Archive for: January 2002

“Secretary of State Colin Powell told King Abdullah II of Jordan on Thursday that the Bush administration intends to corner Yasser Arafat to make sure he curbs terror attacks on Israel,” AP Diplomatic Correspondent Barry Schweid reports.

“A senior U.S. official said that was Powell’s overriding message to the king in their 45-minute session in Powell’s State Department office and that Abdullah accepted the tactic as a good idea.

“In fact, the king agreed that the Palestinian leader must act to stop the violence, the official said on condition of anonymity.”

“Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview on Thursday Israel should have killed Yasser Arafat in 1982 when it had the Palestinian leader under siege in Beirut,” Reuters reports. “His remarks were condemned by Palestinian officials.”‘I think this reflects what has been always said — that Sharon is trying to finish what he began in 1982,’ cabinet member Saeb Erekat said. ‘And for prime ministers to announce openly their gangster intentions is a reflection of what kind of government we’re dealing with.’

Meanwhile, the female Palestinian suicide bomber who blew herself into bloody li’l gangster-fragments — killing an 81-year old man in the process — received a martyr’s burial today. No word yet from Allah on what he’s planning to offer her in lieu of 72 doe-eyed virgins.

My money’s on eternal damnation.

“Five women were charged with trespassing and reckless endangerment in lower Manhattan for climbing to a building rooftop and unfurling a banner that read, ‘Bush and big biz agree that people with AIDS drop dead,’” the AP reports.

“Police also reported vandalism at several chain businesses around Manhattan. A California man was arrested for defacing the front door of a Starbucks coffee shop, police said.”

Well, that’ll teach those evil corporate hegemon devils what’s what! And that imperialistic Starbucks’ front door? Never again will it kick at starving third world babies with its sinister, double mocha boots!

(Gosh — these spoiled, simpering idiots can’t even come up with a decent slogan to rally around. Bush agrees with big business that AIDS sufferers should drop dead? Huh? How weak is that?

And when did this conversation between Bush and “Big Biz” take place, anyway…?

Big Business: “I tell ya’, George. Them AIDS sufferers, they should just go ahead and drop dead, don’t you think? I mean, we’re against AIDS, ain’t we George?

Bush: “Yessiree. We’re against all the evil ones. In fact, best case scenario? All of ‘em drop dead — and the sooner the better.”

Big Business: “Excellent. So we agree, then?”

Bush: “Sure do. In fact, get me my President’s pen, Big Biz. I want to put this in writin’ for posh-terity….”

(Hmm. Howsabout, “Make love, not free trade agreements…?” Kinda’ has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Hullo? [tap tap] is this thing on…?)

“D.C. librarians are furious with a decision not to recognize Martin Luther King and other black historical figures in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library’s public art galleries during February, which is National Black History Month,” The Washington …

“A tenured math professor who complained Temple University wanted him to inflate grades and ‘dummy down’ course work has been fired on grounds of incompetence, his attorney said.

Martin Eisen, 69, who worked at Temple for nearly 35 years, had been on paid leave since August 1999 while the university investigated students’ complaints about his grading practices.”‘Our position is that he is not incompetent,’ Daily said. ‘What Temple demanded that Dr. Eisen do … was dummy down the course so these kids would get college credit for a college-level course which was really a high school course.’

University spokeswoman Harriet Goodheart refused to comment Wednesday, calling it a personnel matter.

[...]‘I told students they could get the same education in high school for a fraction of the cost,’ Eisen said Thursday.

Anticipating he would be fired, Eisen filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Temple last summer. He seeks reinstatement to his job, back pay and other monetary damages. Temple has moved to get the lawsuit dismissed.

Goetz maintained that classes at Temple have not been dumbed down. He said grade inflation does exist, but no more than at ‘any other university in the United States.’

…Which makes it okay, I guess.

Well, here’s an insider’s perspective: university administrators like it when students pass courses. And professors like Dr. Eisen (who refuse to act as frumpty turnstiles) are unfortunately in short supply — to the shame of our higher education system, which has noticeably suffered for it…

(Not a bad argument, but can you dance to it…? I’ll give it a B+)

“The FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center has issued a ‘high-importance’ bulletin warning about potential terrorist threats to American water-supply systems,” FOXNews reports.

“The alert was issued after a computer owned by an individual indirectly linked to Usama bin Laden was found to contain several software programs used for structural engineering of ‘dams and other water-retaining structures.’

The NIPC bulletin also noted that terror suspects have shown ‘interest’ in insecticides and pest-control products at several undisclosed Web sites.”At the same time, the Washington Times reported Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies have issued an internal alert that Islamic terrorists are planning another large attack on America.

The Times said the warning was issued in a classified report that said one target was a U.S. nuclear power plant or one of the Energy Department’s nuclear facilities.

Well, at least we’ve had 5 months to prepare. Time to put our homeland security apparatus to the test, looks like…

[related: from CNN.]

The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes examines the upsurge in recent support for the GOP and asks (rhetorically), why the dramatic shift in polling numbers? For Barnes,the answer is issue inversion. Issues that were paramount in voters’ minds …

Sometimes a headline says it all: from The Houston Chronicle: Johnnie Cochran hired to represent Enron workers.”

Good grief.

…Okay, okay…I’ll go first: “If the figures don’t fit, you must remit…!”
…

“Israel’s Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, approved a plan yesterday for security measures to seal off Jerusalem from the West Bank,” The Independent reports. “The plan is expected to include look-out towers, electronic cameras, trenches and more military checkpoints.”Proposals to fortify the entire metropolis — including its occupied Arab eastern half — came as the city spent another day on the highest alert. Mr Sharon — who campaigned for election last year on a promise of providing security — met senior officials from the Israeli police, army, intelligence services and City Hall to discuss the plan, called ‘Enveloping Jerusalem.’

Events were watched closely by his critics, who pointed out that Israel has been steadily strengthening its political control of the city, and the long military blockade of the occupied territories has, so far, failed to stop Palestinian attacks.

Mr Sharon appears to have rejected police proposals that the plan should include building a wall to separate parts of east and west Jerusalem. He refused on the grounds that it would be tantamount to the re-division of the city — flying in the face of Israeli opinion that it should be their unified capital.

I’m not altogether clear on how lookout towers or all the electronic cameras in the world will help curtail the activities of nutjob terrorists unconcerned with escape routes, but hey, if it makes the Israeli’s feel safe…

“Republicans say they may take action to stop congressional investigators from suing Vice President Dick Cheney to get information on business executives who met with him and his aides on energy policy.” the AP reports.’I think it may come to that,’ said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Congress’ investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, shouldn’t be ‘trying to impose disclosure on internal White House meetings to determine policy. … If you have to do that, pretty soon there wouldn’t be any meetings.’

In an earlier post I suggested that I wasn’t quite sure where I’d come down (opinion-wise) on Cheney’s recalcitrance, but I’m beginning to side with the Veep on this. And here’s why: the GAO is after the release of notes on the energy task force’s deliberation process — which is a lot like demanding of a writer all the rough drafts or his (or her) work. Some writers might comply (infidels!), but most are understandably guarded about their pre-polished pages and screwy half thoughts. I would never have published a single thing if I believed I’d be forced to disclose my maniacal early-draft rantings.

Congress retains the power to reject any plan Cheney and his committee might ultimately come up with; therefore, Congress retains the necessary check on the VP’s power.

But unlike Athena, who popped fully-formed outta’ the skull of Zeus, newly-proposed policy isn’t magically born in a complete and polished state. If Cheney wishes to guard his thought processes — and to guard the brainstormings of the participants attending those task force sessions — so be it. After all, for any of these policies to go into effect, they must first be offered up for Congressional and public scrutiny.

And that’s enough. Just because Cheney may have listened to some of Enron’s ideas — or even (God forfend) agreed with some them — does not mean, ipso facto, that the VP was “bought” with Enron payola. It only means that he, too, favors energy de-regulation.

A “corporate” guy who favors de-regulation? *Gasp* By all means, slap on a pair of rubber gloves and let the probin’ begin…

[update: The National Review's Byron York speaks with GAO chief David Walker, who says that while at one point the GAO did indeed request notes and minutes from Cheney, such is no longer the case; Cheney is misrepresenting the GAO's request, Walker insists. And the beat goes on... -- ed.]