I ask myself...
What do I think about this?

a moment of my restless political mind:

I oppose George W Bush attacking Iraq--and I've suspected from the start that (after he was done ignoring the California energy crisis) it has always been tops on his to-do list. But
today's piece by columnist William Safire in the New York Times both makes me question whether Iraqi intervention of a sort (increased support for the Kurds) is advisable after all and reaffirms to me that Bush is not after what's best for the innocents in Iraq (duh.). The article details a suicide attack aimed at Kurdish leader that occured while US diplomats were in the area, and how the Kurds captured one of the attackers and thus learned of the existence of "sixty Islamic terrorists, trained in Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden," who are currently in Northern Iraq as "guests of Saddam Hussein." According to Safire, they intend to attack Kurdish leaders in an action similar (his parallel) to that which took out Afghan opposition leader Massoud on 9/9/01. Safire comes off as 1) a decided anti-Iraq Hawk, and 2) criticial of Bush for not giving meaningful support to the Kurdish opposition (frankly, the 2 is the only reason that I gave an ear to 1).

So what do I think about that?

I'm trying to figure that out. I think that Saddam is dangerous, but I don't think that an overt US attack is a good idea--I don't trust Bush, his cabinet, or his advisors in their motives or their capabilities. And I feel certain that we will not get the blessing of any Arab state to carry out such an attack both because it is a frightening precedent to set and because they are indignant over our complicity in Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. So any attack would damage our relations with the Arab world in general which seems like an awful thing to do right now.

shocking confession #x: You know, I only ever knew Safire's notorious On Language column, I never knew his deal (which is kinda weird), and I've (seen but) never read his editorials before today. In situations like this, I often turn to the hyper-catalog of knowledge that is everything2.com. From whence I get a brief bio and a spooky letter never sent. So, the background of the author explored, now how do I feel about the op-ed written by a former Nixon spin-meister & decorated commander of the English language? I feel spun. Again. And tired of it. It has been on my mind since 9/11 that we are like Risk tiles, with stars n' stripes on our backs to help keep score easy. We're like tops, too. Bleah. I have no witty or wise wrap-up to this, just leads me toward favoring personal isolationism from National politics. And wanting to get back to creating things.

UPDATE [4/12/02]

well now that I've read another of his columns it's clear that Saffire & I are on different planets (or at least different poles). But I do have to agree that the point about not having more active support of the Kurds seems a valid critique--at least in as much as they are an analog of the Northern Alliance. But then such analogies are the stuff of which persuasion (and manipulation) are made. How many new Hitlers have we had? Comparison is a powerful and imprecise method of communication. It can be used for great poetic effect, but in the communication of facts its... somewhat like a sieve. But not exactly.

I went to the Saint Stupid's Day Parade on Monday (4/1). It was incredible, as always. A great turn out. A stupid time.
I also made up some signs for it. These signs! I'll have a proper page up there sometime soon. Right now it's just a directory listing of the images. Thanks again to Bishop Joey of the First Church of the Last Laugh for giving us divine Stupidity each and every year and the year before that.

I missed a couple in there, but this is either the fourth or fifth St Stupid's Day that I have paraded in. And I was there for last year's inaugural parade and I very, very nearly read my inaugural character poetic assassination. Here is photo-aspic evidence that I (and BIGFOOT!) were at that parade.

There's something different on this page.

I've added some new sets of links to the left sidebar:

• a bunch of sites that i want to explore / pages i want to read.
  
• some music webzines (and such) that I find crucial
  
• some of my favorite labels.
  
• you will no doubt notice that there is not a link to a Rasta-Russian dictionary. And with good reason, my friend.
  

This is the beginning of me putting more music content on the web (both on this site and others in my dominion). Comedy links and my original humorous writings will follow, too.

certain things are not certain.

I had a great day while browsing for books at thrift stores last week: I picked up Catch-22 (the film of which I had just seen again a few weeks ago, and I'd been planning on re-reading it), Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett. and The Stars' Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry (oh look, I found the first chapter online!) whose novels I have been am pushing on anyone who will listen. All that plus I scored a Greg Bear book, just as I was nearing the last 100 pages of Eon which has been blowing my mind. I'll write an entry on that book soon, as it really did grab me.

In the process I found an interesting correlation that I had never noticed before, in regards to judging books based on their cover--beware any novel where the AUTHOR'S NAME is printed larger than the title [whoops! I reversed that initially! It's correct now--hope I haven't disappointed my MILLIONS of fans.]
. Pay attention next time you are passing Safeway's book racks. Or maybe I should give Mary Higgins Clark a chance? Nah.

want some good news?

TOO BAD.

two articles to exercise your rubberneck and gnaw at your faith in human nature.
just what you needed, huh? don't mention it.

Something fishy about Salomon

This will give you someone else to hate besides Enron & Anderson--Salomon Smith Barney advised Worldcom employees to buy WCOM shares on margin (borrowed from SSB) and to hang on to their shares even as the market plummetted. I like this article because it gives the names of the 3 brokers responsible, so that if you see them in the street you can kick them.

Television and the Pentagon are strategic bedfellows

This article is about how the Pentagon consults on certain TV shows and how we WILL get a glimpse of the War Tribunals, after all, "Actors Portrayal" style. The show is called JAG (Judge Advocate General) and apparently it's been on for a couple years (I don't watch tv much, sorry if this is old news to everyone).

Here's a quote from the JAG's creator:

"I want to show people that the tribunals are not what many people feared they would be, which is that they would be nothing more than a necktie party, that they would have no foundation in law, that this was a way of taking these people and killing them," Mr. Bellisario said. "I wanted to show that we still have a system of justice." Personally, though, he said he believed "they should all be taken out and blown up."

and from one of the show's writers:

"War is terrible, conflicts are terrible, but somebody has to do it and so it's necessary — maybe not completely honest, but necessary — to imbue those things with glory," he said. "I don't shrink from it."


For him, soldiering is about comrades supporting each other, and writing a heroic script is his way of doing that. "I'm missing the conflict," he said. "This is the only way I can really contribute."

none of this is ANYTHING like propaganda, is it?

[note these are both New York Times articles, so you need to register to read 'em. I think you should, cuz it's free and pretty low stress as these things go. BUT I've just noticed that if the articles are more than a week old you have to pay like $.88 to read 'em, which is bogus and I don't think you should do. If you're reading this more than a week after I posted it, sorry about the incredible expiring links. But I bet there's more bad news today on their front page if you want some.]

happy easter.

Great things upcoming

Engrave these into your unsuspecting calendar

• APRIL the 1th: Saint Stupid's Day again again!!


• friends & mikl-em & friends read at 21 Grand on Sunday April 14!!!


• Sunday April 21st: Donald the Nut stars in Tentacle Session #32!!!

Hope you can make them. Actually, we'll make them, you should just show up!!