No Cover Charge? Great!
I think it's possible to make the point that the UN climate review process is exactly the same as what Feynman saw during his attempt to help choose science textbooks in California.
Surely You're Joking.
Feynman was asked to help review new textbooks, he took this task seriously and read each book making comments along the way. When it came time to discuss the books he was puzzled as to why everyone else gave high marks to a book he had no rating for.
The answer is quite interesting. The commitee gave high marks to a textbook that was blank, empty, it had not been finished yet.
Catching termites with long thin sticks....
Regarding Iraq, I not only like, but I am amazed at and support the simple truth of Flypaper
as a vital strategy in the WOT. Warren's article was a long time ago.
Wesley Clark? What again were his successes?
I digress. I was going to talk about termites, instead my thought was translated to dung beetles.
Give them dung and you feed and keep them busy for a day........
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Today the box set of Planet of the Apes was released. I bought it because I really, really, like the Simpsons condensed version.
Here:
http://www.theforbidden-zone.com/tv/simpsons.shtml
I thought I would be bored but amused watching the original 'Apes' again. Then I was reminded of 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.'
Stealing from Wikipedia:
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” is a common phrase, usually used to describe someone who doesn’t want to be involved in a situation or that they are turning a willful blind eye to an evil act he is involved in.
See also turn a blind eye.
The free world is summed up by the phrase 'turn a blind eye to'.....
The rest of the world, is what the wrong half of the free world, should be worried about.
Instead the problem is of course ________.
:-(
Careen to Careen Level Three....
A... said:
Most of our efforts this century will focus on dealing with failed states.
----------
Most failed states rot.
Careen. Our problem is knowing who or what to keep and who or what to scrape off. It used to be much easier.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=careen
Nautical
1. To lean (a ship) on one side for cleaning, caulking, or repairing.
2. To clean, caulk, or repair (a ship in this position).
Many years ago a sailing ship would ground itself at high tide so as to scrape off all the slime/scum worms grabbing onto the hull. I. Africa is hopeless, sunk. II. Pan-Arabia is wealthy. Now. Pan-Arabia cannot clean itself, cannot teach itself. Pan-Arabia is stuck to a ship which for too long ignored the crap stuck on the sides. III. The free world, too, needs to clean and rebuild her hull.
---------
Queen to Queen Level Three? ...
There is no help for any of us...
if that madman is in command.....
He boasts that he's created the most powerful explosive in the universe,
and I believe him.
How does he manage to change form at will ?
The people of Antos taught him the techniques of cellular metamorphosis...
to restore the destroyed parts of his body.
By himself, he later learned to use the technique...
to recreate himself into any form he wished.
The first time we knew about it was when a guard,
seeing what he thought was me in Garth's cell, released him.
He was such a genius. What a waste.
Force field is off. Good.
Remain here out of sight until I give the order to join me.
[ Console Beeping ]
Kirk to Enterprise.
- Scott here, sir. - Beam me aboard.
Aye, sir. Queen to queen's level three.
- I said beam me aboard. - I said, queen to queen's level three.
We have no time for chess problems. Beam me aboard !
I'm following your orders, Captain. Queen to queen's level three.
Just testing. Be in touch with you later.
No !
No !
No !
[ Moaning ]
Oh !
[ Screaming ]
I gave him the sign. Why didn't he give me the countersign ?
Something's wrong.
Using the chess problem was the captain's own suggestion.
He couldn't have forgotten it, and I can't believe he was testing me.
- Lieutenant, re-establish communication. - Aye, sir.
Episode Link
http://www.voyager.cz/tos/epizody/72whomgodsdestroytrans.htm
Iran 2006a
I fail to see a course of action for Iran that is either rational or optimal within the contraints we have placed ourselves in. The USA can act, Israel can act, the rest dance and sing.
The blowback for Israeli action, even if it were to be mostly effective, will sink what we are doing in Iraq. The bigger enemy here is not Iran it is the BDS, Bush deranged, left and its EUnuchstanian sycophants. They pulled out the pin believing the grenade was a prop...in their magnificent, but unappreciated, theatre.
What the American and EUnuchstanian left see as theatre has the potential to make the trenches of WWI and the near allied loss in WWII seem like glow in the dark regret.
After WW2 the easy thing would have been to abandon Berlin to our Soviet allies....
The Berlin wall defined, as all walls should, two sides. The 'cute and silly' Iranian thingy is a similar wall dividing left and right.
Cat Stevens a.k.a. Yusuf Islam saw it first:
---I'm wrong, Chapin wrote Cat's Cradle. So much for believing the ID tags of stolen MP3's. I cannot express how pleased I am when I'm shown to be wrong. +9000 from me, I need more air---
He came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son Im proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile
"What Im feeling like dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"
------------------------
---thought not yet complete-----
Lessons in liberty for Iraq
Lessons in liberty for Iraq
By Adrian Nastase | June 29, 2004
TODAY, countless Iraqis, many of them young, are struggling to create a new future for their country. Romanians understand their anxiety, hope, and sense of urgency. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the popular uprising in Romania that ended the brutal Ceausescu dictatorship. Since then, we have worked to rebuild an economy devastated by decades of misrule; create democratic institutions; and rejoin the Western family of free nations to which we rightfully belong.
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It has taken hard work and perseverance, but we now have a fast-growing economy and a solid democracy. Four lessons we have learned along the way may be important to those who hope to help Iraq's reconstruction succeed.
Moving forward requires looking forward. Across the globe, those countries that have been most successful in designing and implementing democratic institutions are those societies that avoid the schisms and traps of the past. Humanity must never forget the lessons of history, but we cannot afford to live there. Solutions to 21st century problems will only be found in fresh perspectives and progressive policies that meet the urgent needs of citizens.
Like Iraq, years of tyranny left Romania with extreme poverty and high levels of social polarization. But succeeding with tough economic and political reforms demanded the strengths of all our people. That meant reaching out across ethnic communities to build tolerance and respect for minority rights, and pursuing development polices that will bring new opportunities and hope throughout society.
Problems do not have a political color. Whether citizens of Europe, the Middle East, or elsewhere, people's core expectations are common across the political spectrum: security, access to education and opportunity, a growing economy that offers hope. As free political life takes shape, bringing new debates and tensions, those shared concerns can provide an important reason to pull together, not apart.
In 1990, Romanians across the political spectrum made a deliberate choice to live in democracy and freedom, to build a functioning market economy, and to reintegrate our country into international life. This broad consensus enabled us to confront the problems involved in a near-total transformation of the economy and political system -- ending a closed, centralized system that had dictated life from the halls of government to the family home, and opening the doors to a thriving civil society that promotes freedom and initiative.
Our first efforts produced failures and hesitations, but also progress. And every time, break-out solutions followed a willingness to reach and act on a fundamental social consensus.
Keep it real. The success of a profound national transformation, especially one that demands tough economic and political reforms, depends on whether people believe it can deliver a positive future for their lives. This puts a premium on public and private efforts that deliver what they promise --and constant efforts to root out corruption, one of the greatest enemies of effective reform.
Romania, like other countries in economic transformation, is fighting a battle against corruption, marshalling the powers of the legislature, the judiciary, law enforcement, and international cooperation. That fight will continue as long as corruption continues to threaten our future.
Democracy is not just a slogan. Core change is deep change. It demands a long-term vision and a change of mentality. The process is not simple and results are not immediate. In measuring those results, it is well to remember that the competing ideas and voices of democratic life are signs of success, not failure.
Forty years of communism taught Romanians a simple truth: Only a genuine, permanent partnership between the public sector and the citizens will produce justice and development. Our commitment to democracy inspires a national program of continuing social change -- to strengthen free institutions and consolidate civil society.
As a free nation, we also accept an international responsibility. We are actively engaged in negotiations to enter the European Union, and 22 of 31 steps have been successfully completed. We have been invited to join NATO, and the ratification process concluded earlier this year with every one of NATO's 19 member countries approving.
Recently, I traveled to Al Hillah in Iraq to meet the Romanian troops and peacekeeping forces who are part of the American-led coalition helping to rebuild that country. Iraqis told me how grateful they were for the security and stability that is allowing them to begin the hard work of rebuilding their region.
Romanians can well understand. We are there, not only because we are committed to the war on terror, but because we know, from our own experience, that countries once frozen in oppression can achieve the liberty and dignity their people deserve. We are achieving it, and so can Iraq.
Adrian Nastase is the prime minister of Romania.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/06/29/lessons_in_liberty_for_iraq/
Just connect the dots, go ahead....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/06/29/do2902.xml
".....So, shortly after 9/11, Moore wrote that footage of one of the World Trade Centre planes showed that it was being trailed by an F-16 – ie, the government could have shot it down but chose not to, so it could hit all those Al Gore voters. Imagine if, on September 11, the USAF had blown four passenger jets to kingdom come. Moore's film would be filled with poignant home movies of final Christmases and birthday parties and exploitative footage of anguished parents going to Washington to demand the truth about what happened that day and an end to the lame Bush spin about "threats" to public buildings......"
Read the whole thing.
Casus Belli, Tom Clancy and War
Tom Clancy
Here....
Zinni has openly attacked the war, but Clancy reluctantly acknowledged his own concerns. He declined repeatedly to comment on the war, before saying that it lacked a "casus belli," or suitable provocation.
"It troubles me greatly to say that, because I’ve met President Bush," Clancy said. "He’s a good guy. ... I think he’s well-grounded, both morally and philosophically. But good men make mistakes."
-------
In a traditional sense Clancy is correct, No Casus Belli.
Perhaps the threshold has changed? What was the Casus Belli for the Monroe Doctrine? I'm sure the
Monroe Doctine did not requre actual attack on the US before we could act....US actions in Central, South America and Cuba used the Monroe Doctrine as a starting place. I believe the point was 'it's close to our yard, thus we have interests in your choices'. Yes it's arrogant to call the Middle East our backyard, we do have interests there, it is our backyard, don't point a gun at us even if it is made of orange-plastic (which we find out about after shooting you and scraping off the gun metal paint).
If Iraq succeeds the Bush Doctrine will lower the bar.
Either way democracy was a very high bar to shoot for. A Monarch is needed. I'd love Iraq to prove that they are capable of self rule.
Someone once said that walking along a precipice makes you think sharply and clearly. Hopefully some in Iraq will look at who wants them to lose and step up to the plate to help win. The only real loser can be Iraq for throwing away their chance.
If Iraq fails everyone else will then begin closing shutters and getting ready for the storm. Failure in Iraq will promote American isolationism--bad for India, Taiwan, Israel and Europe.
I've not given up on Iraq. They must have a few leaders.
