Dean's World

The news reports say that Fidel Castro, aged 80, has temporarily given power to his brother.

It is probably not right in the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish faiths to pray for bad things to fall upon the ill. But of the over 6,000,000,000 people on Planet Earth, if there are 10 whom we should pray bad health to, Fidel Castro is one of them. If you ever prayed for bad things to happen to an individual, this is one of them.

And let us pray for the emancipation of the Cuban people.

I've started responding to questions and comments that come from those participating in my blog seminar on the democratic peace, and doing my recommended readings. See here. I've just posted the first comments and my responses: "Democratic Peace Seminar Q&A #1- Internal Violence."

I will not cross-post any of this seminar, since I think it best to do it in one place. If you are interested, you can make a note to regularly check the blog or sign up for notification of postings (see the left side panel of my blog).

Details here.

Good enough for me.

Via (of all places) the New York Times:

These should be heady days for Iran’s leaders. Hezbollah, widely regarded as its proxy force in Lebanon, continues to rain down rockets on Israel despite 17 days of punishing airstrikes. Hezbollah’s leader is a hero of the Arab world, and Iran is basking in the reflected glory.

Yet this capital is unusually tense. Officials, former officials and analysts say that it is too dangerous even to discuss the crisis. In newspapers, the slightest questioning of support for Hezbollah has been attacked as unpatriotic, pro-Zionist and anti-Islamic.

As the war in Lebanon grinds on, Iranian officials cannot seem to decide whether Iran will emerge stronger — or unexpectedly weakened.

They are increasingly confident of an ideological triumph. But they also believe the war itself has already harmed Hezbollah’s strength as a military deterrent for Iran on the Israeli border...

...Iran’s relationship to Hezbollah is both strategic and ideological. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 was viewed by its clerical leaders as a part of a pan-Muslim movement. Linking up with the Shiite Muslims of southern Lebanon was part of Iran’s efforts to spread its ideological influence. But in building up Hezbollah, the ideological motivation fused with a practical desire to put a force on Israel’s northern border.

No matter how this conflict is resolved, Iranian officials already see their strategic military strength diminished, said the policy experts, former officials and one official with close ties to the highest levels of government. Even if a cease-fire takes hold, and Hezbollah retains some military ability, a Lebanese public eager for peace may act as a serious check...

...Iran is the only nation in the Muslim world controlled by members of the Shiite sect of Islam, and its push to be a regional leader had raised concerns among the area’s Sunni leadership.

Iran has used the war in Lebanon to try to prove that talk of a Shiite threat is a fiction created by Arab leaders and Americans seeking to maintain power in the hands of American friends in Cairo, Amman and Riyadh.

It has pointed to Israel’s destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure to promote the idea that this war is not against Hezbollah but against all Muslims. And Iran’s leaders have sought to burnish their own image, at the expense of their Sunni rivals...

So how can we ensure that both of our enemies lose?

Michael Totten has said that "Hezbollah is the most effective Arab fighting force in the world", a statement that Iran's leaders seem to agree with. Hezbollah is probably the most effective non-Israeli fighting force in the Middle East. This doesn't mean that Hezbollah is unbeatable. It means that Hezbollah is weak, and most of the non-Israeli forces in the Middle East are weaker. In the land of military mice, the Hezbollah rat is king.

Apparently, Israel has seriously injured the best and the brightest of their opposition, leaving the opposition somewhat defenseless.

...He said that Iran does not have the military ability at home to fight an aggressive offensive war against Israel from so far away. He said its only offensive tool would be a missile, which he said would be of limited effect and accuracy.

"If Israel attacked us tomorrow, what are we going to do?" he said.

In this case, Hezbollah and Iran's cheerleaders in the UN and the press would actually be working in our favor. Finally, a way to make them useful.

This movie looks promising.

That's what good Science Fiction is really about: thinking about possibly world-changing scientific events, and exploring their ramifications.

(Thanks Jesse.)

at Enchiridion Militis. It's not succinct.

You know, it's articles like this one that really make me love Wikipedia.

Reuters says:

Israeli forces have destroyed an estimated two thirds of Hizbollah's long-range missile capabilities, a senior government official told Reuters on Monday.

The Iranian-supplied Zelzal-2 missiles have been Israel's main strategic concern during an a 20-day-old fight with the Lebanese guerrilla group. They have a range of 200 km (125 miles) and are believed capable of carrying biological or chemical warheads.

"We know how many of them we destroyed and we know how many they shot," the senior government official said.

"But one third (left undestroyed) is a lot. that can cause a lot of damage if they are launched," the official said.

Of course he could be lying. He could be mistaken. Or he could be right.

(UPDATE: More here.)

If he's right, does that change anyone's opinion? Or is the only one who's right Dean Esmay?

Argues the black conservative Republican blogger, as Jewish groups call for a hate-crime probe on and a Hollywood ostracization of a famous actor / director after his profanity-laced arrest for drunk driving and speeding included criticism of Jews: "Regarding Mel Gibson arrest and comments, Abe Foxman [head of the Anti-Defamation League] who irritates me on the same level as Rev. Jackson and Al Sharpton come up with this stupid solution.....Thought police is not something looked upon favorably in these parts and on what grounds are you going to open up a criminal investigation? Once again Abe takes these past the breaking point when he is on solid ground, never fails."

My response: I'm not buying Mel Gibson's claim that the statements - about Jews, about owning Malibu - that he made while driving drunk were not what he believes. Folks tend to be more honest when they are drunk. That being said, Jewish groups calling for a hate-crime probe is ridiculous. Gibson did not physically harm anyone. And thoughts - even foul ones - are not a crime in this country.

Yeeeeesh.

My assertions about the democratic peace have received appropriate skepticism and many good questions. To review, the democratic peace propositions are that:

• Democracies do not make war on each other;
• The more democratic two countries, the less likely there will be severe violence between them;
• And the more democratic a country:

• The less severe its overall foreign violence;
• The less its domestic violence;
• The less it will murder its people.

(Continued here)

It's common to argue that our political system needs reform. Frankly, a weakness (although it has its strengths as well) of the American system, especially its Constitutional structure, makes major changes extremely difficult. Well I do love our system of government, warts and all. But I've often thought that the most creatively and yet sensibly designed system of national government I've seen is Australia's. The Wikipedia entry is short and easy to understand.

Basically the folks down under have a system that combines some of the better aspects of both the British parliamentary system and the American system, combined with what's called "instant runoff" vote counting here.

Smart people those Aussies.

Context:

We are now entering a time referred to as "The Nine Days." These are the days beginning with the first day of the Hebrew month "Av," and ending with the ninth of Av [which is this Thursday]. These days are the prelude to the destruction of the Holy Temple which was located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Code of Jewish Law directs us to keep the laws of mourning to varying degrees culminating on the ninth of Av when we fast and mourn as a mourner does during the seven-day period of mourning for a close relative known as "shiva".

Harsh times at a harsh time.

Jeff Jarvis has some very interesting thoughts for book publishers in the digital age.

Mexico's election protests are growing ever more negative.

To be blunt, I think Obrador is overplaying his hand, and the more he keeps this up the more ordinary Mexicans will grow to despise him. International election observers all said Mexico's election was clean and in fact was a model of what good democratic policy looks like.

Asking for recounts is legitimate, as is asking for investigation of allegations of fraud or abuse. Even refusing to concede before recounts is legitimate. Throwing massive temper tantrums and declaring that you were cheated and that you are the true winner before putting any real evidence forth for it is despicable, especially in a country struggling to maintain its fragile, hard-won democracy.

Ali has an interesting discussion (to say the least).

People think I'm nuts when I say this but I actually think this stuff is indicative that--when taking the long view--there's more hope today than ever. As bad as things have been, they've been far worse in the past. Conversations like this can happen now. They zing all over the planet. Long-term, it matters.

Dean dropped something so profound into the comment's on Aziz's anguished post below (in the chain) that I believe it is worthy of its own post:

From where I sit, Hezbollah was [bound] to come out of this looking good in some people's eyes no matter what. Because here's the plays as I see them, and you tell me if there's something I'm missing:

1) Israel simply does not respond militarily but sues for peace.

2) Israel responds with less violence than they have.

3) Israel responds with as much violence as they have.

4) Israel responds with more violence than they have.

5) Israel takes any cease-fire that's offered.

6) Israel refuses any cease-fire that's offered.

Is there any one of these which would NOT result in people in the region claiming a victory for Hezbollah, and criticizing Washington for not doing the right thing?

I mean, seriously: when the rockets first started being blasted into Israel from Lebanon, should the first response have been to sue for peace and negotiations? Wouldn't that, all by itself, have been a victory for Hezbollah?

Dean has simply explained it all, "it" being the by - the - second play - by - play, analysis and post - mortem - while - the - patient's - not - quite - dead on Israel's war against Hizbollah. That doesn't mean Israel is right... or that it will win... or that there's any hope at all. It just means that there's no winning for losing, or losing for winning, for them. And when it comes to Hezbollah's standing the commentariat will see no evil.

Now if all the armchair quarterbacks would shut up... but if they did, I guess we'd have neither a blogosphere nor a punditocracy. And Heaven knows we need those.

Discussions like this one really depress me. I'd all but talked myself out of going to graduate school, but then I read over and over again that a bachelor's degree just isn't worth much these days. I've been putting off starting on my master's but I guess I really should stop.

Darn it all. I hate school.

Go read. ALL of it.

Lebanon will likely not survive. But the idea of Lebanon will endure. Hizbollah has won. Again.

And to those who have so little faith in the power of the Enlightenment, who argue that the sole route to victory requires the West to abandon its soul, then my response is that the West has already lost and does not deserve to win.

While you look at this picture of this man, keep in mind what Alan Dershowitz has said. And then ask yourself just how falsely the claims of sorrow from Israel must ring in his ears.

UPDATE: Jonathan Edelstein aka the Head Heeb sums it up: the attack on Qana was stupid.

O, Israel! You are your own worst enemy. Jan Egeland's proposal for a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire, seems like such a lost opportunity now. Israel will now suspend aerial attacks for 48 hours, but the damage is done and Israel has lost.

Had the Egeland proposal been accepted, precious time would have been secured for Hizbollah to succumb further to domestic pressures - Hizbollah had already agreed to the 7-point plan that subtantially achieved most of Israel's strategic objectives!

But Israel pressed on and now they have lost. Hizbollah is supreme in Lebanon, it's national reputation reclaimed from the abyss it faced just three days ago. Oh, you fools!

Most material on YouTube is amateur home video. And some of the treasures you find there when you look are surprising. Take for example this Korean video taken in a club some time this year:

I've scoured the web trying to find that girl's name or more about her, but this appears to be all there is for now. Somehow I doubt it's all there'll ever be, but who knows?

Mack Reed puts his finger on it — almost — in the Online Journalism Review:

The Web has made unauthorized propagation of information — whether copyrighted or not — instantaneous and virtually irreversible.

Videos are uploaded, downloaded and re-uploaded under different authors' names: YouTube users know this from having tried to find the "original" version of some videos, which have been found on sites other than YouTube and recopied several times by users and mashup artists who add their own comments or edits to the source material before YouTubing them.

Millions of bloggers routinely lift information from copyrighted news stories — nearly always with due credit — and repackage it under their own banners, basically aggregating and creating new news content (and ad-driven profit streams) from existing ones. The same goes for copyrighted news photos published to the Web by AP, Reuters and numerous newspaper web sites.

Two factors may be at work in the apparent paucity of copyright lawsuits stemming from such use:

1. since news web sites garner significant traffic from blog links pointing to them, they may be loath to poison the well, let alone alienate the audience by litigating.
2. bloggers get away with sometimes more-than-fair-use republication of copyrighted information because no news organization's legal department has the resources to chase them.

A possible third reason: such suits won't stand up in court.

In short, the copyright you secure before selling and posting news video to a news organization's site, or a share site such as YouTube, may be worth far less in the long run than the paycheck you earn from its initial sale.

I figured he wouldn't mind an extended excerpt, under the circumstances. But seriously, folks, I think he's got it right, except maybe with respect to the case he's actually commenting on, i.e., the lawsuit against YouTube. Why is that?

Well, why won't most copyright infringement suits for Internet use of material he describes "stand up in court"? (Continued at Likelihood of Confusion.)

Just yesterday I was thinking to myself, well, let's think about John McCain, because realistically Rudy Giuliani — much as I love him in many ways — is not getting the GOP nomination (but see here!), and, well, who could win it in '08? And of course I'm looking only at the world as it seems now.

The fact is, it's pretty well established, if not all that well known, that issue-by-issue John McCain is actually pretty darned conservative. That's a plus for me, see. Being a maverick, politically, isn't such a huge negative for me, either, because like most of us I'm pretty down on political parties, even though I've been a straight-line GOP voter and very-minor-league Republic contributor and volunteer since forever. That won't change. It's not as if McCain isn't a Republican — he is — or isn't a conservative — he is.

But I could not get past this campaign "finance reform" thing. It's been one of the topics I've blogged about the most since I started, and to me this is such a fundamental issue that I could not get past it. Of course, I appreciate that his passion for reform was not at all an unhealthy one. But as Don Surber (I'm in a groove with his blog these days) put it ever so succintly, "If politicians can spend whatever they wish to get elected, then a citizen should be able to spend whatever he wants to prevent their election." This seems pretty fundamental to me.

Now it looks as if perhaps the good Senator is abandoning that ship. I'm not calling any shots at this point nor predicting anything about 2008, which is an entire political generation away from today. But if this holds steady — or, better, if the Supreme Court gets a clue on this topic — it certainly does make things ever more interesting.

Israel hits a building and kills 51 civilians, mostly women and children.

But as we know, Hezbollah intentionally works to conceal themselves among civilians, and has even been known to shoot any civilians who try to flee the area. These would, in any other conditions, be considered war crimes.

I was surprised this morning to read that the Justice Department has empowered a Grand Jury probe of National Security Agency leakers, with the clear intention of going after the traitors and possibly some of their enablers in the press as well. I was surprised, but pleased: I didn't think the current administration had the political spine to do this. I'm glad I was wrong.

There exist several completely honorable, completely legitimate ways to act as a "whistleblower" within the intellignce community. None of them involve secret, anonymous contacts with the press unless you can show that you exhausted all other avenues first. These leakers are traitors, period. They need to be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Moderation and bipartisanship — qualities you'd find lauded in a million New York Times editorials from the beginning of Times — have no place when it comes to opposition to Bush. And that means Joe Lieberman must be sacrificed. Don Surber explains it all:

But bridges are being burned by Democrats this year. The newspaper of vinyl in the MP3 age has counted its congressional upsets even before the primaries are completed. Centrism is impermissable. It is 1974 again. Pinch has a doobie. Let's get stoned.

Is the Times trying to play to the Kos crowd? Now that's a concept. Query: What will they do with Hillary Clinton when she's challenged from the left?

YouTube's a wildly popular service, but they don't allow porn. So what's the answer for those people dying to put their porn online? PornoTube of course. I kid you not--and by the way that link is in no way work-safe.

I'm not much of a porn fan--seriously, I'm not--but I spent some time perusing the service. I'm really surprised by it. Not that someone would put up a porn service, obviously, but that there are apparently so many people out there making amateur porn and willing to put it out on the web for free.

The North Korean women's soccer team, in a match against China, threw a giant tantrum and physically assaulted the referee, who had to be rushed away under guard.

Somehow seems telling to me.

Our friend Jayne D'Arcy is doing a blogathon tonight. In a blogathon, a blogger pledges to post every half hour or so on their blog for a full 24 hours. She's been up since 6am and only has to make it to 6am Sunday morning. She's doing it to help raise money for MS. Go give her some encouragement.

Doc Rampage has some good points.

A team of scientists at Princeton, the University of Illinois, and the University of Iowa has made semiconductors that manipulate individual metal atoms.

The age of quantum computing draws near.

Oh my God.

Yes, people who are drunk say and do dumb things. But... holy crap.

A terrorist shot up a synagogue in Seattle.

I'm so mad about this I could just spit.

What now?

This seems like an odd thing for Democrats to take a stand on, doesn't it?

I mean, Ambassador to the United Nations. I guess it seems symbolically important. But is this where the Democrats in the Senate should really draw their line in the sand? Opposing John Bolton?

I somehow let this slide:

For my birthday, I got two wonderful gifts in the mail: The Illustrated Brief History of Time, Updated and Expanded Edition from the irrepressible Mary Madigan.

An interesting thing I note about the Amazon reviews is that they say that this is the book that lots of people have on their coffee tables, but have never actually finished reading. But I did read it, cover to cover. More than once. In fact I had to read it three times before I felt I understood it. And I cannot wait to delve into the revised version.

I also got a copy of The Armies of Memory. Which may be the first Science Fiction novel I have read in the last 5 years. But Dave Price sent it to me.

I can't wait.

Huhuhuhuh, kewl!

(Via Ace.)

Open thread.

Go.

Damn him damn him damn him!

Good Shabbos, Dean's World, and everyone who lives in it!

It's more technical than it sounds from the headline:

A federal appeals court on Friday barred the Justice Department from reviewing evidence seized from a Louisiana congressman's office during an unprecedented FBI raid on his Capitol Hill office in May.

A three-judge panel ordered a federal trial judge to ensure that Democratic Rep. William Jefferson be given copies of seized evidence contained on more than a dozen computer hard drives, several floppy disks and two boxes of paper documents.

The panel said Jefferson then must be given the opportunity to invoke legislative privilege claims in private with the trial judge.

In other words, what privilege there may be to records seized from the offices, relating to bona fide congressional business, is not vitiated by the fact that there was a showing of probable cause for the issuance of a warrant. Rep. Jefferson is entitled to withhold those privileged documents -- but his lawyers have to convince the trial judge -- the same one who awarded the original warrant and upheld it on subsequent motion practice by the Congressman) -- that they really are privileged. In other words, no monkey business.

Bush and Blair have called for a cease-fire in southern Lebanon and for a multinational force to stabilize the area.

I'd frankly rather they be calling for a multinational force to find and kill every violent member of Hezbollah, but getting them to agree to a cease-fire and disarm might work I suppose...

There is a tale of petty intrigue and profound madness playing out in the blogosphere right now. Jim Lindgren has a lengthy blow-by-blow.

The only caution I'd have here is that we're seeing some people suggest that this behavior defines America's left-wing bloggers. I think that's over the top. I've seen this kind of irrational behavior in all kinds of people. Of all ages, too. I've seen friends 70 years old suddenly degenerate into sock-puppetry and ridiculous threats through email and message boards. (I've also lost my cool and had a meltdown or two of my own, although I don't think I've ever degenerated into threats.)

In reading through all of this I've grown genuinely concerned for Jason Leopold. He seems like he needs help. And no, I'm not being sarcastic, I mean it: he seems like he needs help.

Buddoom-chee!

At Martyrs' Resturant and Pub in Chicago, Illinois, my wife and I happened upon a musical artist that made us worship at the "Altar of Live Music" fervently in April 2006. Her name is Regina Spektor and she is one of those performers who makes you feel like she's an old friend that is always pleasantly surprising you.

When she lays her hands on the piano keys, gives you a knowing look, and smiles, you're entranced. Is she all show? Hardly. Her classical music background, quirky voice, creativeness, love of the live stage, and love of the audience, makes her stand out like President Bush at a rap music concert. Her song "Us" and the video shows her flair for the eccentric. And I love, love, love a talented eccentric!

The piano is an instrument that is just abused these days. I'm a keyboardist not a pianist. I can play bass lines, guitar riffs, strings, horns, and more on my Korg Triton keyboard (all original playing of course). But a real piano sound is so rich, so beautiful, so otherworldly... (dramatic pause)

I'll just stop my piano worship/fetish right now.

The Washington Post has an entertaining film review.

It reads a lot like a blog posting, doesn't it?

(Thanks John.)

Jonathan Rosenblum writes:

The reason international law recognizes no such rule as "Thou shall do to thine enemy no more than thine enemy has done to thee" is that no nation in the world has ever acted according to such a formula. . . .

And Hiroshima proves the general rule that no nation ever values the lives of its citizens equally with the lives of enemy civilians. Israel, which has never deliberately targeted civilians, has neither the duty, nor right, to be the first.

More on proportionality here ("Had Israel wanted to destroy Lebanese civilian infrastructure, it would have turned out the lights in Beirut in the first hour of the war, destroying the billion-dollar power grid and setting back Lebanon 20 years. . . . Does anyone imagine that it could not have leveled south Lebanon, to say nothing of Beirut?") and here (via David Bernstein).

UPDATE: What timing. Instapundit links here and here, too, which requires registration to read in full. Excerpts:

Amnesty International has jettisoned international law entirely; instead, the group seems to be defining a war crime as any military action of which Amnesty International disapproves. . . .

By obliterating the distinction between war and war crimes, groups like Amnesty International and the United Nations undermine the protection that humanitarian law does afford to civilians caught up in armed conflict. International law is not strengthened by distorting or ignoring its provisions while solemnly invoking its principles. Sadly, this seems to have been lost on some of the organizations and institutions charged with protecting human rights.

UPDATE: A suggestion in the comments hits the nail right on the head.

A number of questions about the democratic peace were raised on Dean's World, where I cross posted my "'Thug Regimes?' Really?" These are important and in answering them I want to further clarify the democratic peace.

(Continued here)

Who is pictured in this photo?

A thousand points to whoever gets it right. All points freely redeemable at Zombo.com.

The military has dismissed another valuable Arab linguist for being queer.

I'm glad to see that at this crucial time in our nation's history, the military's making sure to keep out the poofters.

Poofters who volunteered. And silently agreed to keep their mouths shut.

Because, you know, we're all so afraid of homophobia causing our mindless killbot Soldiers and Marines to go insane at the thought that their unit's Arab linguist might be... you know.... secretly planning on re-accessorizing the unit's wardrobe. Or might suddenly burst into song in the middle of an intense combat situation.

Crikey.

Drudge links to this item that is just a classic Foggy Bottom, anonymous-sourced hit piece on the Secretary of State. It's a little odd because it claims that the supposed widespread unhappiness with her is that she's been reigned in by the notorious State Department professionals and their known timidity, which in the present environment takes on the form of hostility to the President's foreign policy. She's accused of failing to respond affirmatively and meaningfully to provocation by North Korea, Iran's nuclear weapons program, and the good old "use restraint" chorus directed to Israel.

That's strange, indeed. That's not what I see. What I see is that she is making the requisite noises urging restraint — yes, they are requisite; the world of diplomacy, like it or not, works on noises — while essentially giving Israel all the slack it could reasonably expect. In terms of Iraq and North Korea — what am I missing? What exactly is the master neoconservative battle plan here that she's finking out on?

What's the final proof that this article makes no sense at all? This excerpt:

Several of the critics have urged that Mr. Bush provide a high-profile post to James Baker, who was secretary of state under the administration of Mr. Bush's father. They cited Mr. Baker's determination to confront Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein in 1990.

Right. This is the same James Baker whose anti-Israel bias was so gross that it drove even the likes of me to withhold my vote from George H.W. Bush in 1992. That's the solution to a Secretary of State who's coopted by Foggy Bottom? And I'm supposed to believe this is what Richard Perle wants?

There are two possiblities. One is that this article was just spun out of whole cloth. Indeed, Drudge also links to this article that says Newt Gingrich denies he's part of the lynch mob and that he approves of her work. The other possibility? There's been complaining — there always is — but the unsigned article is just a thoughtless mish-mosh, stitching together famous names and not so famous ones to make some kind of point about the DC backbiting of the moment.

Either way, a hit piece it is.

UPDATE: Here's your mainstream State Department career man, loud and clear.

And here.

This appears to be from Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken series. An interesting bit of synchronicity, eh?

(Thanks, Matoko.)

Casey has a tribute.

I've long believed that meat that's grown in a lab rather than an animal will eventually be fairly normal. Why go through the expense and difficult care and cruelty of killing an animal when you can produce tasty meats without bothering with any of that?

I assume there would be initial public resistance, but once they see perfectly normal-looking meat sitting cooked on a plate they'd probably eat it. People are naturally hesitant about eating something that sounds or looks strange but once they get used to the idea they generally change their minds.

I notice there's a biologist having trouble getting investors for his process for creating hamburger in the lab. People seem afraid to try the stuff. I hope he manages to overcome that resistance.

Of course it's also just possible that his process isn't economical or doesn't look to investors like it would scale very well....

In a comment on one of my blogs, Mahathir Fan says:

I stated that the last time the United States government overthrew an Iranian government, back in 1953, it destroyed a democracy and instituted a dictatorship. Instead of removing the chains of tyranny from the Iranian people, it helped to put them on, and helped keep them on for the 26 years that the Shah remained in power. Therefore, it would be impossible for the Iranian people to believe that any American intervention could lead to their freedom.

There is no doubt that in 1953 the CIA engineered a coup against Premier Mohammad Mossadeq of Iran that ended up empowering Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. This has been number one on the list of stated reasons for hatred of America by the Iranian Ayatollahs and their revolutionary followers. And it is among the many "evils" of American foreign policy that the left invariably mentions. But the historical context should not be ignored if one is to understand and, indeed, excuse the U.S. decision to engineer the coup.

(Continued here)

Rebecca Culshaw is one heck of a nice lady, and surprisingly commonsensical about certain hot-button topics. She has a recent interview with Mark Gabrish Conlan. I do recommend it.

Posted at Vital Perspectives: Total Destruction of Beirut Nothing Short of a Hezbollah Illusion.

When covering the damage in Beruit "reporters" like Anderson Cooper are being minded and herded by Hezbollah. From Cooper's report:

Civilian casualties are clearly what Hezbollah wants foreign reporters to focus on. It keeps the attention off them. And questions about why Hezbollah should still be allowed to have weapons when all the other militias in Lebanon have already disarmed. After letting us take pictures of a few damaged buildings, they take us to another location, where there are ambulances waiting.

On camera: This is a heavily orchestrated Hezbollah media event. When we got here, all the ambulances were lined up. We were allowed a few minutes to talk to the ambulance drivers. Then one by one, they've been told to turn on their sirens and zoom off so that all the photographers here can get shots of ambulances rushing off to treat civilians. That's the story — that's the story that Hezbollah wants people to know about.

In related news, the Wall Street Journal reports that military bloggers are confronting and contradicting the media:

Mr. Borda, a specialist, read other soldiers' blogs and found he wasn't alone. Hundreds of other troops and veterans were blogging world-wide, and many focused on a common enemy: journalists...

..Now, Mr. Borda finds himself at the center of a growing blogging movement. Military bloggers, or "milbloggers" as they call themselves, contend that they are uniquely qualified to comment on events in armed conflicts. Many milbloggers also argue that the mainstream media tends to overplay negative stories and play down positive military developments. For many of these blogs, says Mr. Borda, "the sole purpose is to counteract the media."

Saddam says he wants to be executed by firing squad, not hanging.

I have little sympathy for his wishes, but I do hope we see him executed soon.

The White House press secretary, and the lead guitarist for Mountain. Pretty cool. :-)

(Via Sandi.)

There is considerable violence -- what some are calling a war -- between the democratically elected Hamas Palestinian government and democratic Israel; and Israel is engaged in a war with Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon, which apparently had a democratic election in May, 2005. Is this a falsification of the democratic peace theory that democracies don't make war on each other?

(Continued here)

The Iraqi Prime Minister addrssed the American Congress today. It seems to have been a joint session of both the House and Senate. Excerpt:

Let me begin by thanking the American people, through you, on behalf of the Iraqi people, for supporting our people and ousting dictatorship. Iraq will not forget those who stood with her and who continues to stand with her in times of need.

Thank you for your continued resolve in helping us fight the terrorists plaguing Iraq, which is a struggle to defend our nation's democracy and our people who aspire to liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. All of those are not Western values; they are universal values for humanity.

The war on terror is a real war against those who wish to burn out the flame of freedom. And we are in this vanguard for defending the values of humanity.

I know that some of you here question whether Iraq is part of the war on terror. Let me be very clear: This is a battle between true Islam, for which a person's liberty and rights constitute essential cornerstones, and terrorism, which wraps itself in a fake Islamic cloak; in reality, waging a war on Islam and Muslims and values.

The people who want us to abandon Iraq make me deeply ashamed. But it's they who should be ashamed--of themselves.

The rest of the Prime Minister's address is right here.

And if you think God isn't speaking to us through the Irish peat, where would you turn for guidance and insight as the world once agains spins beyond understanding?

There are two ways of looking at it. One is this unusual link - and - cat - and - cheesecake - free post (which as it happens is 100% on the money) by one — a mortal, admittedly, but not a mere mortal — who stands astride our own little world.

Then there's the strategic view.

I've gotten three emails about this in the last hour, so this must be news.

They found a very, very old book in Ireland — a Book of Psalms from about a thousand years ago.

Here's what the AP says:

Irish archaeologists Tuesday heralded the discovery of an ancient book of psalms by a construction worker while driving the shovel of his backhoe into a bog.

The approximately 20-page book has been dated to the years 800-1000. Trinity College manuscripts expert Bernard Meehan said it was the first discovery of an Irish early medieval document in two centuries.

Interesting, as far as it goes, right? Well, here's the part that has all those emailers busy:

The book was found open to a page describing, in Latin script, Psalm 83, in which God hears complaints of other nations' attempts to wipe out the name of Israel.

I'm just telling you the news, that's all. How Ireland fits into this? I'm no prophet and no psalmist. Just reporting the news.

UPDATE: Daniel Engber explains the science behind bog-preservation. It's quite interesting.

This time, Washington, though by a very close margin.

So the U.S. Senate has approved a measure that would prohibit taking a minor across state lines to have an abortion without informing her parents.

Opponents said that in certain situations, the new restrictions would mean that family members trying to protect a girl from an abusive father could face prosecution. "This bill, as it is drafted, will throw a grandmother in jail," responded Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), describing a hypothetical case in which a father commits incest against his daughter — who then looks to her family for help.

My response: I am pro-choice, but am not pro-undermining parental authority so even I support this bill. Judging by opinion polls, most Americans agree with me on this one. The overwhelming majority of teen girls are not knocked up by their abusive father, so that rare instance cited by Sen. Boxer is not enough for me to overturn parental authority. Deal with that issue separately, and harshly.

I love Africa - even though I'm a white guy from the suburbs who burns easily. 10 years ago I spent a year on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, and with luck will return to TZ this Autumn to see the sweetest people on the planet and brush up on my ki-Swahili.

But I want to see Africa and Tanzania in particular prosper the way other nations, like India, South Korea and Taiwan have prospered - and that will only happen if we stop giving them stuff.

There's an initiative to give $100 laptops to children in Nigeria (see link here). If we really want to help Africa, we would encourage the colonial powers to return and build government institutions that don't steal from their citizenry. Nigeria would be a good place to start.

You've read the blog, now read the book. No, it's all right — it's billable.

Here's an excerpt from the blog, to get you in the mood — an argument by the author (an anonymous and fictional partner in a big LA law firm) for, surprisingly, more pro bono work:

There are lots more worthless attorneys at our firm and I'm sure at every firm, and if they're not doing pro bono work then I don't know what they're doing. At least 75 percent of the people who work here are completely incapable of doing anything and are just collecting their paychecks for nothing. They're a drain on resources, they demand things like weekends off and respect in the workplace, and they don't give us much added value at all. So the least they can do is help some poor people, at least to the best of their abilities, which isn't much at all but it's still better than nothing and probably all the poor people deserve anyway. Every incompetent attorney at the firm ought to be doing tons of pro bono work, because if they aren't, I don't know what they're doing and whatever it is certainly isn't helping our clients. The small fraction of attorneys who are doing their jobs, they don't need to be doing any pro bono work. But that's a lot less than 62.7 percent, so they're right that 37.3 percent is shamefully low. Shameful.

Gosh, a lot of young lawyers want to write books about their big-firm experiences!

I think they should read this first, but just try and find a copy!

UPDATE: And this one second! (Wow, an exhausting day of plugola! And it's all pro bono!)

Lincoln said "last, best hope," but Walter Olson reports that the U.S. courts are being seen more than ever — hopefully, not accurately — as the litigation playground of the world:

In Detroit, a group called the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has filed a suit on behalf of about 30 people charging that "the federal government has failed to protect Americans from the fighting in Lebanon. ... The committee is asking the court to order Washington to request a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon."

Oh, those cards at the ADC! Thankfully, judges know they have no business telling the President how to conduct foreign policy. The Supreme Court has reminded us of this time and time again. That's even more true when relief is sought based on such specious claims as "failure to protect Americans" — in another country! You can't even bring a lawsuit for "failure to protect" in Washington, DC (which is at least as dangerous as Lebanon) (based on the public duty doctrine — i.e., a duty to "everyone" is a duty, at law, to no one). But the heck with legal analysis: Just think of the lawsuits that legal theory — "duty to protect Americans in foreign countries" — could spawn, seeing as how being an American is tied for the most dangerous thing in the world to be when going abroad.

Ah, but maybe that's the ticket, though. Wise, impartial judges can issue orders mandating peace all over creation, which will be enforced by manly U.S. Marshals in their black-and-whites — making the world "Safe for Judiciary"!

(via Martin.)

That everyone assumes I can work for free until I prove myself. If everyone in politics is able to afford to work for free for some time, perhaps this is how we end up with the idiotic notion that inheritance ought to be a form of income privileged over the wages of labor...

Ok, it didn’t go quite that badly. If I can live on the street and not eat too much they might have something for me come January. Alternately I’ve got an interview with these guys tomorrow. It isn’t politics, but it will let me pay some bills...

After some time there, perhaps I could volunteer for someone in the 2008 campaign...

since people who don't casually surf the leftsphere, let alone consider themselves members, have a very skewedperspective of the Democratic partisan mind, I wanted to point out a post at activist site myDD.com that gives a little more depth into the netroot mentality.

The basic issue here is that liberal voters - and this is especially true of the netroots - are proud of their beliiefs with respect to whether government can be a force for good, whether there is such a thing as a societal commons, whether there is a moral obligation upon those in society to help provide for those who are less capable by dint of circumstance or ability.

They are proud to be Democrats and believe that what Democrats have stood for over history is something to be defended. And I agree, though I am not a Democrat myself.

That is the true reason why, to take an example, Joe Lieberman is so hated. Because like many of the politicians in the DLC, but far more egregiously so, he advances his own political career at the expense of other Democrats. He deliberately embraces and validates the common theme promoted by Republicans, that Democrats stand for nothing and have no ideas, in order to distinguish themselves and claim that they do have ideas.

In that context, I want to highlight myDD's critique of the DLC meeting at which prominent DLCers like Clinton and Evan Bayh got up on stage and talked about how they plan to win elections. The answer in a nutshell: by announcing they would "move" to the center, implying that there is nothing in the broader Democratic platform that already occupies that space.

The key comment:

If you tell the country that your ideas are designed to win elections, then they won't think you stand for anything except winning elections. And then, well, you probably won't win many elections, because Americans don't like politicians who only stand for winning elections. If you want to do something, then just do it. Throwing the "this will get us elected" qualifier in front of your statements just makes us all look like spineless jackasses who are trying to pull one over on the electorate. If you want to talk faith, or be a centrist, or be a hawk, or stand on principles, then just go for it. Stop wasting our time and making us all look bad by telling us you are doing it in order to win elections.

Hank Johnson, a progressive Democr