|
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
>> <:>i n t e r a l i a<:> <<
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
2 August 2002
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
An archive of past issues of <:>inter alia<:> is
online, with issues dating back to April 1998:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_archive.htm
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In Today's Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
1. A Word A Day -- fata morgana
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
3. Quote of the Day -- Naomi Lazard
4. HotSites - Miscellany
5. Weird News - Donkey Bite
6. Reading List - The Rush to War
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````
1. A Word A Day
`````````````````
fata morgana (fata mor-GAH-nuh) noun
An optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water, often with
inverted reflections of distant objects, and results from distortion of
light by alternate layers of hot and cool air. Also called mirage.
[Italian, mirage, Morgan le Fay (from the belief that the mirage was caused
by her witchcraft) : fata, fairy (from Vulgar Latin fata, goddess of fate)
+ Morgana, Morgan, probably from Old Irish Morrigain.]
"It is too early in Go-Go to have predictable, controllable results, and
a bonus based exclusively on a formula of controllable and achievable
results is a fata morgana."
Ichak Adizes, Surviving the Go-Go Years, The Pursuit of Prime, Jan 1996.
--
>From A Word A Day:
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/
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2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
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Mushrooms
http://lhostelaw.com/0207/0208title.htm
Last Issue:
Fruit Bowl, 2002
http://lhostelaw.com/0207/020713fruit.htm
Tulip Close-up, 2002
http://lhostelaw.com/0204/0204tulip2.htm
July Abstracts Too
http://lhostelaw.com/0207/020713abs.htm
--
GOTD Archives:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_graphics.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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3. Quote of the Day -- Naomi Lazard
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Ordinance On Arrival
by Naomi Lazard
Welcome to you
who have managed to get here.
It's been a terrible trip;
you should be happy you have survived it.
Statistics prove that not many do.
You would like a bath, a hot meal,
a good night's sleep. Some of you
need medical attention.
None of this is available.
These things have always been
in short supply; now
they are impossible to obtain.
This is not
a temporary situation;
it is permanent.
Our condolences on your disappointment.
It is not our responsibility
everything you have heard about this place
is false. It is not our fault
you have been deceived,
ruined your health getting here.
For reasons beyond our control
there is no vehicle out.
from Ordinances, 1984
Owl Creek Press
Copyright 1984 by Naomi Lazard.
All rights reserved.
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4. HotSites -- Miscellany
`````````````````````````````````````````````
NovelGuide:
http://www.novelguide.com/index.html
Calclate your BMI Index:
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm
Virtual flight over U.S.:
http://www.terrafly.com/
--
HotSites Archive: http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_hs.htm
Another: http://lhostelaw.com/ia/ia2/hot_archive.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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5. Weird News -- Donkey Bite
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Boy's Penis Stitched Back After Donkey Bite
Thu Jul 25,11:01 AM ET
RABAT (Reuters) - Surgeons have managed to stitch back
a Moroccan boy's penis after it was bitten off by a
donkey, the official MAP news agency reported Thursday.
Professor Mouaad Mounir, chief urologist at Ibnou
Toufail hospital in the southern city of Marrakesh, was
quoted as saying the operation on the seven-year-old
boy was carried out last week.
He said the operation had taken 45 minutes and was
successful.
MAP did not say how the donkey managed to bite off the
boy's penis.
A source at the hospital confirmed the agency's report,
but declined to give further details.
Donkeys in Morocco are used for laborious work on farms
and garbage collection and are often subject to harsh
treatment.
From: http://www.reuters.com/home.jhtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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6. Reading List - The Rush to War
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Printed from http://www.thenation.com © 2002
The Nation Company, L.P.
The Rush to War
by Richard Faulk
The American Constitution at the very
beginning of the Republic sought above all to guard the
country against reckless, ill-considered recourse to war.
It required a declaration of war by the legislative
branch, and gave Congress the power over appropriations
even during wartime. Such caution existed before the great
effort of the twentieth century to erect stronger barriers
to war by way of international law and public morality,
and to make this resistance to war the central feature of
the United Nations charter. Consistent with this
undertaking, German and Japanese leaders who engaged in
aggressive war were punished after World War II as war
criminals. The most prominent Americans at the time
declared their support for such a framework of restraint
as applicable in the future to all states, not just to the
losers in a war. We all realize that the effort to avoid
war has been far from successful, but it remains a goal
widely shared by the peoples of the world and still
endorsed by every government on the planet.
And yet, here we are, poised on the slippery precipice of
a pre-emptive war, without even the benefit of meaningful
public debate. The constitutional crisis is so deep that
it is not even noticed. The unilateralism of the Bush
White House is an affront to the rest of the world, which
is unanimously opposed to such an action. The Democratic
Party, even in its role as loyal opposition, should be
doing its utmost to raise the difficult questions.
Instead, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, under the
chairmanship of Democratic Senator Biden, organized two
days of hearings, notable for the absence of critical
voices. Such hearings are worse than nothing, creating a
forum for advocates of war, fostering the illusion that no
sensible dissent exists and thus serving mainly to raise
the war fever a degree or two. How different might the
impact of such hearings be if respected and informed
critics of a pre-emptive war, such as Hans von Sponeck and
Denis Halliday, both former UN coordinators of
humanitarian assistance to Iraq who resigned in protest a
few years back, were given the opportunity to appear
before the senators. The media, too, have failed miserably
in presenting to the American people the downside of war
with Iraq. And the citizenry has been content to follow
the White House on the warpath without demanding to know
why the lives of young Americans should be put at risk,
much less why the United States should go to war against a
distant foreign country that has never attacked us and
whose people have endured the most punishing sanctions in
all of history for more than a decade.
This is not just a procedural demand that we respect the
Constitution as we decide upon recourse to war--the most
serious decision any society can make, not only for itself
but for its adversary. It is also, in this instance, a
substantive matter of the greatest weight. The United
States is without doubt the world leader at this point,
and its behavior with respect to war and law is likely to
cast a long shadow across the future. To go legitimately
to war in the world that currently exists can be based on
three types of considerations: international law (self-
defense as set forth in Article 51 backed by a UN mandate,
as in the Gulf War), international morality (humanitarian
intervention to prevent genocide or ethnic cleansing) and
necessity (the survival and fundamental interests of a
state are genuinely threatened and not really covered by
international law, as arguably was the case in the war in
Afghanistan).
With respect to Iraq, there is no pretense that
international law supports such a war and little claim
that the brutality of the Iraqi regime creates a
foundation for humanitarian intervention. The
Administration's argument for war rests on the necessity
argument, the alleged risk posed by Iraqi acquisition of
weapons of mass destruction, and the prospect that such
weapons would be made available to Al Qaeda for future use
against the United States. Such a risk, to the scant
extent that it exists, can be addressed much more
successfully by relying on deterrence and containment
(which worked against the far more menacing Soviet Union
for decades) than by aggressive warmaking. All the
evidence going back to the Iran/Iraq War and the Gulf War
shows that Saddam Hussein responds to pressure and threat
and is not inclined to risk self-destruction. Indeed, if
America attacks and if Iraq truly possesses weapons of
mass destruction, the feared risks are likely to
materialize as Iraq and Saddam confront defeat and
humiliation, and have little left to lose.
A real public debate is needed not only to revitalize
representative democracy but to head off an unnecessary
war likely to bring widespread death and destruction as
well as heighten regional dangers of economic and
political instability, encourage future anti-American
terrorism and give rise to a US isolationism that this
time is not of its own choosing!
We must ask why the open American system is so closed in
this instance. How can we explain this unsavory rush to
judgment, when so many lives are at stake? What is now
wrong with our system, with the vigilance of our
citizenry, that such a course of action can be embarked
upon without even evoking criticism in high places, much
less mass opposition in the streets?
RICHARD FALK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
>> <:>i n t e r a l i a<:> <<
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
9 August 2002
On this day in 1974, Tricky Dick resigned
as 37th president of the United States.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
An archive of past issues of <:>inter alia<:> is
online, with issues dating back to April 1998:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_archive.htm
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In Today's Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
1. A Word A Day -- mellifluous
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
3. Quote of the Day -- Jon Loomis
4. HotSites - Weird, Whacky, Creative, and Fun
5. Weird News - Doctor Leaves Surgery Patient to Visit Bank (Bush thinks it's the lawyers' fault.)
6. Reading List - Vanishing Glaciers, Bush's EPA, and Unlimited Presidential Powers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````
1. A Word A Day
`````````````````
mellifluous (muh-LIF-LOO-uhs) adjective
Smoothly or sweetly flowing, as if like honey.
[From Middle English, from Late Latin mellifluus, from melli-, from Latin
mel (honey) + fluere (to flow).]
"The lambada, a mellifluous, nearly licentious dance from the
north-east part of Brazil, piqued the world's interest (and briefly
Hollywood's) early in this decade."
What makes Brazil Brazilian? (Brazilians' Passion for Dancing),
The Economist (London), Mar 30, 1996.
"Lincoln Center provided a symbolic glossary: the good guys wear green
and white, the villains red. Heroes sing mellifluous chant; villains
speak; women are played by heavily veiled men."
Edward Rothstein, A Gap Between Cultures Crying Out for a Bridge,
The New York Times, Jul 20, 2002.
--
>From A Word A Day:
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Geos
http://lhostelaw.com/0208/020801geos.htm
Last Issue:
Mushrooms
http://lhostelaw.com/0207/0208title.htm
--
GOTD Archives:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_graphics.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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3. Quote of the Day -- Jon Loomis
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
On the First Tee with Charles Wright
My tee shot is a paltry thing, a low slow dribbler — 80 yards
but almost straight, and almost in the fairway. Charles nods
and shrugs — he's seen worse, and being from the South
is too polite to say what David says: "Hey, Loomis —
have your husband hit it for you." Charles takes a practice swing;
smooth and easy, no big deal. "What are those?" he asks, frowning
down the hill. "Catalpas?" We don't know, hadn't noticed them,
had not until this moment smelled the pine-sap or the leaf-rot,
hadn't thought too much about the light, and how this time
of year it rises from the tall red grass beside the highway
like redemption — hell, we haven't even read Cathay. Charles hits
his drive a mile but veering left, toward a pond, and then — I swear
this much is true — it turns in mid-air, bounces off an alder tree,
rolls an easy pitch from the green. "Look at that," he says.
"I must be living right." And as we walk to our second shots
the clouds above him part, a shaft of violet light descends
and draws him up, still toting his clubs in their canvas bag,
still considering the trees, and he's gone — the sky closed gasket tight
and rippling, a sudden wedge of starlings overhead. "I'm not
surprised," says David, bumping up his lie in the short rough.
"Not after a shot like that." But even I can see that golf
is just the metaphor — it could be anything. A parking place.
Steamed crabs and beer. My ex-wife, combing her long black hair.
Jon Loomis
The Pleasure Principle
Oberlin College Press
Copyright © 2001 by Oberlin College.
All rights reserved.
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4. HotSites -- Weird, Whacky, Creative, and Fun
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Whacky, creative, and loads of fun - ze's page:
http://www.zefrank.com/
Snake Pit game:
http://www.wackytimes.com/games/snakepit.html
Darwin Awards
http://www.darwinawards.com/
--
HotSites Archive:http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_hs.htm
Another: http://lhostelaw.com/ia/ia2/hot_archive.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
5. Weird News -- Doctor Leaves Surgery Patient to Visit Bank
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Doctor Leaves Surgery Patient to Visit Bank
Aug 8,10:58 AM ET
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - A Massachusetts doctor has
been suspended for leaving a patient on the operating
table midway through spinal surgery so he could deposit
a check at his local bank, authorities said on
Thursday.
The state board of medicine said David Arndt, an
orthopedic surgeon, posed "an immediate threat to the
public health, safety and welfare" after he left the
patient last month with an open incision in his back.
Arndt left behind a surgeon who was not qualified to
complete the surgery, according to board documents.
After his 35-minute trip to the bank, Arndt returned to
the operating room and finished the surgery within a
few hours.
The patient, who was anesthetized during the procedure
to restabilize his spine, apparently did not suffer any
harm from Arndt's absence and was able to recover in
the intensive care unit of Mount Auburn Hospital.
The board on Wednesday suspended Arndt's license to
practice medicine in Massachusetts, but he will have a
chance to appeal the decision.
According to a board investigator, Arndt acknowledged
he had "exercised remarkably horrible judgement."
Arndt explained to the investigator he had been waiting
for his paycheck because he had to pay some overdue
bills, and had been hoping to finish the surgery before
his bank closed for the day.
The procedure took longer than he expected, however,
and Arndt decided to make a break for the bank midway
through surgery.
Arndt, a graduate of Harvard Medical School ( news -
web sites), was not available for comment on his
suspension.
From: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index2&cid=757
==
>>>>>>>Bush Urges a Cap on Medical Liability<<<<<<<<<<<<
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/26/politics/26BUSH.html
. . .Medical malpractice awards have been a perennial issue in the health
care debate, with many Republicans and the health insurance industry
arguing that until doctors receive protection from lawsuits, they will
continue ordering expensive tests and unnecessary procedures that
drive up costs. Mr. Bush echoed that argument today, saying too
many doctors are practicing "defensive medicine."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/26/politics/26BUSH.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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6. Reading List - Vanishing Glaciers, Bush's EPA, and Unlimited Presidential Powers
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Vanishing Glaciers
http://www.greenpeace.org/features/details?features_id=21789
==
Bush's EPA
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13735
===
Unlimited Presidential Powers
8 August 2002
N.Y.Times Editorial
The Justice Department all but told a federal judge this
week to take his legitimate concerns about civil
liberties and stuff them in the garbage pail. The Bush
administration seems to believe, on no good legal
authority, that if it calls citizens combatants in the
war on terrorism, it can imprison them indefinitely and
deprive them of lawyers. It took this misguided
position to a ludicrous extreme on Tuesday, insisting
that the federal courts could not review its
determinations.
This defiance of the courts repudiates two centuries
of constitutional law and undermines the very
freedoms that President Bush says he is defending
in the struggle against terrorism. The courts must
firmly reject the White House's assertion of unchecked
powers.
The administration's autocratic approach is
unfolding in the case of Yasser Esam Hamdi. Mr. Hamdi,
who was born in Baton Rouge, La., to Saudi parents, was
captured by the Northern Alliance while fighting with
the Taliban in Afghanistan. Mr. Hamdi is being held in
a Navy brig in Norfolk, Va., without having been
charged with any crime and has been denied permission
to see a lawyer. Judge Robert Doumar of the federal
district court in Norfolk asked prosecutors to submit
documents, including interview notes, so he could
assess the claim that Mr. Hamdi is an enemy combatant.
On Tuesday the Justice Department refused to hand over
the documents, saying the courts had no jurisdiction in
the matter.
The Bush administration has framed the dispute
as being over the separation of powers and the
right of the executive branch to oversee the waging of
war. The courts have, in fact, given the political
branches considerable leeway where wars are concerned.
But declaring American citizens to be enemy combatants,
and therefore not entitled to basic constitutional
protections, is a clear matter of domestic civil
liberties. The courts have an obligation to play an
active role in reviewing these determinations.
In the case of Mr. Hamdi, the evidence submitted by
prosecutors is thin. The government is relying on a
two-page affidavit from a Defense Department adviser
that simply gives a brief outline of Mr. Hamdi's
alleged actions and declares him a combatant. Given the
importance of the rights at stake, Judge Doumar was
correct to ask prosecutors to hand over supporting
materials so he can satisfy himself that the right
decision was made.
Judge Doumar acted at the behest of the Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.,
which advised him that he needed to adduce more facts
and hear more arguments before he could order the
government to let Mr. Hamdi consult with a lawyer.
Though the three-judge panel that issued the ruling was
deferential to the administration, Chief Judge J.
Harvie Wilkinson 3rd, a conservative stalwart, warned
that in the absence of judicial review, "any American
citizen alleged to be an enemy combatant could be
detained indefinitely without charges or counsel."
The Bush administration seems to be using the Hamdi case to
establish the principle that it has the exclusive power
to decide who is an enemy combatant. If the
administration's position prevails, we can expect to
see many more cases like it. The government will be
free to seize anyone it wants simply by saying the
magic words "enemy combatant," and the courts will be
powerless to release such people from prison, or even
provide them with lawyers.
This was not what the founders had in mind. They established
a system of checks and balances so no one branch of government
would have unrestrained power. And the Supreme Court
has made clear, in case after case, that the courts
have just the sort of judicial review power that Judge
Doumar has invoked. The parties in the Hamdi case will
soon return to court. If the government has not changed
its mind, Judge Doumar should insist that it comply
with his well-reasoned order.
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/08/opinion/08THU1.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
>> <:>i n t e r a l i a<:> <<
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
31October 2002
Nevada became a state on this day in 1864
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
An archive of past issues of <:>inter alia<:> is
online, with issues dating back to April 1998:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_archive.htm
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In Today's Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
1. A Word A Day -- angelast
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
3. Quote of the Day -- Katha Pollitt
4. HotSites - Miscellany
5. Humor - Tips for a happy, yet hellish, Halloween night
6. Reading List - Bush's Fall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````
1. A Word A Day
`````````````````
agelast (AJ-uh-last)
noun
Someone who never laughs. [From Greek agelastos (not laughing), ultimately
from gelaein (to laugh).]
"Between the obscene, crude buffoon of the old comedy and the boor, the
dour agelast who takes offense at everything ..."
Giuseppe Mazzotta, Playboys and Killjoys, Shakespeare Quarterly
(Washington, DC), Autumn 1988.
"An hour of stand-up which the audience absolutely loves. I don't spot a
single agelast."
Deborah Ross, Interview: Sandi Toksvig - I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Hairdo,
Independent (London), Jul 16, 2001.
--
>From A Word A Day:
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
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Costa Rica:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0210cr/0210cr_title.htm
Leaves:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0209/020902photos.htm
Last Issue:
Geos
http://lhostelaw.com/0208/020801geos.htm
--
GOTD Archives:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_graphics.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
3. Quote of the Day -- Katha Pollitt
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Small Comfort
Katha Pollitt
Coffee and cigarettes in a clean cafe,
forsythia lit like a damp match against
a thundery sky drunk on its own ozone,
the laundry cool and crisp and folded away
again in the lavender closet-too late to find
comfort enough in such small daily moments
of beauty, renewal, calm, too late to imagine
people would rather be happy than suffering
and inflicting suffering. We're near the end,
but O before the end, as the sparrows wing
each night to their secret nests in the elm's green dome
O let the last bus bring
love to lover, let the starveling
dog turn the corner and lope suddenly
miraculously, down its own street, home.
from The New Yorker
Copyright by Katha Pollitt.
All rights reserved.
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4. HotSites -- Miscellany
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Solar System Simulator
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/
Cloud Forest Alive
http://www.cloudforestalive.org/
History Channel History of Halloween
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/
How Halloween Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/halloween.htm
--
HotSites Archive: http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_hs.htm
Another: http://lhostelaw.com/ia/ia2/hot_archive.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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5. Humor -- Tips for a happy, yet hellish, Halloween night
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Tips for a happy, yet hellish, Halloween night
DAVE BARRY
Gather 'round, boys and girls, because today Uncle Dave
is going to tell you how to have some real ''old-
fashioned'' Halloween fun!
Start by gathering these materials: A commercial air
compressor, an acetylene torch, a marine flare gun and
200 pounds of boiled pig brains. Next, select a
neighbor who . . .
Whoops! Scratch that, boys and girls! Uncle Dave did
not realize that your parents were also reading this
column. Ha ha! Hi there, Mom and Dad! Uncle Dave was
just having a flashback to the Halloweens of his
boyhood, an innocent time when parents were far more
relaxed and clueless about what their kids were up to.
Full story:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/4368581.htm
==
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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6. Reading List - Bush's Fall by Dick Morris
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October 29, 2002 -- JUST when control of Congress hangs
in the balance, President Bush is losing the popularity
he so desperately needs to gain control of the Senate
and keep power in the House. According to the Fox News
survey of Oct. 22-24, Bush's job approval has slipped
to 60 percent, from 66 percent two weeks ago and 69
percent in August. His personal favorability has
dropped to 62 percent from 72 percent in August. For
the first time since 9/11, Bush's job-approval ratings
have dropped below those Bill Clinton maintained
throughout his second term, even in the midst of
impeachment proceedings.
The last time a mid-term election resulted in a
partisan rout, in 1994, the auger of Democratic
disaster was a drop in Clinton's job approval in the
period immediately before the balloting.
Why is Bush in free fall?
* Support for an invasion of Iraq has dropped from 72
percent to 62 percent in the past 14 days. Bush and his
folks are so distracted by their diplomatic dance with
France and Russia that they have fallen down on the job
of convincing the American people that an invasion is
needed.
* Bush has been hit with a continuous six-month fall in
his ratings on "managing the economy" - from 64 percent
approval on April 30 to 55 percent on July 2 48 percent
on Oct. 22.
* By campaigning for Republican candidates around the
nation, Bush seems to be undermining the case for a
military emergency requiring immediate action against
Iraq.
* History may be repeating itself. When Bill Clinton
returned from his successful trip to the Middle East in
October of 1994, he found his job approval had risen 10
points as a result of his "presidential" image in
negotiating a peace deal between Jordan and Israel.
Determined to use that popularity to re-elect Democrats
who had voted for his tax program, he immediately
toured the nation giving political speeches.
The public soon forgot all about the "presidential"
president they had seen: Clinton's job approval dropped
the 10 points he had gained. The result was a 1994
disaster for the Democrats.
For their part, the Democrats have triangulated the war
with Iraq, giving the president the resolution he
wanted and thereby dismissing it as a campaign issue.
As a result, it has lost its political punch.
Asked in the Fox News poll which issue "will be the
most important in deciding your vote for Congress this
fall" voters cited the economy (25 percent), terrorism
(17 percent), education (14 percent), health care (13
percent), Social Security (11 percent) and Iraq at only
5 percent. Apart from terror and Iraq, all these issues
have a sharp Democratic skew.
To salvage his chances of victory, Bush needs to stop
campaigning, stop futzing with the U.N. and start to
re-create a national sense of urgency about Iraq and
terror in general. He needs to set a deadline by which
time America will open fire in Iraq, and begin moving
troops there to enforce it. He can then tell France and
Russia to come along if they wish and lapse into
irrelevance if they don't. The only good news for Bush
is that his ratings for handling terrorism are still
very high (67 percent) but the issue is losing its
political salience.
From the N.Y. Post:
http://www.nypost.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
>> <:>i n t e r a l i a<:> <<
>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<
14November2002
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
An archive of past issues of <:>inter alia<:> is
online, with issues dating back to April 1998:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_archive.htm
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In Today's Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
1. A Word A Day -- blatherskite
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
3. Reading List - YOU ARE A SUSPECT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````
1. A Word A Day
`````````````````
blatherskite (BLATH-uhr-skyt) noun
1. A person who babbles about inane matters.
2. Nonsense; foolish talk.
[From Old Norse blathra (to chatter) + Scots dialect
skate (a contemptible person).]
What does today's word have in common with the
following seemingly disparate words: bladder, flatus,
blast, flavor, inflate, souffle, afflatus? They all are
ultimately derived from the Indo-European root bhle-
and involve the idea of blowing. -Anu
"You can play it solo, but that bouncing, blatherskite
of a compere keeps nagging at you to get a partner."
Mark Butler, Movie Trivia an Interesting Cameo, The
Australian (Sydney), May 27,1997.
"We should perhaps clarify that we do not prefer
lawmaking by politicians to lawmaking by judges because
we have some unhealthy fondness for the blatherskites
who every four years knock on your front door and want
to put up a sign on the lawn." Ian Hunter, Judge-
bashing is Here to Stay, National Post (Canada), Mar
30, 2000.
--
>From A Word A Day:
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
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Orange Flower:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211\021109_1139_orangeflower.htm
Last Issue:
Costa Rica:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0210cr/0210cr_title.htm
Leaves:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0209/020902photos.htm
--
GOTD Archives:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_graphics.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
3. Reading List - YOU ARE A SUSPECT
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
From the New York Times
November 14, 2002
You Are a Suspect
By WILLIAM SAFIRE
WASHINGTON — If the Homeland Security Act is not
amended before passage, here is what will happen to
you:
Every purchase you make with a credit card, every
magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription
you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send
or receive, every academic grade you receive, every
bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every
event you attend — all these transactions and
communications will go into what the Defense Department
describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database."
To this computerized dossier on your private life from
commercial sources, add every piece of information that
government has about you — passport application,
driver's license and bridge toll records, judicial and
divorce records, complaints from nosy neighbors to the
F.B.I., your lifetime paper trail plus the latest
hidden camera surveillance — and you have the
supersnoop's dream: a "Total Information Awareness"
about every U.S. citizen.
This is not some far-out Orwellian scenario. It is what
will happen to your personal freedom in the next few
weeks if John Poindexter gets the unprecedented power
he seeks.
Remember Poindexter? Brilliant man, first in his class
at the Naval Academy, later earned a doctorate in
physics, rose to national security adviser under
President Ronald Reagan. He had this brilliant idea of
secretly selling missiles to Iran to pay ransom for
hostages, and with the illicit proceeds to illegally
support contras in Nicaragua.
A jury convicted Poindexter in 1990 on five felony
counts of misleading Congress and making false
statements, but an appeals court overturned the verdict
because Congress had given him immunity for his
testimony. He famously asserted, "The buck stops here,"
arguing that the White House staff, and not the
president, was responsible for fateful decisions that
might prove embarrassing.
This ring-knocking master of deceit is back again with
a plan even more scandalous than Iran-contra. He heads
the "Information Awareness Office" in the otherwise
excellent Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
which spawned the Internet and stealth aircraft
technology. Poindexter is now realizing his 20-year
dream: getting the "data-mining" power to snoop on
every public and private act of every American.
Even the hastily passed U.S.A. Patriot Act, which
widened the scope of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act and weakened 15 privacy laws, raised
requirements for the government to report secret
eavesdropping to Congress and the courts. But
Poindexter's assault on individual privacy rides
roughshod over such oversight.
He is determined to break down the wall between
commercial snooping and secret government intrusion.
The disgraced admiral dismisses such necessary
differentiation as bureaucratic "stovepiping." And he
has been given a $200 million budget to create computer
dossiers on 300 million Americans.
When George W. Bush was running for president, he stood
foursquare in defense of each person's medical,
financial and communications privacy. But Poindexter,
whose contempt for the restraints of oversight drew the
Reagan administration into its most serious blunder, is
still operating on the presumption that on such a
sweeping theft of privacy rights, the buck ends with
him and not with the president.
This time, however, he has been seizing power in the
open. In the past week John Markoff of The Times,
followed by Robert O'Harrow of The Washington Post,
have revealed the extent of Poindexter's operation, but
editorialists have not grasped its undermining of the
Freedom of Information Act.
Political awareness can overcome "Total Information
Awareness," the combined force of commercial and
government snooping. In a similar overreach, Attorney
General Ashcroft tried his Terrorism Information and
Prevention System (TIPS), but public outrage at the use
of gossips and postal workers as snoops caused the
House to shoot it down. The Senate should now do the
same to this other exploitation of fear.
The Latin motto over Poindexter"s new Pentagon office
reads "Scientia Est Potentia" — "knowledge is power."
Exactly: the government's infinite knowledge about you
is its power over you. "We're just as concerned as the
next person with protecting privacy," this brilliant
mind blandly assured The Post. A jury found he spoke
falsely before.
Copyright The New York Times Company
From the New York TImes:
http://www.nytimes.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
<:>i n t e r a l i a<:>
26 November 2002
On this day in 1973, Rose Mary Woods, told
a federal court she accidentally caused part
of 18-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
An archive of past issues of <:>inter alia<:> is
online, with issues dating back to April 1998:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_archive.htm
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In Today's Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
1. A Word A Day -- indolent
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
3. Quote of the Day -- Terence Winch
4. HotSites - Reference
5. Reading List - Why should we ask our military to
die for cheap oil when the rest of us aren't even
being asked to get better mileage? (Molly Ivins)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````
1. A Word A Day
`````````````````
indolent (IN-duh-lehnt) adjective
1. Lazy, lethargic, averse to exertion.
2. Painless or causing little pain; slow to develop or heal.
Used in medicine, e.g. indolent ulcer.
[From Late Latin indolent-, stem of indolens, from Latin in- (not) + dolens,
present participle of dolere (to suffer, feel pain). Other words that
derive from the same root (dolere) : condole, dole, dolor.]
"He also disclosed that under the arrangement, indolent chairmen would
be sacked, while hardworking ones would be commended and encouraged
by government." -- David Owei, Bayelsa Threatens to Relocate Council
Headquarters From Hostile Communities, The Guardian
(Lagos, Nigeria), Jul 30, 2001.
"The settlement of that province had lately been begun, but, instead
of being made with hardy, industrious husbandmen, accustomed to
labor, the only people fit for such an enterprise, it was with families
of broken shop-keepers and other insolvent debtors, many of indolent
and idle habits, taken out of the jails, who, being set down in the woods,
unqualified for clearing land, and unable to endure the hardships of a new
settlement, perished in numbers, leaving many helpless children unprovided
for." -- Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin, 1793.
--
>From A Word A Day:
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Great Egret:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211/021124018_greg.htm
Frieze Detail:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211/021124027_frieze.htm
Last Issue:
Orange Flower:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211\021109_1139_orangeflower.htm
--
GOTD Archives:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_graphics.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
3. Quote of the Day -- Terence Winch
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Social Security
Terence Winch
No one is safe. The streets are unsafe.
Even in the safety zones, it's not safe.
Even safe sex is not safe.
Even things you lock up in a safe
are not safe. Never deposit anything
in a safe-deposit box, because it
won't be safe there. Nobody is safe
at home during baseball games anymore.
At night I go around in the dark
locking everything, returning
a few minutes later
to make sure I locked
everything. It's not safe here.
It's not safe and they know it.
People get hurt using safety pins.
It was not always this way.
Long ago, everyone felt safe. Aristotle
never felt danger. Herodotus felt danger
only when Xerxes was around. Young women
were afraid of wingèd dragons, but felt
relaxed otherwise. Timotheus, however,
was terrified of storms until he played
one on the flute. After that, everyone
was more afraid of him than of the violent
west wind, which was fine with Timotheus.
Euclid, full of music himself, believed only
that there was safety in numbers.
from The Paris Review, Volume 42,
Number 156, Fall 2001
The Paris Review
Copyright 2001 by Terence Winch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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4. HotSites - Reference
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Bartleby.com - not just quotes.
Oodles of reference material, from Gray's Anatomy to
the History of the World:
http://www.bartleby.com/
Merck Veterinary Manual:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp
Road Travel Info:
http://www.highways.tv/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
5. Reading List - Molly Ivins
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
How 1984 and 2002 add up to trouble
by Molly Ivins
Sun, Nov. 24, 2002
Readin' the newspapers anymore is eerily reminiscent of
all those bad novels warning of the advent of fascism
in America. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis was
a bad book, and the genre shades off into right-wing
paranoia about black helicopters, including the
memorably awful The Turner Diaries. I don't use the f-
word myself -- in fact, for years, I've made fun of
liberals who hear the approach of jackbooted fascism
around every corner.
But to quote a real authority on the subject, "Fascism
should more properly be called corporatism, since it is
the merger of state and corporate power" -- Benito
Mussolini.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently quoted
"the quite apolitical Web site Corporate Governance,
which matter-of-factly remarks, 'Given the power of
corporate lobbyists, government control often equates
to de facto corporate control anyway.' " It's gettin'
downright creepy out there.
The most hair-raising news du jour is about Total
Information Awareness, a giant government computer spy
system being set up to spy on Americans, run by none
other than John Poindexter of Iran-contra fame.
Total Information Awareness will provide intelligence
agencies and law enforcement with instant access to
information from e-mail, telephone records, credit
cards, banking transactions and travel records, all
without a search warrant. It will, said Poindexter,
"break down the stovepipes" that separate commercial
and government databases. The just-passed Homeland
Security bill undermines the Privacy Act of 1974, which
was intended to limit what government agencies can do
with personal information.
And can we trust the government to keep all this
information solely for the task of tracking terrorists?
Funny you should ask. The Wall Street Journal reported
last week that shortly after Sept. 11, the FBI
circulated the names of hundreds of people it wanted to
question to scores of corporations around the country,
sharing the list with car rental companies, banks,
travel firms, casinos, truckers, chemical companies and
power plants.
"A year later, the list has taken on a life of its own,
with multiplying -- and error-filled -- versions being
passed around like bootleg music. Some companies fed a
version of the list into their databases and now use it
to screen job applicants and customers."
The list included people who were not suspects at all -
- just people whom the FBI wanted to talk to because
they might have had some information. But, the Journal
reports, a Venezuelan bank's security officer sent the
list, headed "suspected terrorists sent by the FBI," to
a Web site.
The great writer on the subject of totalitarianism was
George Orwell, and 1984 is always worth rereading.
Damned if GeeDubya Bush didn't pop up the other day to
announce that we must fight a war "for the sake of
peace." That's not vaguely Orwellian -- it's a direct
steal.
During another time of rampaging fear when civil
liberties were considered a frivolous luxury -- the
late, unlamented McCarthy era -- the American Civil
Liberties Union chickened out on some big issues, and
so an Emergency Civil Liberties Union had to be created
to fight McCarthyism. The present ACLU, under Anthony
Romero, is fighting hard, but I think we need a new
coalition organization -- civil libertarians,
libertarians and principled conservatives … real
patriots who believe in the Constitution.
The blowhard right-wingers sometimes put down Barry
Goldwater these days as "the liberals' favorite
conservative," and so he was. But in your heart, you
know Goldwater would have had a cow over all this.
Rep. Dick Armey has already announced that he will do
consulting work with the ACLU on privacy issues (good
on him). Rep. Ron Paul and columnist Bill Safire are
stout on these matters, as are other unlikely suspects
such as Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia.
For those who relish irony, there's a comical extent to
which liberals are the new conservatives, exactly where
the old principled Republicans used to be -- reluctant
to get involved in foreign wars, suspicious of foreign
entanglements, harping on fiscal responsibility and
worried about constitutional freedoms.
Personally, I still believe that internationalism makes
more sense than isolationism because our major problems
in the future -- global warming, overpopulation and
water shortage -- are going to have to be dealt with on
a global basis. This is an environmental struggle as
well as a civil liberties struggle. I think it is
inarguable that this is the most anti-environmental
administration since before Teddy Roosevelt.
The corporatists in this administration, particularly
those from the oil bidness, apparently have some grand
imperialist schemes to keep us in cheap oil
indefinitely.
As a matter of both foreign and environmental policy,
it makes a lot more sense to lay rail, promote
renewable energy and get serious about conserving oil.
We subsidize the oil bidness with innumerable tax
breaks, loopholes and support programs. For heaven's
sake, why not support renewable energy instead? Why
should we ask our military to die for cheap oil when
the rest of us aren't even being asked to get better
mileage?
© 2001 startelegram and wire service sources. All
Rights Reserved.
From the Star Telegram:
http://www.dfw.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
<:> i n t e r a l i a <:>
3 December 2002
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
An archive of past issues of <:>inter alia<:> is
online, with issues dating back to April 1998:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_archive.htm
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In Today's Issue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
1. A Word A Day -- casus belli
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
3. Quote of the Day -- 96 Vandam - by Gerald Stern
4. HotSites - Miscellany
5. Reading List - The Latest Kissinger Outrage
- By Christopher Hitchens
6. More Reading -- He's Ba-a-ack! - By Maureen Dowd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````
1. A Word A Day
`````````````````
casus belli (KAY-suhs BEL-y, BEL-ee)
noun, plural casus belli
An action or event that causes or is used to justify starting a war.
[From New Latin casus belli, from Latin casus, occasion,
belli, genitive of bellum, war.]
"RAI's news operations are still heavily politicized, with
every channel following a political bent and news editors'
appointments becoming a casus belli for political battles."
Yaroslav Trofimov, RAI Chief Turns State Network Into
Modern Firm, The Wall Street Journal, Dec 13, 2000.
--
>From A Word A Day:
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
2. Graphics of the Day -- by David J. L'Hoste
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
1. Column Detail:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211/021124034_column.htm
2. Another Great Egret:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211/021129012_greg.htm
--
Last Issue:
1. Great Egret:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211/021124018_greg.htm
2. Frieze Detail:
http://www.lhostelaw.com/0211/021124027_frieze.htm
--
GOTD Archives:
http://lhostelaw.com/iaa/ia_graphics.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
3. Quote of the Day -- Gerald Stern
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
96 Vandam
by Gerald Stern
I am going to carry my bed into New York City tonight
complete with dangling sheets and ripped blankets;
I am going to push it across three dark highways
or coast along under 600,000 faint stars.
I want to have it with me so I don't have to beg
for too much shelter from my weak and exhausted friends.
I want to be as close as possible to my pillow
in case a dream or a fantasy should pass by.
I want to fall asleep on my own fire escape
and wake up dazed and hungry
to the sound of garbage grinding in the street below
and the smell of coffee cooking in the window above.
from This Time: New and Selected Poems, 1998
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, NY
Copyright 1998 by Gerald Stern.
All rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
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4. HotSites - Miscellany
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
U.S. Blue Pages:
http://www.usbluepages.gov/
Earth from Space ( A dataset of selected astronaut-acquired
imagery of Earth):
http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/
National Air and Space Museum:
http://www.nasm.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
5. Reading List - Christopher Hitchens
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The Latest Kissinger Outrage
Why is a proven liar and wanted man
in charge of the 9/11 investigation?
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Wednesday, November 27, 2002
The Bush administration has been saying in public for
several months that it does not desire an independent
inquiry into the gross "failures of intelligence" that
left U.S. society defenseless 14 months ago. By
announcing that Henry Kissinger will be chairing the
inquiry that it did not want, the president has now
made the same point in a different way. But the
cynicism of the decision and the gross insult to
democracy and to the families of the victims that it
represents has to be analyzed to be believed.
1) We already know quite a lot, thanks all the same,
about who was behind the attacks. Most notable in
incubating al-Qaida were the rotten client-state
regimes of the Saudi Arabian oligarchy and the
Pakistani military and police elite. Henry Kissinger is
now, and always has been, an errand boy and apologist
for such regimes.
2) When in office, Henry Kissinger organized massive
deceptions of Congress and public opinion. The most
notorious case concerned the "secret bombing" of
Cambodia and Laos, and the unleashing of
unconstitutional methods by Nixon and Kissinger to
repress dissent from this illegal and atrocious policy.
But Sen. Frank Church's commission of inquiry into the
abuses of U.S. intelligence, which focused on illegal
assassinations and the subversion of democratic
governments overseas, was given incomplete and
misleading information by Kissinger, especially on the
matter of Chile. Rep. Otis Pike's parallel inquiry in
the House (which brought to light Kissinger's personal
role in the not-insignificant matter of the betrayal of
the Iraqi Kurds, among other offenses) was thwarted by
Kissinger at every turn, and its eventual findings were
classified. In other words, the new "commission" will
be chaired by a man with a long, proven record of
concealing evidence and of lying to Congress, the
press, and the public.
3) In his second career as an obfuscator and a
falsifier, Kissinger appropriated the records of his
time at the State Department and took them on a truck
to the Rockefeller family estate in New York. He has
since been successfully sued for the return of much of
this public property, but meanwhile he produced, for
profit, three volumes of memoirs that purported to give
a full account of his tenure. In several crucial
instances, such as his rendering of U.S. diplomacy with
China over Vietnam, with apartheid South Africa over
Angola, and with Indonesia over the invasion of East
Timor (to cite only some of the most conspicuous),
declassified documents have since shown him to be a
bald-faced liar. Does he deserve a third try at
presenting a truthful record, after being caught twice
as a fabricator? And on such a grave matter as this?
4) Kissinger's "consulting" firm, Kissinger Associates,
is a privately held concern that does not publish a
client list and that compels its clients to sign
confidentiality agreements. Nonetheless, it has been
established that Kissinger's business dealings with,
say, the Chinese Communist leadership have closely
matched his public pronouncements on such things as the
massacre of Chinese students. Given the strong ties
between himself, his partners Lawrence Eagleburger and
Brent Scowcroft, and the oil oligarchies of the Gulf,
it must be time for at least a full disclosure of his
interests in the region. This thought does not seem to
have occurred to the president or to the other friends
of Prince Bandar and Prince Bandar's wife, who helped
in the evacuation of the Bin Laden family from American
soil, without an interrogation, in the week after Sept.
11.
5) On Memorial Day 2001, Kissinger was visited by the
police in the Ritz Hotel in Paris and handed a warrant,
issued by Judge Roger LeLoire, requesting his testimony
in the matter of disappeared French citizens in
Pinochet's Chile. Kissinger chose to leave town rather
than appear at the Palais de Justice as requested. He
has since been summoned as a witness by senior
magistrates in Chile and Argentina who are
investigating the international terrorist network that
went under the name "Operation Condor" and that
conducted assassinations, kidnappings, and bombings in
several countries. The most spectacular such incident
occurred in rush-hour traffic in downtown Washington,
D.C., in September 1976, killing a senior Chilean
dissident and his American companion. Until recently,
this was the worst incident of externally sponsored
criminal violence conducted on American soil. The order
for the attack was given by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who
has been vigorously defended from prosecution by Henry
Kissinger.
Moreover, on Sept. 10, 2001, a civil suit was filed in
a Washington, D.C., federal court, charging Kissinger
with murder. The suit, brought by the survivors of Gen.
Rene Schneider of Chile, asserts that Kissinger gave
the order for the elimination of this constitutional
officer of a democratic country because he refused to
endorse plans for a military coup. Every single
document in the prosecution case is a U.S.-government
declassified paper. And the target of this devastating
lawsuit is being invited to review the shortcomings of
the "intelligence community"?
In late 2001, the Brazilian government canceled an
invitation for Kissinger to speak in Sao Paulo because
it could no longer guarantee his immunity. Earlier this
year, a London court agreed to hear an application for
Kissinger's imprisonment on war crimes charges while he
was briefly in the United Kingdom. It is known that
there are many countries to which he cannot travel at
all, and it is also known that he takes legal advice
before traveling anywhere. Does the Bush administration
feel proud of appointing a man who is wanted in so many
places, and wanted furthermore for his association with
terrorism and crimes against humanity? Or does it hope
to limit the scope of the inquiry to those areas where
Kissinger has clients?
There is a tendency, some of it paranoid and
disreputable, for the citizens of other countries and
cultures to regard President Bush's "war on terror" as
opportunist and even as contrived. I myself don't take
any stock in such propaganda. But can Congress and the
media be expected to swallow the appointment of a
proven coverup artist, a discredited historian, a
busted liar, and a man who is wanted in many
jurisdictions for the vilest of offenses? The shame of
this, and the open contempt for the families of our
victims, ought to be the cause of a storm of protest.
From Slate Magazine:
http://slate.msn.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~~~~
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
6. More Reading - Maureen Dowd
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````
December 1, 2002
He's Ba-a-ack!
By MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON — It's an inspired choice. Bold,
counterintuitive, edgy, outside the box.
Who better to investigate an unwarranted attack on
America than the man who used to instigate America's
unwarranted attacks?
Who better to ferret out government duplicity and
manipulation than the man who engineered secret wars,
secret bombings, secret wiretaps and secret coups, and
still ended up as a Pillar of the Establishment and
Nobel Peace Prize winner?
It was Dick Cheney's brainstorm, naturally. Only
someone as pathologically opaque as the vice president
could appreciate the sublime translucency of Henry
Kissinger. And only someone intent on recreating the
glory days of the Ford and Nixon White Houses could
have hungered to add the 79-year-old Dr. Strange — I
mean, Dr. Kissinger to the Bush team.
There will be naysayers who quibble that the
president's choice to lead the 9/11 commission is not
so much a realist as an opportunist, not so much
Metternich as Machiavelli.
They will look askance at Mr. Kissinger's résumé:
keeping the Vietnam War going for years after he
realized it might be unwinnable; encouraging the
illegal bombing of Cambodia; backing Chile's murderous
Pinochet; playing Iago to President Richard Nixon,
telling him he'd be "a weakling" if he did not
prosecute newspapers running the Pentagon Papers;
wiretapping journalists and his own colleagues to track
down leaks on the Cambodia bombing.
If you look for the words "Kissinger" and "secret" in
the same sentence in Nexis, the search cannot be
completed; there are too many results. When he was
dating Jill St. John and Liv Ullmann and preaching that
power is an aphrodisiac, he even coyly called himself
"a secret swinger."
In Walter Isaacson's biography, "Kissinger," the same
words cascade: "deceitful," "disingenuous," "paranoid,"
"insecure," "temper tantrum," "flatterer," "two-faced"
and "secretive." The über-diplomat has even been
criticized for dissembling in his own memoirs. But
secretiveness is not a disqualification for jobs in
this White House. Quite the contrary: only the
clandestine and the conspiratorial need apply.
Mr. Bush, after all, worked very hard to suppress any
investigation of 9/11. He had to cave to the victims'
families, who were hellbent to hear what the president
learned in his August 2001 briefing about Al Qaeda
plans, and what wires were crossed at the C.I.A.,
F.B.I. and I.N.S.
Now Mr. Bush can let the commission proceed, secure in
the knowledge that Mr. Kissinger has never shed light
on a single dark corner, or failed to flatter a boss,
in his entire celebrated career. (He was one of Mr.
Bush's patient tutors in foreign policy during the
campaign.)
If you want to get to the bottom of something, you
don't appoint Henry Kissinger. If you want to keep
others from getting to the bottom of something, you
appoint Henry Kissinger.
Mr. Bush learned about the diplomat's black belt in the
black arts long ago, when he made a patsy of Bush père.
As the ambassador to the U.N. in 1971, Bush 41 was
accused of aggressively making the case for Taiwan and
against Beijing, even as Mr. Kissinger, the national
security adviser, was secretly traveling to Beijing and
undercutting Taiwan.
Afterward, Mr. Kissinger told George H. W. Bush he was
"disappointed" that Beijing had gotten Taiwan's seat in
the U.N. "Given the fact that we were saying one thing
in New York and doing another in Washington," Mr. Bush
drily observed, "that outcome was inevitable."
Fortunately, Bush Jr. was not held back by the
revulsion that many in his generation have for Mr.
Kissinger's power-drunk promotion of bloody American
adventures abroad. As the former fraternity president
told GQ magazine, he stayed a retro 50's guy through
the roiling 60's: "I don't remember any kind of
heaviness ruining my time at Yale."
Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney are in tune with Mr.
Kissinger's principles: that the greatest enemy of U.S.
policy is the U.S. media, that American diplomacy may
be happily indifferent to American public opinion, that
the great unwashed masses of our democracy are just a
big old drag on the elites who know what's best, and
that corporate pals are a help, not a hindrance, in
government work.
For this administration, outside the box is inside the
box.
Copyright The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/
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