drat fink
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old friends
"Anti-Europeanism is not symmetrical with anti-Americanism. The emotional leitmotifs of anti-Americanism are resentment mingled with envy; those of anti-Europeanism are irritation mixed with contempt. Anti-Americanism is a real obsession for entire countries—notably for France, as Jean-François Revel has recently argued.[5] Anti-Europeanism is very far from being an American obsession. In fact, the predominant American popular attitude toward Europe is probably mildly benign indifference, mixed with impressive ignorance. I traveled around Kansas for two days asking people I met: "If I say 'Europe' what do you think of?" Many reacted with a long, stunned silence, sometimes punctuated by giggles. Then they said things like "Well, I guess they don't have much huntin' down there" (Vernon Masqua, a carpenter in McLouth); "Well, it's a long way from home" (Richard Souza, whose parents came from France and Portugal); or, after a very long pause for thought, "Well, it's quite a ways across the pond" (Jack Weishaar, an elderly farmer of German descent). If you said "America" to a farmer or carpenter in even the remotest village of Andalusia or Ruthenia, he would, you may be sure, have a whole lot more to say on the subject."
word to the wise
The Modern Word
on the verizon
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Recording companies won a victory in their fight against online piracy on Tuesday when a U.S. court ordered Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - news) to turn over the name of a customer suspected of downloading more than 600 songs in one day over the Internet."
singularity
"By analyzing DNA from people in all regions of the world, geneticist Spencer Wells has concluded that all humans alive today are descended from a single man who lived in Africa around 60,000 years ago."
latin lessons
"PHILADELPHIA - For the first time in U.S. history, people calling themselves Latino now outnumber those identified solely as black, according to new Census Bureau figures."
"While hinging on a contestable definition of race and based on inexact estimates, the national figures released Tuesday signal the beginning of an eclipse that demographers have long predicted: Latinos, not blacks, now are or soon will make up the biggest U.S. minority group."
doublethink piece
"Orwell's army is one of the most ideologically mixed up ever to assemble. John Rodden, whose "George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation" was published in 1989 and recently reprinted, with a new introduction (Transaction; $30), has catalogued it exhaustively. It has included, over the years, ex-Communists, Socialists, left-wing anarchists, right-wing libertarians, liberals, conservatives, doves, hawks, the Partisan Review editorial board, and the John Birch Society: every group in a different uniform, but with the same button pinned to the lapel—Orwell Was Right. Irving Howe claimed Orwell, and so did Norman Podhoretz. Almost the only thing Orwell's posthumous admirers have in common, besides the button, is anti-Communism. But they all somehow found support for their particular bouquet of moral and political values in Orwell's writings, which have been universally praised as "honest," "decent," and "clear." In what sense, though, can writings that have been taken to mean so many incompatible things be called "clear"? And what, exactly, was Orwell right about?"
illinoise
im not a fan over her show but i bet oprah would make a formidable senator.
much ruminating on the left about the efficacy and leadership of the recent anti-war protests. i tend to think they are generally a positive endeavor as those who are powerless are given the opportunity to at least feel they are doing something to effect change. for those that think ANSWER is not the answer the next anti-war rally in new york and elsewhere will be sponsored by united for peace. maybe their speakers will stay on message and focus on this struggle and leave the grabbag of tangenial leftist complaints for the appropriate venues. for me, it wasnt about the speakers anyway. it was about showing up and registering my dismay and taking away an impression. sheer numbers spoke louder than words.
here are a few rival perspectives --
high clearing
maxspeak
nathan newman
daily kos
also downplaying the numbers v. how best to make estimates at rallies
rosebud
"On Tuesday, Mr. Rosenthal goes on trial in federal court in San Francisco on charges of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy. The charges stem from a business he ran growing marijuana to be sold for medicinal uses under the auspices of the City of Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance, one of many such municipal statutes in California."
"If convicted on all counts, Mr. Rosenthal, who is 58, faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison; the conspiracy charge carries a possible life sentence."
"The trial has riled his many fans in the marijuana community, but its implications are far broader. At its core, Mr. Rosenthal's prosecution exposes a deepening rift between the State of California and the Bush administration over the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, with no middle ground for compromise in sight."
allied front
"France's opposition to a war, emphatically delivered here by Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, is a major blow for the Bush administration, which has begun pouring tens of thousands of troops into the Persian Gulf in preparation for a military conflict this spring. The administration had hoped to mark the final phase in its confrontation with Iraq when U.N. weapons inspectors deliver a progress report Monday."