Oblique Saturdays
5 minutes ago
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Monday, 29 March 2010
Shame on John McCain
I am not sure who must have felt worse—John or Cindy McCain—when Sarah Palin bounded onstage in Tucson last Friday, wearing that fetching black leather dominatrix jacket to deliver a hair-swinging, wink-winking pep talk, and revving up the Tea-baggers who came to see her not him. It was a sweet moment for Sarah. McCain’s 2008 election team—those “old school” losers, as she doubtless thinks of them—have trashed her ever since they lost.
Cindy McCain was glacially self-contained in a trim, chic suit, at her husband’s side. When will high-def pick up the grinding of teeth? She introduced Palin as “a breath of fresh air” when in fact, as far as the McCains are concerned, Palin was a tornado wreaking havoc on the senator’s campaign for president with a personal reality show that enthralled the public but appalled the voters. She has since used the celebrity he bestowed on her to become the La Pasionaria of the No Spin Zone crowd, who now want only to unseat him and install his cocky challenger J.D Hayworth.
It's like the Hanoi Hilton in reverse: He held out under physical torture, but under political torture it seems he’ll say and do just about anything.
No doubt for Cindy McCain the thought of having her husband back in town and hanging around the house if he loses his Senate seat is worth the indignity of once again appearing next to him to pretend that the current pin-up of violent populism stands for the same things as a principled war hero.But for John McCain himself, and the people who have so long admired him, surely this moment in Tucson was a killer moment of moral degradation. McCain’s whole deal has been that he’s his own man, a maverick, a courageous loner. He defied the Bushies by speaking vehemently against torture. He stuck his neck out for the Iraq surge. He denounced the corrupting influence of money in politics. He was the scourge of pork. Whatever he really thought about Palin as his campaign went down in flames and his team threw her under the bus, he gallantly kept his counsel.
That bit, at least, paid off, I guess. It meant he could call on Palin to get him out of a hole in his fight against a meretricious former talk-show host riding anti-incumbent fervor to within seven points of upending him. By using Palin to pander to the Tea Party, however, McCain showed his willingness to repudiate everything that made him special, just so he can hold on to a Senate seat. It’s like the Hanoi Hilton in reverse: He held out under physical torture, but under political torture it seems he’ll say and do just about anything. That character change seems to date from the strange reversal of magic that occurred when he succumbed to political opportunism in 2004 in Pensacola and embraced George W. Bush, the man who allowed the disgraceful smear campaign against him in South Carolina four years earlier.
As for Palin, her political heart, if she had one, would of course be with McCain’s challenger, who purportedly stands for everything she does. But being consistent politically is no longer as important to Sarah Palin as being a star. The McCain gig in Tucson was a big booking; images of being embraced anew by a legend provided resonant media far more valuable than backing the other guy in the race, who merely furthered the Tea Party cause. When she’s out at their fervid rallies, Palin pretends to be talking to True Believers in a political movement. But she’s really only talking to consumers. Buy my book. Watch my show. Hype my brand. She has chosen celebrity over politics, and who can blame her, given what hell it is to try and serve your country in Washington these days.
If McCain wins this last race he knows it will be because of her. It’s not impossible that Palin will turn out to be his most enduring legacy. Disinterested public service has become, just so… what’s the phrase, “old school.”
Tina Brown @'Daily Beast'
Tally ho! 'Barbour cavalry' rides to Tories' rescue
Hundreds of hunt supporters are under orders to ride into action in key marginal seats within hours of a general election being called, in the knowledge that David Cameron will allow a return to hunting with dogs if he gets to Downing Street.
Documents seen by The Independent show that hunt masters have been rounding up supporters and sending them to the most fiercely contested seats, ahead of a big push planned for the first 72 hours of campaigning. A letter from one Tory candidate, while thanking the huntsmen and women for their support, pleaded with them not to invade his constituency like the cavalry, "cantering into town in pink chinos and Barbours".
Hunt organisers have told supporters that the sport needs a decisive Conservative victory – Mr Cameron is expected to allow MPs a free vote on letting traditional hunting resume. A message to members of the Avon Vale Hunt, which has operated in Wiltshire for 122 years, warns that it could soon cease to exist unless the Tories secure an outright majority. The hunt chairman, Tim Page, wrote: "I would like us all to reflect on what is at stake if we do not succeed in helping get a Conservative government elected at the forthcoming general election, and, importantly with a sufficient majority to give the time to a free vote on the repeal of the Hunting Act 2004." ...
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In a word - TWATS!!!
...and all the more reason to stop the Tories getting into power.
Head - Sin Bin
Featuring Gareth Sagar (ex The Pop Group & Rip Rig & Panic)
(Tip o'the hat to Martin!)
Truly amazing mummies
Perils of the Silk Road
The Silk Road was a legendarily dangerous 4,600-mile route connecting Asia and the Mediterranean, used by traders who for centuries traversed deserts and mountains, in temperatures ranging from minus-50 to 120 degrees. The exhibition at the Bowers features more than 150 objects excavated from the trail, including this infant mummy, believed to be from around the 8th century BCE (Before the Christian Era). Even more remarkable about the mummies in the Bowers exhibition is that, although found in the arid western reaches of China, the features are noticeably Caucasian.
More @'Life'
Breaking News: Rio Tinto employees sentenced in Chinese bribery case
Four employees of the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, including an Australian citizen, were convicted by a Chinese court on Monday and sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison for accepting millions of dollars in bribes and stealing commercial secrets.
A three-judge panel at the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court sentenced Stern Hu, an Australian citizen, to seven years in jail for bribery and five years on stealing secrets, but he will serve 10 years in prison.
The case has drawn international attention and even led to diplomatic wrangling between China and Australia over concerns that the four employees had been arrested on trumped up charges and questions about whether they could get a fair trial here.
At a three-day trial that took place here early last week, the four employees all pleaded guilty to accepting some bribes, though several of the men denied stealing commercial secrets.
The four employees — three of whom are Chinese citizens — were detained in Shanghai last July on suspicions of espionage and stealing state secrets from Chinese state-owned steel companies.
But after protests from Australia and foreign executives about the nature of the accusations, the men were formally charged with bribery and stealing commercial secrets, which are lesser charges.
Some Australian officials and foreign executives said the arrests looked like retaliation against Rio Tinto because of its tough negotiations over iron ore prices with Chinese state-run steel mills and the company’s decision last summer to scrap plans to accept a $19.5 billion investment from one of China’s biggest mining companies.
The Australian government was due to issue a statement shortly after the verdict was released.
Lawyers for the four employees have said they were considering an appeal.
Live on Radio National's Australia Talks
Stephen Conroy says he knows nothing about the US objection to Australia's internet filter...
The federal government will introduce mandatory internet filtering this year. And after recent abuse appearing on Facebook memorial sites, the government is also looking at establishing an internet ombudsman. So how far should control of the internet go for the sake of making the online world safer for children? Is it actually possible to make the internet safe?
Download link:
Internet filtering with Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy
Suicide bombers strike central Moscow metro, at least 37 dead
At least 37 people died as two suspected terrorist bombs ripped through the central Moscow metro system during Monday morning's rush hour, the emergencies ministry said.
The first blast occurred at around 8:00 a.m. (05:00 GMT), killing at least 23 people and injuring 18, many of them seriously.
A RIA Novosti employee who was on the train said the blast occurred between the Lubyanka and Okhotny Ryad metro stations close to the Kremlin.
The second blast occurred some 20 minutes later at the nearby Park Kultury station and killed at least 14 and injured at least 7. The carriage hit by the blast in still on the platform.
Prosecutors said the bombs, each with the equivalent strength of 2 kg of TNT, were denoted by suicide bombers.
A police source told RIA Novosti that the blasts bore all the hallmarks of "a well-planned terrorist attack."
With central Moscow at a standstill, helicopters are being used to evacuate the injured.
Russia's top investigator Vladimir Markin said that an investigation on terrorism charges had been launched.
If terrorism is confirmed as the cause of the blasts, this will be the first major terrorist incident in Russia outside of the North Caucasus since 2004, when hundreds of people died in two plane bombings. The same series of attacks culminated in the deaths of over 300 people, many of then children, when Chechen terrorists seized a school in Beslan.
A telephone hotline has been opened - +7 495 622 1430 and + 7 495 624 3440.
Meh, the weekend is almost over...
Another weekend comes to an end. Bummer...
The Catholic church seems to be crumbling, or at least cracking under the pressures of the truth. I read some great commentaries regarding treating the church as a criminal organization, and rejecting them as a moral authority.
No kidding!
But there is more happening in the world... we all have the lives we live every day. And we don't need the Pope or any other religious "authority" to tell us how or who or what to do.
We just DO. And we know what is right or wrong in our hearts.
I plant things in my garden, because it will feed my family in a few months, and there is a great satisfaction in that. Close to the earth! Food that came from our hard work and care.
Very useful that 'faith in g*d'!
The pontiff said faith in God helps lead one "toward the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion."
jayrosen_nyu
$215 a year for the Wall Street Journal on the iPad. $140 for the print delivery plus online. Do YOU understand that pricing? Does anyone?
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