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Author: Bryant

The perfect cook

February 3, 2004
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Just as a reminder:

Iraq probably has no weapons of mass destruction in the commonly understood sense of the term – namely a credible device capable of being delivered against a strategic city target.

It probably still has biological toxins and battlefield chemical munitions, but it has had them since the 1980s when US companies sold Saddam anthrax agents and the then British Government approved chemical and munitions factories.

Why is it now so urgent that we should take military action to disarm a military capacity that has been there for 20 years, and which we helped to create?

Why is it necessary to resort to war this week, while Saddam’s ambition to complete his weapons programme is blocked by the presence of UN inspectors?

— Robin Cook, March 18th, 2003

Hamburger tomorrow

February 3, 2004
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Bush neglected to add funds for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to the budget. Again.

That’s a little unfair of me, since in the one case we’re talking military funding and in the other we’re talking human aid. Still, either way he’s avoiding the true cost of the war. “The White House expects to cover the war costs with supplemental funds after next fall’s elections.” Indeed.

Monday Mashup #26: Around the World in 80 Days

February 3, 2004
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Time for mashup number twenty-six. Hey, that’s half a year! Not too bad. Our subject today is the classic Jules Verne novel Around the World in 80 Days.

It’s your basic travelogue in fictional form, with the added excitement of (unjust) pursuit by the law. Phileas Fogg, accompanied by his faithful servant Passepartout, must transnavigate the globe in 80 days to win a fairly sizable bet. That provides the essential aspect of time pressure. Everything else is just trouble along the way, with Detective Fix as a secondary plot backbone.

Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814. He was one of the most noticeable members of the Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid attracting attention; an enigmatical personage, about whom little was known, except that he was a polished man of the world. People said that he resembled Byron—at least that his head was Byronic; but he was a bearded, tranquil Byron, who might live on a thousand years without growing old.

Continue ReadingMonday Mashup #26: Around the World in 80 Days

Inconsistent issues

February 2, 2004
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Westwood One Radio Network is owned by Infinity, a subsidiary of Viacom. Viacom’s other properties include CBS. CBS just refused to run issue advertisements during the Super Bowl.

Oddly, on the Westwood One pregame Super Bowl show, I just heard two advertisements for LDS Family Services. I didn’t find either of them objectionable; they were both pro-adoption ads designed to encourage people to give unwanted children up for adoption. I’m pretty sure they both counted as issue ads.

CBS is making up policies as it goes along.

Civil bombings

February 1, 2004
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Suicide bombers killed or wounded 200 Kurds today in Arbil. The targets were the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. No news yet on the affiliation of the bombers.

This represents a significant step towards civil war. The question is whether or not the Kurds get to run Kirkuk and Mosul, the big northern oil cities. The Kurds would like to be in charge of these important resources; the Sunnis tend to disagree.

We’re trying hard to get out of Iraq by the elections. If that becomes our main priority, we will almost certainly leave the country in a worse state than it was in when we showed up. Saddam was a monster; he is not the only monster.

Disruption central

January 30, 2004
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Every time things calm down for the Celtics this season, I get ready to write down my thoughts on the team and then something huge happens. Screw it. Here’s my snapshot of the moment; next month, when Pierce is traded to Indiana for O’Neal, I’ll revise it.

This is why Jim O’Brien was fired, except the personal issues were more important than the writer thinks. As were the trades. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.

So the Celtics have a few kinds of players. First off: wingmen. This is Pierce, Davis, and Welsch. Maybe Jumaine Jones, if Ainge wants to get him minutes, but I think Jones will have trouble cracking the rotation. The Celtics are actually quite strong here. Pierce and Welsch are decent to strong defenders, and they’ve all got offenses of rather varying sorts, which is nice. This is the least worrisome area of the Celtics.

Point guards. The Celtics have no real point guards. Maybe Marcus Banks will be a real point guard if he gets 20 minutes a game for the rest of the season? We can but hope. Mike James is a fill-in like the other fill-ins they’ve had since they let Kenny Anderson go. Welsch does not appear to have the point guard nature; he can fill in as a combo guard but that’s about it. Without a quality point guard, this team can’t contend.

Big men. This is the mystery position. Mark Blount is an asset who doesn’t rebound much. The article linked above claims it’s because of the defense. If Blount starts pulling down 10 rebounds a game I’m gonna be delighted. Other than that, what you see is what you get. Hunter, Mihm, Perkins, and LaFrentz are mysteries. The first three might develop into great players (well, probably not Mihm) or they might not. LaFrentz might have an injury-free year… OK, so that’s unlikely.

But they’re all fairly young. While the Celtics don’t have a solution at power forward and center right now, the chances that a solution will arise out of those five players is fairly high. Mihm was looking pretty good in Cleveland playing at the power forward spot. Hunter is intriguing. If Perkins doesn’t develop as a center, maybe Mihm can improve his center play and Hunter can start as the hard-nosed power forward. We don’t need a lot of offense out of these guys; mostly we need rebounds and defense and low post play.

Oh, and then there’s McCarthy and Stewart. McCarthy is Lou Merloni, except taller. Stewart is an unfunny joke. Don’t worry about them.

None of it helps without a point guard. There is precisely one possible long term solution available at present. No pressure, Marcus! Possibly without Baker on the books, and if they expose LaFrentz in the expansion draft, they’d have the money to sign someone like Steve Nash. OK, someone exactly like Steve Nash. The Celtics slogan: “Boston — it’s much closer to Canada than Dallas.”

Give Nash a decent four year contract and you’ve got possibilities.

How to fisk

January 29, 2004
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If the base political form of mockery known as fisking was generally of this quality, I’d be all for it. James Fallows, a former presidential speechwriter, goes over the State of the Union line by line. He’s partisan, but it’s not a partisan set of annotations. He’s coming at it from the point of view of a craftsman. (Via ceej.)