It’s Only a Paper War
There should be a cross-reference next to the word “fool”: See William Kristol:
In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he’s got another war he’[d] like to start:
And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn’t keeping the shipping lanes open a core mission of the Navy?) and order the Navy to clobber them. If need be, the Marines would no doubt be glad to recapitulate their origins and join in by going ashore in Africa to destroy the pirates’ safe havens.
I’m not one to say that we should blindly defer to the preferences of the military brass, but surely they’re due some deference. Is the Navy really “moaning” about how difficult it would be to stop the pirates, or are they perhaps accurately describing difficulties? Where does Kristol get off adopting a condescending tone on this subject? The Marines “would no doubt be glad” to spearhead an amphibious assault on land-based Somali targets? Has he asked anyone about that? I think a lot of Marines feel that the Corps has a lot on its plate in Iraq and Afghanistan. And certainly I’ve never heard someone with legitimate knowledge of the regional situation indicate that a simple “destroy the pirates’ safe havens” operation would work. You’d need to address the fact that the whole country is in a persistent state of anarchy.
India’s 9/11
The latest confirmed figure of deaths in Mumbai (that I have seen) is 195. According to an article in the UK Telegraph, however, that number is likely to rise to 300.
Amid the ocean of ink being spilled on the Mumbai atrocity, a few underplayed angles have emerged that deserve mention:
Poverty in Pakistan, Terrorism, and the IMF
[Crossposted at dKos as a diary, please recommend it.]
From the intelligence gathered thus far, the consensus opinion on the Mumbai terrorists is they are Islamist extremists who hail from Pakistan. File that revelation under “no surprise”. But information about the lone captured terrorist, Mohammad Ajmal Mohammad Amin Kasab, and how it ties into economic news, could be startling.
UK newspaper the Observer had the now fortunate (for a news organization) coincidence of traveling to the Pakistani cities of Multan and Bahawalpur last week. They describe Bahawalpur as “the biggest recruiting base of the militant groups currently being blamed by India for the Mumbai attack”; a center for the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. What is Kasab’s connection to this? He is from Faridkot, a town close to these two cities.
I haven’t seen the demographics on these cities, but I’m guessing that poverty exists and is rampant.
On ‘Myths’, Memes, and Former GOP Media Flunkies
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”
- Alice in Wonderland
File under “Andrew Malcolm is a tool and a hack“: Greg Mitchell takes apart that Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) report on Barack Obama’s donors currently making the rounds:
The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) study disclosing that Barack Obama actually raised most of his campaign money from “larger” not “small” donors has gained wide, approving, coverage in recent days, from USA Today to the New York Times and Los Angeles Times and countless web sites, even making Huffington Post at least twice, including as a top link. Inevitably the headlines refer to the “myth” of Obama riding a wave of small donations to victory. That study’s author himself uses it.
But the “myth” is actually in the spinning of the report, including by its author, Michael Malbin, a former speechwriter for Dick Cheney, when he was Pentagon chief, and a resident fellow at The American Enterprise Institute from 1977 to 1986.
As usual in these cases, it’s not that the numbers are wrong, it’s the analysis and how the interpretation is being played by the media. Because, buried in the report, are all the figures and arguments for showing that the CFI’s “myth” is actually a myth.
Make sure to read the whole thing, as Mitchell quite thoroughly addresses a lot of the issues brought up by both the report and its breathless beltway boosters. With that said, I suppose it would do you all well to keep the following caveat in mind, in the interest of fairness: Don’t let, y’know, facts and reality automatically stand in the way of all those oh-so-balanced-and-objective attempts to erect a solid foundation of misinformation that reinforces lazy conventional wisdom.
For all we know, up really is down.
Let’s Reward Torture and Illegal Surveillance with the Medal of Freedom
That is what William Kristol wants Pres. Bush to do before he leaves office [emphasis in original]:
n his new Weekly Standard column, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol lays out a to-do list for President Bush before he leaves office. He urges Bush to deliver speeches “reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror.” Kristol dreams, “Over time, Bush might even get deserved credit for effective conduct of the war on terror.”
After urging Bush to fight the incoming administration’s desire to close Guantanamo, Kristol concludes with this:
One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning–and should at least be vociferously praising–everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.
Pledging Allegiance and Freedom of Conscience
I have heard a lot lately from social conservatives who strongly support “conscience exemptions” for health care professionals who do not want to provide abortions or dispense contraceptives or even refer a woman needing an abortion or contraception to where she can obtain those services. It seems to be an article of faith (pun intended) on the religious right that it’s perfectly legitimate to be a pharmacist and confiscate a legal prescription because it’s for a product that offends your personal religious doctrine, or to work in a government-subsidized health care facility and refuse to provide health care because your church says it’s immoral.
Insane Shoppers, Irresponsible Store Management
UPDATE: I don’t know why this always seems to happen with mattt, but once again I have posted on a news item that mattt also posted on. Sorry, mattt. At least our two posts are somewhat different in focus.
UPDATED AGAIN: Two more people dead, at a Toys ‘r Us in Palm Desert, California, this time as the result of a fight between two customers that was settled with guns. “If this is shopping,” Mark Silva writes, “we might be better off with a recession.”
As James Joyner notes, this madness seems to be an annual occurrence at this time of year. Joyner also correctly faults the management of this Wal-Mart, as well as the mob of shoppers, for the conditions that led to “such predictable results.”
Consumerism Kills Long Island Wal-Mart Worker
Ok, maybe the title of this post is a tad hyperbolic, but Jesus wept–I don’t care what day of the year it is, working retail should not be a life-threatening pursuit:
A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.
The 34-year-old employee, a temporary maintenance worker, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
“He was bum-rushed by 200 people,” said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. “They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too…I literally had to fight people off my back.”
Talk about a great reason to celebrate Buy Nothing Day.
h/t Patti Digh
Jack Goldsmith: Rule of Law Is a Threat to National Security
Hard to believe that the same man who resigned from the Office of Legal Counsel after nine months of battling the Bush administration over atrociously reasoned legal justifications for torture and limitless presidential power is now arguing that the incoming president should abandon any plans to prosecute Bush, Cheney, Addington, et al. for war crimes and other gross violations of domestic and international law.
Whodunnit?: Thinking aloud about the Mumbai terrorist attacks
In the post-9/11 world, one thing always assumed whenever there’s a terrorist attack is that it was perpetrated by Muslim extremists. Of course, the empirical evidence shows that they usually are, and I would be more surprised to hear that the Mumbai attacks were carried out by, say, a radical leftist group or something. But these attacks are different.
We don’t have enough information yet to point any fingers, but think about past Islamic terrorist attacks: They involve bombs. Lots of bombs, sometimes they are suicide bombers, sometimes it’s airplanes being steered and improvised to be used like a bomb… But most terrorist attacks we hear about are bomb/pump and dump affairs. A few nutjobs get together, put together some bombs and blow them up. We saw this in Madrid, London, previous attacks in India, and it’s even reminescient of the IED operations our troops face in Iraq.
The November 2008 Mumbai attacks are different, though: the methods used look much more like a military operation.
Terror in Mumbai
This isn’t what I want to think about happening before Turkey Day… Reports says over 40 people are dead in the Mumbai terror attacks today, and there may be American and British hostages at hotels. I don’t have time to provide more detailed coverage, but metblogs.mumbai.com has some on the scene reports. A Twitter in Mumbai, Dina, is also providing link-rich coverage. Feel free to discuss your thoughts, hopes, and prayers (if you’re theistically inclined) in comments.
Update: Unfortunately, this attacks cannot be referred to in past tense yet. They are still going on.
Another Update: Times of London has some photos. The tenor of them are.. Well, if blood makes you quesy, don’t look at them. Because they’re disturbing. Captions from the photos say that the attackers were asking people for their passports, specifically targeting American and British tourists. This is bad… We don’t yet know who perpatrated this attack, and some analyists will say that the fact the attack didn’t happen in America or Europe shows us how weakened terrrorist groups are. Maybe so. But just because this attack is in Mumbai doesn’t mean that it’s not against us.
Another update: The group which claims responsibiliy for these attacks, “Deccan Mujahideen”, nets a total of 10 hits on Google — all links created today. I don’t think whoever Deccan Mujahideen is actually exists. This shows that right now, anyone can claim responsibility for these attacks and get attention. Best to wait for more information before pointing any fingers.
Incredible Deniability
I just saw, on Countdown, the un-fuzzed up video of Sarah Palin animatedly chattering to reporters while turkeys are being fed into a killing machine behind her. It’s definitely graphic. You can see the turkeys struggling as the killing guy puts them headfirst into the machine.
Pardon Predictions
While the Right is still whining about Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich some 8 years ago (a pardon that was done as a foreign policy favor to Israel), we are on the eve of a slew of pardons that will undoubtedly be handed out by “America’s Worst President.” I predict the Right will overlook the pardons of numerous rightwing scumbags which – unlike Rich – will curry no foreign policy value.
Here are three predictions I have for Bush pardons:
Scooter Libby – will have his commuted sentence turned into a full pardon.
Ted Stevens – can ride off into ignominious retirement.
Alberto Gonzales – the preemptive pardon for Bush’s most loyal hack.
Now, admittedly, my first two picks are being widely discussed, but I went for one surprise with my last pick. Gonzales hasn’t even submitted a clemency application. If anyone else would like to make some predictions, please throw out one that isn’t already being widely discussed.
Any takers?
The Foreign Occupation Is Over
Every once in a while, you come across a post and think, “Oh my god, this is exactly how I feel,” and you’re stunned that somebody else feels it the same way:
As Obama takes over the wreckage this country is in, one can’t help but feel like something alien to America has been controlling it these past eight years. The wave of emotion that has erupted with the election of Barack Obama reminds me of the Allied victory in France in WWII. After a long foreign occupation in which foreign German interests occupied the agenda of France, French governance would once again be representing the concerns of it’s populace. That hope seems to pervade America after it’s long neocons occupation.
I’ll Take a Double Helping of That “Failed” New Deal
George Will is still carping about how the “first New Deal” didn’t work [emphasis in original]:
Andy McCarthy and National Review Fail to Correct Factual Error
SEE UPDATE BELOW
That the error was made in the first place shows a careless inattention to fact-checking. But even after Glenn Greenwald brought it to their attention — in two separate e-mails — no correction was made. The error is in McCarthy’s post about the six Algerian detainees who were granted a habeus corpus hearing in federal court, which resulted in the judge, Richard J. Leon, ordering that five of the detainees be released. McCarthy writes that Judge Leon was appointed by Bush 41. He was, in fact, appointed by Bush 43.
Judge Leon’s Ruling in the Algerian Detainees Case
Here is the ruling, via Glenn and SCOTUSblog.
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