, which sure sounds like a group of people being held to a lower standard than everyone else. Let's leave aside Goldberg's command of literacy statistics; given his track record, he doubtless got them wrong. Illiterate people easily manipulated? It was Europe's most literate society that gave us the catastrophe of fascism, and India has managed to run the world's most complicated elections and develop a stable democracy even with huge levels of illiteracy. Finally, we suppose that Goldberg's policy prescription would be...an illiterate audience should be protected from these photos. We wonder if that's why Fox News hasn't been running them?
A recurring feature of the Wall Street Journal online editorial page is the carefully constructed insinuation; they're clever enough to know that you can't outright say "John Kerry = Osama Bin Laden," for example, yet stupid enough to betray that that is what they really think -- or at least that it's what they think Karl Rove wants them to write. Here they are today discussing the supposed equivalence between the Abu Ghraib prison photos, some shown by the media, and the sickening videoed beheading of Nick Berg, which can only be found in the more edgy parts of the web. This becomes an opportunity to criticise Howard Kurtz for essentially saying that the Abu Ghraib photos do have public value, whereas the Berg video does not, and they conclude:
But Kurtz really seems to be tying himself in knots with his varied opinions about networks' responsibilities vis-à-vis disseminating enemy propaganda.
Got that? The beheading AND the prison photos are "enemy propaganda." Now, they propound this slime by way of supporting the Jonah Goldberg position on this. Which is relevant because in a seemingly separate item further down the column, they run a clarification of one of yesterday's insinuations which was not quite fine enough, and conclude:
[opinionjournal] rejects the idea that Arabs and Muslims should be held to lower standards than everyone else.
Which is an odd thing to say for worshippers at the Goldberg Altar because right up above, they had approvingly cited him:
Huge percentages of Arabs are illiterate, which means these pictures will tell the whole story, particularly in the hands of the vilely anti-American Arab media.
So the equation here is Arabs = illiterate = people easily manipulated by propaganda, which sure sounds like a group of people being held to a lower standard than everyone else. Let's leave aside Goldberg's command of literacy statistics; given his track record, he doubtless got them wrong. Illiterate people easily manipulated? It was Europe's most literate society that gave us the catastrophe of fascism, and India has managed to run the world's most complicated elections and develop a stable democracy even with huge levels of illiteracy. Finally, we suppose that Goldberg's policy prescription would be...an illiterate audience should be protected from these photos. We wonder if that's why Fox News hasn't been running them?
A new trick for White House witnesses
As was noted during a few weeks ago during the 9/11 Commission hearings in Washington, Dubya's administration has perfected the testimonial filibuster -- when on the ropes before a commission or Congressional committee, just make a really long opening statement, and then give, shall we say, expansive, answers to questions. But here's a trick they haven't tried yet -- testifying in a foreign language.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern was a victim of this stunt from his visiting Chinese counterpart yesterday. With Bertie acting as President of the EU Council, he was supposed to do the usual thing and raise concerns about human rights in China, Tibet etc, then proceed to a news conference where each side would have done the diplomatic dance around those issues. But it never got that far, because Bertie didn't get to say much at all, and there was no news conference. Because:
Informed sources at Dublin Castle said the reason the meeting between Mr Wen [Chinese PM] and Mr Ahern exceeded its allotted time was twofold: the Chinese leader speaks no English and an unexpected amount of time was taken up with translation; and because Mr Wen had spoken at considerable length about the positive features of the Chinese economy.
We were all supposed to be impressed that Dubya speaks Spanish. Maybe he's polishing it up for his next grilling.
As was noted during a few weeks ago during the 9/11 Commission hearings in Washington, Dubya's administration has perfected the testimonial filibuster -- when on the ropes before a commission or Congressional committee, just make a really long opening statement, and then give, shall we say, expansive, answers to questions. But here's a trick they haven't tried yet -- testifying in a foreign language.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern was a victim of this stunt from his visiting Chinese counterpart yesterday. With Bertie acting as President of the EU Council, he was supposed to do the usual thing and raise concerns about human rights in China, Tibet etc, then proceed to a news conference where each side would have done the diplomatic dance around those issues. But it never got that far, because Bertie didn't get to say much at all, and there was no news conference. Because:
Informed sources at Dublin Castle said the reason the meeting between Mr Wen [Chinese PM] and Mr Ahern exceeded its allotted time was twofold: the Chinese leader speaks no English and an unexpected amount of time was taken up with translation; and because Mr Wen had spoken at considerable length about the positive features of the Chinese economy.
We were all supposed to be impressed that Dubya speaks Spanish. Maybe he's polishing it up for his next grilling.
A better choice than some other images floating around
We're not sure if this story is entirely accurate but nonetheless: Colin Powell has applied to get a Scottish coat of arms for his family to recognise his Scottish ancestry (via his mother). This "coat of arms" procedure sounds like an astute bit of business for Scotland, since it doesn't seem to signify much more than Guinness's declaration that anyone who does the tour of their St James' Gate Brewery in Dublin is an "honourary Dubliner."
And we assume that Colin's roots are too distant for him to actually be thinking about UK citizenship, though with the ever growing taint of scandal and criminality of the administration of which he is a part, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an exile plan in the works. Apparently one gets to design one's own coat of arms, so rather than re-work some of those Iraqi prison photos, part of Colin's recent legacy to the world (we've seen clever reworkings of the infamous electrical wiring picture as a statue of liberty), he has gone for:
The coat of arms, if granted, will incorporate the crest of an American bald eagle...The retired four-star general's military background will also be symbolised by a shield with four stars and crossed swords.
With the current state of political rhetoric in the US about the Iraq war, a boot stomping on a crescent moon would have been more appropriate.
We're not sure if this story is entirely accurate but nonetheless: Colin Powell has applied to get a Scottish coat of arms for his family to recognise his Scottish ancestry (via his mother). This "coat of arms" procedure sounds like an astute bit of business for Scotland, since it doesn't seem to signify much more than Guinness's declaration that anyone who does the tour of their St James' Gate Brewery in Dublin is an "honourary Dubliner."
And we assume that Colin's roots are too distant for him to actually be thinking about UK citizenship, though with the ever growing taint of scandal and criminality of the administration of which he is a part, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an exile plan in the works. Apparently one gets to design one's own coat of arms, so rather than re-work some of those Iraqi prison photos, part of Colin's recent legacy to the world (we've seen clever reworkings of the infamous electrical wiring picture as a statue of liberty), he has gone for:
The coat of arms, if granted, will incorporate the crest of an American bald eagle...The retired four-star general's military background will also be symbolised by a shield with four stars and crossed swords.
With the current state of political rhetoric in the US about the Iraq war, a boot stomping on a crescent moon would have been more appropriate.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Straddling Good and Evil
The incomparable Daily Howler is chronicling the obsession of the "press corps" with John Kerry's supposed indecisiveness on certain policy questions -- apparently, saying "it depends on the circumstances" is a much worse answer to a question than Dubya's complete lack of any decision process whatsoever.
What then would these troubled scribes make of a politician who displays the worst kind of flip-flop -- namely on the question of whether he is a fan of Liverpool or Manchester United football clubs? But so it is with the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra , who is bizarrely about to become a 30 percent shareholder in Liverpool:
"I'm not sure if the prime minister is really a Liverpool fan," he [Thai Liverpool Supporters Club president] added. "He says he is but when Manchester United were here, he said he supported them."
UPDATE: It looks like there's a possibility that the Thai people will be collectively revealed as Liverpool fans:
[BBC] It is unclear whether Thaksin will be spending his own money or Thailand's.
"Let's wait until Thailand buys the team before going into details whether we spend Thais' money or the private sector's," Thaksin said.
Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair revealed that a deal had been done after a Thai cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
"We will buy in the name of Thailand," he said.
More evidence on Thaksin's indecisiveness:
"There are a lot of fans asking: 'Who is this guy? What's his interest in Liverpool Football Club?'" said Steve Davies of the Liverpool Independent Supporters' Association.
"We have seen him photographed holding up a Manchester United shirt next to Alex Ferguson and now he says he's always been a Liverpool fan.
The incomparable Daily Howler is chronicling the obsession of the "press corps" with John Kerry's supposed indecisiveness on certain policy questions -- apparently, saying "it depends on the circumstances" is a much worse answer to a question than Dubya's complete lack of any decision process whatsoever.
What then would these troubled scribes make of a politician who displays the worst kind of flip-flop -- namely on the question of whether he is a fan of Liverpool or Manchester United football clubs? But so it is with the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra , who is bizarrely about to become a 30 percent shareholder in Liverpool:
"I'm not sure if the prime minister is really a Liverpool fan," he [Thai Liverpool Supporters Club president] added. "He says he is but when Manchester United were here, he said he supported them."
UPDATE: It looks like there's a possibility that the Thai people will be collectively revealed as Liverpool fans:
[BBC] It is unclear whether Thaksin will be spending his own money or Thailand's.
"Let's wait until Thailand buys the team before going into details whether we spend Thais' money or the private sector's," Thaksin said.
Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair revealed that a deal had been done after a Thai cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
"We will buy in the name of Thailand," he said.
More evidence on Thaksin's indecisiveness:
"There are a lot of fans asking: 'Who is this guy? What's his interest in Liverpool Football Club?'" said Steve Davies of the Liverpool Independent Supporters' Association.
"We have seen him photographed holding up a Manchester United shirt next to Alex Ferguson and now he says he's always been a Liverpool fan.
Spot the spin word
Wall Street Journal online today:
[Regarding Abu Ghraib] If a civilized society fails to establish and enforce decent standards for the treatment of criminals, civilization itself is imperiled.
And what about when a civilized society labels people as criminals without any due process to make this determination?
UPDATE: This piece of spin made it to the Senate floor. Apparently to the disgust of John McCain.
Wall Street Journal online today:
[Regarding Abu Ghraib] If a civilized society fails to establish and enforce decent standards for the treatment of criminals, civilization itself is imperiled.
And what about when a civilized society labels people as criminals without any due process to make this determination?
UPDATE: This piece of spin made it to the Senate floor. Apparently to the disgust of John McCain.
The George W. Bush School of Management
We decided to rework this post because there's just too much supporting material for it. Begin with this story about "The Corporation," a Canadian documentary airing a harsh critique (subs req'd)) of big business:
One sequence that gets a laugh features a string of talking heads pronouncing the words, "Bad apple"
Perhaps one achievement of Dubya's administration will be to make Enron and Worldcom look good. Or, for that matter, Allied Irish Banks. This has to be one of the world's most incompetent banks, or at least the most incompetent yet profitable one. This is a bank that lost about $600m in a "bad apple" (or was that "rogue trader") scandal a year ago, and now is revealed to have overcharged thousands of customers for years in foreign exchange transactions. A nice analysis in today's Irish Times identifies the fundamental problem -- one that is identically present in Dubya's White House:
...In both cases [trading and overcharging scandals], individuals lower down the hierarchy became aware or suspected that something was wrong, but did not feel under any imperative to ensure that it was resolved...In both cases, the matter was just passed up the line to a level at which it was effectively shelved...AIB senior executives are falling over themselves to point out that the problem was not brought to their attention until last week and, once it was, they acted appropriately...
Last week's revelation and the reaction of Mr Buckley [CEO] and his management merely serves to confirm an impression that backside covering is a core value in AIB and accepted management practice...he has had two years since the Rusnak [the $600m bad apple] affair to try and stamp out what he called a culture of "passivity" and has manifestly failed if the events of last week are any guide.
And culture - in any organisation - is embodied by the chief executive. It is hard to change an organisation's culture without changing the person at the top.
It was Dubya's spinners who made the decision to market him as a CEO President who would bring his MBA training to the government. If only they meant it.
We decided to rework this post because there's just too much supporting material for it. Begin with this story about "The Corporation," a Canadian documentary airing a harsh critique (subs req'd)) of big business:
One sequence that gets a laugh features a string of talking heads pronouncing the words, "Bad apple"
Perhaps one achievement of Dubya's administration will be to make Enron and Worldcom look good. Or, for that matter, Allied Irish Banks. This has to be one of the world's most incompetent banks, or at least the most incompetent yet profitable one. This is a bank that lost about $600m in a "bad apple" (or was that "rogue trader") scandal a year ago, and now is revealed to have overcharged thousands of customers for years in foreign exchange transactions. A nice analysis in today's Irish Times identifies the fundamental problem -- one that is identically present in Dubya's White House:
...In both cases [trading and overcharging scandals], individuals lower down the hierarchy became aware or suspected that something was wrong, but did not feel under any imperative to ensure that it was resolved...In both cases, the matter was just passed up the line to a level at which it was effectively shelved...AIB senior executives are falling over themselves to point out that the problem was not brought to their attention until last week and, once it was, they acted appropriately...
Last week's revelation and the reaction of Mr Buckley [CEO] and his management merely serves to confirm an impression that backside covering is a core value in AIB and accepted management practice...he has had two years since the Rusnak [the $600m bad apple] affair to try and stamp out what he called a culture of "passivity" and has manifestly failed if the events of last week are any guide.
And culture - in any organisation - is embodied by the chief executive. It is hard to change an organisation's culture without changing the person at the top.
It was Dubya's spinners who made the decision to market him as a CEO President who would bring his MBA training to the government. If only they meant it.
Note to readers
It looks like the impending tidal wave of cash towards Google is already making a difference. For the first time since we started this blog, Blogger is archiving old posts correctly. For example, we can now link to this old post noting the disastrous precedent that existed for the US Army's "suppression" of a demonstration in Fallujah in April 2003. The rest is, regrettably, not history, but a very current quagmire. A side effect of the working archives is that previous links to our old posts won't work anymore. In addition, we have jumped aboard the gmail bandwagon so note P O'Neill's new e-mail address at the top.
It looks like the impending tidal wave of cash towards Google is already making a difference. For the first time since we started this blog, Blogger is archiving old posts correctly. For example, we can now link to this old post noting the disastrous precedent that existed for the US Army's "suppression" of a demonstration in Fallujah in April 2003. The rest is, regrettably, not history, but a very current quagmire. A side effect of the working archives is that previous links to our old posts won't work anymore. In addition, we have jumped aboard the gmail bandwagon so note P O'Neill's new e-mail address at the top.
Saturday, May 08, 2004
That classy European flying experience
1. [Irish Times] Ryanair cabin crews and flight staff will no longer receive free tea or coffee on board, and will be encouraged to bring their own refreshments to work as part of a fresh cost-cutting exercise by its chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary.
2. [New York Times] Airbus likes to promote the A380 [new double-decker] as a plane that could transform air travel by offering passengers more space. It has shown mock-ups of travelers relaxing around a bar, with staircases leading between levels. But skeptics say that in order to make the plane economically viable, airlines will probably cram it with many more seats than the 555 that Airbus advertises, perhaps as many as 840.
1. [Irish Times] Ryanair cabin crews and flight staff will no longer receive free tea or coffee on board, and will be encouraged to bring their own refreshments to work as part of a fresh cost-cutting exercise by its chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary.
2. [New York Times] Airbus likes to promote the A380 [new double-decker] as a plane that could transform air travel by offering passengers more space. It has shown mock-ups of travelers relaxing around a bar, with staircases leading between levels. But skeptics say that in order to make the plane economically viable, airlines will probably cram it with many more seats than the 555 that Airbus advertises, perhaps as many as 840.
Friday, May 07, 2004
The missing link
Reading the Wall Street Journal online editorial page today, we saw the need to resurrect an old post. We noted a line from Saint Condi of Palo Alto's interview with the state-run news agency the USA (Fox News) on Sunday 18th April...
For all the negotiations, for all the special envoys, for all the trying, the Israelis had not given back essentially a kilometer of land in the occupied territories
...and asked about that weird usage of kilometer. Fast forward to today, and the WSJ online has a piece on Osama's latest Blofeld-style pronouncement in which he annouced bounties of 10,000 grams of gold. Leading the WSJ to ask:
Interesting, isn't it, that bin Laden uses the metric system.
Which we think in their twisted logic is meant to be a dig at the French. Sounds like Condi must have fallen under the same spell.
Reading the Wall Street Journal online editorial page today, we saw the need to resurrect an old post. We noted a line from Saint Condi of Palo Alto's interview with the state-run news agency the USA (Fox News) on Sunday 18th April...
For all the negotiations, for all the special envoys, for all the trying, the Israelis had not given back essentially a kilometer of land in the occupied territories
...and asked about that weird usage of kilometer. Fast forward to today, and the WSJ online has a piece on Osama's latest Blofeld-style pronouncement in which he annouced bounties of 10,000 grams of gold. Leading the WSJ to ask:
Interesting, isn't it, that bin Laden uses the metric system.
Which we think in their twisted logic is meant to be a dig at the French. Sounds like Condi must have fallen under the same spell.
Slouching towards schism
There is a story bubbling somewhat in the background in the US concerning the increasingly aggressive stance being adopted by some in the Catholic hierarchy towards the right of Catholic politicians to receive Communion if they don't align their political practise with Catholic beliefs. Now, as we noted a few days ago, this issue is partly being whipped up by the Torquemada faction of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy as a stick with which to beat John Kerry. In fact it's a useful stick all round for the VRWC, which can use the Communion Conundrum to create some appearance of diversity within it (e.g. the very public dissents of Andrew Sullivan, as tracked for instance by Sullywatch).
We also referred a few days ago to the outstanding history of the Reformation by Diarmaid McCulloch, which should be salutory reading for anyone thinks this debate can end well for the Catholic Church. As McCulloch explains in great detail, a key dynamic throughout the Reformation was the forced choice of allegiance to the Church or the State. Symptomatic of the disaster was the deranged Pope Pius V's declaration that England's Queen Elizabeth I was a heretic and furthermore that any English Catholics who obeyed her laws would be excommunicated -- immediately casting them as traitors:
[The Papal Bull] Therefore, resting upon the authority of Him whose pleasure it was to place us (though unequal to such a burden) upon this supreme justice-seat, we do out of the fullness of our apostolic power declare the foresaid Elizabeth to be a heretic and favourer of heretics, and her adherents in the matters aforesaid to have incurred the sentence of excommunication and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ...
And also (declare) the nobles, subjects and people of the said realm and all others who have in any way sworn oaths to her, to be forever absolved from such an oath and from any duty arising from lordshop. fealty and obedience...We charge and command all and singular the nobles, subjects, peoples and others afore said that they do not dare obey her orders, mandates and laws. Those who shall act to the contrary we include in the like sentence of excommunication.
As McCulloch explains, English Catholics were relatively happy to operate below the radar screen while paying nominal homage to the Anglican church; now the mere suspicion of Catholic practise could be a death-sentence. Of course we are not in that position today. But the Church, if not the VRWC elements pushing this agenda, should surely be aware of the previous outcomes of tugs-of-war over secular versus religious allegiance.
There is a story bubbling somewhat in the background in the US concerning the increasingly aggressive stance being adopted by some in the Catholic hierarchy towards the right of Catholic politicians to receive Communion if they don't align their political practise with Catholic beliefs. Now, as we noted a few days ago, this issue is partly being whipped up by the Torquemada faction of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy as a stick with which to beat John Kerry. In fact it's a useful stick all round for the VRWC, which can use the Communion Conundrum to create some appearance of diversity within it (e.g. the very public dissents of Andrew Sullivan, as tracked for instance by Sullywatch).
We also referred a few days ago to the outstanding history of the Reformation by Diarmaid McCulloch, which should be salutory reading for anyone thinks this debate can end well for the Catholic Church. As McCulloch explains in great detail, a key dynamic throughout the Reformation was the forced choice of allegiance to the Church or the State. Symptomatic of the disaster was the deranged Pope Pius V's declaration that England's Queen Elizabeth I was a heretic and furthermore that any English Catholics who obeyed her laws would be excommunicated -- immediately casting them as traitors:
[The Papal Bull] Therefore, resting upon the authority of Him whose pleasure it was to place us (though unequal to such a burden) upon this supreme justice-seat, we do out of the fullness of our apostolic power declare the foresaid Elizabeth to be a heretic and favourer of heretics, and her adherents in the matters aforesaid to have incurred the sentence of excommunication and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ...
And also (declare) the nobles, subjects and people of the said realm and all others who have in any way sworn oaths to her, to be forever absolved from such an oath and from any duty arising from lordshop. fealty and obedience...We charge and command all and singular the nobles, subjects, peoples and others afore said that they do not dare obey her orders, mandates and laws. Those who shall act to the contrary we include in the like sentence of excommunication.
As McCulloch explains, English Catholics were relatively happy to operate below the radar screen while paying nominal homage to the Anglican church; now the mere suspicion of Catholic practise could be a death-sentence. Of course we are not in that position today. But the Church, if not the VRWC elements pushing this agenda, should surely be aware of the previous outcomes of tugs-of-war over secular versus religious allegiance.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
What Baghdad needs: More Harvard Boys
Try to contain your laughter as you read the latest diagnosis of, and solution to, the Iraqi prisoner abuse problem, as put forward by the Wall Street Journal online editorial page. Diagnosis: not enough Ivy Leaguers participating in the military, which is because those awful leftie academics have kept military recruiters off-campus. Solution -- the academic left needs to stop whining, let the recruiters back on campus, and all will be well. And if you don't believe the argument is really this idiotic, here are the highlights:
But it also occurs to us that increasing the quality of military recruits would probably help avoid future Abu Ghraibs. One constructive step toward that end would be for elite universities to drop antimilitary policies, so that the military would have an easier time signing up the best and brightest young Americans.
Many academic institutions have barred ...military recruiters from campus for left-wing political reasons -- first as a protest against the Vietnam War, and later over the Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" law. Whatever the merits of these positions, it's time the academic left showed some patriotic responsibility and acknowledged that the defense of the country -- which includes the defense of their own academic freedom -- is more important than the issue du jour.
For a site that usually scoffs at supposed left-wing elitism, this is (unintentionally) hilarious. Especially noteworthy is the implicit endorsement of John Kerry, who after all, went to Vietnam as a graduate of Yale.
Try to contain your laughter as you read the latest diagnosis of, and solution to, the Iraqi prisoner abuse problem, as put forward by the Wall Street Journal online editorial page. Diagnosis: not enough Ivy Leaguers participating in the military, which is because those awful leftie academics have kept military recruiters off-campus. Solution -- the academic left needs to stop whining, let the recruiters back on campus, and all will be well. And if you don't believe the argument is really this idiotic, here are the highlights:
But it also occurs to us that increasing the quality of military recruits would probably help avoid future Abu Ghraibs. One constructive step toward that end would be for elite universities to drop antimilitary policies, so that the military would have an easier time signing up the best and brightest young Americans.
Many academic institutions have barred ...military recruiters from campus for left-wing political reasons -- first as a protest against the Vietnam War, and later over the Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" law. Whatever the merits of these positions, it's time the academic left showed some patriotic responsibility and acknowledged that the defense of the country -- which includes the defense of their own academic freedom -- is more important than the issue du jour.
For a site that usually scoffs at supposed left-wing elitism, this is (unintentionally) hilarious. Especially noteworthy is the implicit endorsement of John Kerry, who after all, went to Vietnam as a graduate of Yale.
Parse the statement
1. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan:
The president very much appreciates the job Secretary Rumsfeld is doing and the president has great confidence in his leadership
Whose leadership? Rummy's, or Dubya's own?
2. But wait, there's more:
"He will stay in my Cabinet," the president said.
What cabinet? The one that runs the country, or just a kitchen cabinet in the White House? And even if the former, he doesn't say what role Rummy would perform. The Cabinet might need a new coffee boy.
3. [Dubya] I told His Majesty [of Jordan] as plainly as I could that the wrongdoers [prison guards] will be brought to justice
Subtle change in usage: bad guys are normally evildoers.
4. [Dubya] The free trade agreement between Jordan and the United States is a model for the region, as my government works to build a Middle East free trade agreement.
Aside from the idea that Arabs can be bought off with a free trade agreement, note the odd usage my government. Who is he, the Queen?
1. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan:
The president very much appreciates the job Secretary Rumsfeld is doing and the president has great confidence in his leadership
Whose leadership? Rummy's, or Dubya's own?
2. But wait, there's more:
"He will stay in my Cabinet," the president said.
What cabinet? The one that runs the country, or just a kitchen cabinet in the White House? And even if the former, he doesn't say what role Rummy would perform. The Cabinet might need a new coffee boy.
3. [Dubya] I told His Majesty [of Jordan] as plainly as I could that the wrongdoers [prison guards] will be brought to justice
Subtle change in usage: bad guys are normally evildoers.
4. [Dubya] The free trade agreement between Jordan and the United States is a model for the region, as my government works to build a Middle East free trade agreement.
Aside from the idea that Arabs can be bought off with a free trade agreement, note the odd usage my government. Who is he, the Queen?
The poetry of Bob Geldof
Summon the thinkers, and writers and culture geeks,
philosophy wonks and development freaks,
the economists
and anthropologists
Which is a few lines of a pretty good speech by Bob supporting Tony "Posh" Blair's Commission for Africa. The meter of this partially intentioned poetry reminds us equally of Christy Moore's Lisdoonvarna and any work by famed teenage elegist, E.J. Thribb.
Summon the thinkers, and writers and culture geeks,
philosophy wonks and development freaks,
the economists
and anthropologists
Which is a few lines of a pretty good speech by Bob supporting Tony "Posh" Blair's Commission for Africa. The meter of this partially intentioned poetry reminds us equally of Christy Moore's Lisdoonvarna and any work by famed teenage elegist, E.J. Thribb.
It's all Greek to them
Today's Irish Times: A special stamp issued by An Post [Irish Post Office] to commemorate EU enlargement appears to incorrectly identify the island of Crete as Cyprus. To see the stamp, go to this link and enlarge. On an actual map, Cyprus is much more "under" Turkey (speaking metaphorically, of course) than the stamp would indicate.
Today's Irish Times: A special stamp issued by An Post [Irish Post Office] to commemorate EU enlargement appears to incorrectly identify the island of Crete as Cyprus. To see the stamp, go to this link and enlarge. On an actual map, Cyprus is much more "under" Turkey (speaking metaphorically, of course) than the stamp would indicate.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Wanted: More Wall Street culture in Washington
Frank Quattrone, star investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston endorses a colleague's e-mail message in December 2000 urging his staff of bankers at CSFB to "clean up those files."
Result: convicted of obstruction of justice, now facing several years in jail.
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then in charge of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, recommended changes in procedures at Abu Ghraib prison intended "to rapidly exploit internees for actionable intelligence"
Result: er...he's now in charge of the Baghdad prison.
Frank Quattrone, star investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston endorses a colleague's e-mail message in December 2000 urging his staff of bankers at CSFB to "clean up those files."
Result: convicted of obstruction of justice, now facing several years in jail.
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then in charge of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, recommended changes in procedures at Abu Ghraib prison intended "to rapidly exploit internees for actionable intelligence"
Result: er...he's now in charge of the Baghdad prison.
It takes one to know one
Another day of bile and irrationality on the Wall Street Journal online. Some of the lowlights:
But if the [UK Daily] Mirror does turn out to have fabricated the [Iraqi prisoner abuse] photos, it will be the clearest evidence yet that some in the press are abusing their power and consciously contributing to enemy propaganda during wartime.
Notice the careful phrasing of the sentence, clearly leaving open their view that others besides the Mirror and their potentially faked photos might be "consciously contributing to enemy propaganda" -- like any media outlet daring to report on what went on.
Then they get to the letter sent to George "Tex" Bush by former US diplomats criticising his Middle East policies, mirroring a similar letter sent to Tony "Posh" Blair by retired UK diplomats. Both are explained as follows:
Diplomats sometimes end up acting as advocates for the country where they're assigned rather than their own; it's possible that these guys simply "went native."
A nice description of "Prince" Bandar, friend of Dubya, and Saudi "Ambassador" to the US.
Another day of bile and irrationality on the Wall Street Journal online. Some of the lowlights:
But if the [UK Daily] Mirror does turn out to have fabricated the [Iraqi prisoner abuse] photos, it will be the clearest evidence yet that some in the press are abusing their power and consciously contributing to enemy propaganda during wartime.
Notice the careful phrasing of the sentence, clearly leaving open their view that others besides the Mirror and their potentially faked photos might be "consciously contributing to enemy propaganda" -- like any media outlet daring to report on what went on.
Then they get to the letter sent to George "Tex" Bush by former US diplomats criticising his Middle East policies, mirroring a similar letter sent to Tony "Posh" Blair by retired UK diplomats. Both are explained as follows:
Diplomats sometimes end up acting as advocates for the country where they're assigned rather than their own; it's possible that these guys simply "went native."
A nice description of "Prince" Bandar, friend of Dubya, and Saudi "Ambassador" to the US.
The three men I admire the most
We still don't really know how to interpret the spectacle of Presidential candidate John Kerry being flailed for the conformity or lack thereof between his religion and his politics while Dubya sails serenely on through war and poverty still wearing his best Pharisee face for services every Sunday. But with our current recommended reading being Diarmaid MacCulloch's The Reformation, we found ourselves asking the following. The media have allowed Dubya to draw a distinction between the role of Jesus as his personal Saviour and the role of God has an endower of fundamental rights to all people, rights which Dubya then may choose to facilitate via such measures as the war in Iraq.
But...but...then we think of MacCulloch's extended accounts of disputes between different branches of Christianity, in which much ink was spilled over the concept of the Trinity. And as far as we can tell, most Christian denominations, including Dubya's Methodism, subscribe to the general idea of the Trinity, in which Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are three manifestations of the SAME BEING. So, is someone going to ask Dubya then to explain the difference between his acknowledged mission from God to bring freedom to all peoples and the implied identical terms of reference for that mission from Jesus? We're sure the Islamic clerics would like to know.
We still don't really know how to interpret the spectacle of Presidential candidate John Kerry being flailed for the conformity or lack thereof between his religion and his politics while Dubya sails serenely on through war and poverty still wearing his best Pharisee face for services every Sunday. But with our current recommended reading being Diarmaid MacCulloch's The Reformation, we found ourselves asking the following. The media have allowed Dubya to draw a distinction between the role of Jesus as his personal Saviour and the role of God has an endower of fundamental rights to all people, rights which Dubya then may choose to facilitate via such measures as the war in Iraq.
But...but...then we think of MacCulloch's extended accounts of disputes between different branches of Christianity, in which much ink was spilled over the concept of the Trinity. And as far as we can tell, most Christian denominations, including Dubya's Methodism, subscribe to the general idea of the Trinity, in which Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are three manifestations of the SAME BEING. So, is someone going to ask Dubya then to explain the difference between his acknowledged mission from God to bring freedom to all peoples and the implied identical terms of reference for that mission from Jesus? We're sure the Islamic clerics would like to know.
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