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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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For Some, the Blogging Never Stops |
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| Topic: Blogging |
9:22 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
Blogging is a pastime for many, even a livelihood for a few. For some, it becomes an obsession. Sometimes, the realization that no one is reading sets in. A few blogs have thousands of readers, but never have so many people written so much to be read by so few. Indeed, if a blog is likened to a conversation, many bloggers are having conversations largely with themselves. "If this were beer, I'd be an alcoholic." "If I feel like I've written something good, it's enjoyable to go back and read it." "It's that you're involved in a conversation. You have a connection to people through the blog." "When you start thinking in blog, it becomes part of you." For Some, the Blogging Never Stops |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
9:03 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
It has always been easy to make fun of Al Gore. But if there's any truth to the thunderous criticism he's turned loose on the Bush administration this week, it's time to dispense with the jokes and listen seriously to what the man is saying. The speech was extraordinary -- blunt, colorful and delivered with the kind of passion you seldom see in politics anymore. Those who disagree with Mr. Gore should challenge him on his facts. Those who agree must look for ways to defend the honor and perhaps the very identity of the United States as we've known it. Bob Herbert says "Gold Star!" A Speech That's No Joke |
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US Diplomat's Letter of Resignation |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
1:49 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
Dear Mr. Secretary: I am writing you to submit my resignation from the Foreign Service of the United States and from my position as Political Counselor in US Embassy Athens, effective March 7. I do so with a heavy heart. I was paid to understand foreign languages and cultures, to seek out diplomats, politicians, scholars and journalists, and to persuade them that US interests and theirs fundamentally coincided. My faith in my country and its values was the most powerful weapon in my diplomatic arsenal. It is inevitable that during twenty years with the State Department I would become more sophisticated and cynical about the narrow and selfish bureaucratic motives that sometimes shaped our policies. Human nature is what it is, and I was rewarded and promoted for understanding human nature. But until this Administration it had been possible to believe that by upholding the policies of my president I was also upholding the interests of the American people and the world. I believe it no longer. Mr. Secretary, I have enormous respect for your character and ability. But your loyalty to the President goes too far. This is the text of John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Mr. Kiesling is a career diplomat who has served in United States embassies from Tel Aviv to Casablanca to Yerevan. US Diplomat's Letter of Resignation |
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The Resignation Principle |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
1:46 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
(An open letter to Christine Todd Whitman) Dear Director, You are in a fair way to being remembered as the Robert S. McNamara of the environment. Live with your obituary in mind, Peter Drucker counsels. The resignation on principle is electrifyingly rare. Cyrus Vance, over Carter's ill-advised rescue mission in Iran; William Jennings Bryan, over Wilson's tough line toward Germany: that about does it for the twentieth century. It will make you a national figure, part of a trend of women whistle-blowers. The Resignation Principle |
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Why Did Washington Succeed? |
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| Topic: History |
1:42 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
In 1797 King George III of England, Washington's erstwhile enemy, appraised Washington's resignation from the presidency, looking back at the dramatic 1783 resignation as Commander-in-Chief upon concluding the Revolutionary War that had won Washington world-wide fame, and concluded that they "placed him in a light the most distinguished of any man living, and that he thought him the greatest character of the age." King George doubtless had no idea of Machiavelli's advice in mind as he spoke. George Washington, however, so frequently and well used the art of resignation, that one can wonder if he were not inspired by considerations like to those advised by Machiavelli. Washington began his career of resignations when he was still a youthful commander of the colonial militia in Virginia in the early 1750s. His objective then, however, was to pressure the colonial governor and assembly into providing more adequate provision for defense of the frontiers against Indian attacks. By the time of his resignation as Commander-in-Chief in 1783, however, he had clearly established concrete political plans that were to be advanced no less from "a private position" as they previously had been in his public role. The gravamen of Machiavelli's advice was that a general whose great virtue had acquired for his prince or country new domain or secure liberty should anticipate suspicion. In this case he can act only in one of two ways, to resign the great powers he has acquired or to use those powers to establish himself in supreme office. Resigning would operate not only to defend against suspicion but also to build reputation. Why Did Washington Succeed? |
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| Topic: Military |
1:37 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
"In the lead-up to the Iraq War and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility, at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption." So says former US Central Command commander in chief Zinni, who retired in September 2000 and has been outspoken ever since regarding the uses and abuses of the US military. Marine General Tony Zinni was known as the "Warrior Diplomat" during his nearly forty years of service. As a soldier, his credentials were impeccable, whether leading troops in Vietnam, commanding hair-raising rescue operations in Somalia, or-as Commander in Chief of CENTCOM -- directing strikes against Iraq and Al Qaeda. But it was as a peacemaker that he made just as great a mark -- conducting dangerous troubleshooting missions all over Africa, Asia, and Europe; and then serving as Secretary of State Colin Powell's special envoy to the Middle East, before disagreements over the 2003 Iraq War and its probable aftermath caused him to resign. Battle Ready |
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Sports Illustrated - 2004 Swimsuit Edition - Models - Veronica Varekova |
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| Topic: Society |
1:15 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
When asked, "Who is the person you would most like to meet?", Veronica Varekova, the cover model for the 2004 swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, replied: Charlie Rose. Charlie, not a man to keep a beautiful woman waiting, promptly complied, inviting her to the show for an interview. (The date was February 20. It is not available online, but I can confirm that it was a good interview.) Sports Illustrated - 2004 Swimsuit Edition - Models - Veronica Varekova |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
12:29 am EDT, May 28, 2004 |
Tom gave this speech a gold star. Although I do not give this speech my own gold star, I am glad that Tom chose to do so, and I'm also glad I made the suggestion about gold stars. This speech is a mixed bag. It is significant and newsworthy, so it is worth reading for that reason on its own. Gore also makes several good points that are worthy of further discussion and consideration. However, he alternates frequently (and frustratingly) between roles. At one moment, he plays the honest American citizen who is deeply concerned about the (mis)behavior of his government. At the next, he is jockeying for political position, blatantly playing for cheers and ovations from a partisan NYU audience. A speech half as long would have been twice as good if he had been willing to put politics aside and speak thoughtfully, honestly, candidly, and critically to the American public. If he then found himself with time left over, because the talk was of a predetermined duration, it would have been a pleasant surprise to hear him offer some concrete, constructive ideas. The closest he gets is to hearken back to the fundamental (but abstract) principles of American democracy, talking about "the founders" and quoting Jefferson. Without directly saying it, he gives the impression that he would repeal the Patriot Act if he were in power. Yet it was the Clinton-Gore FBI director who recently made the case for ever more expanded authority in this regard, including the reinstitution of bans on the export and use of strong cryptography. In the absence of this speech, I would not have thought to criticize Al Gore because he did not have the Answer to our Problems. It is never easy to develop a solution to a complex problem, and it is even harder to make that solution succeed in practice. But it is disappointing to see him make this speech, which (notwithstanding its truth) is so uniformly and unflinchingly negative and critical of the Bush administration, without offering anything resembling a coherent alternative beyond a laundry list of "Don'ts." Sadly, this only serves to diminish the sincerity and impact of the valid, important questions he has asked. His prescription can be summarized in a single word: Change. Thanks, but I kind of already knew that. I was both surprised, and on some level, impressed, I think, by his call for Tenet's resignation. It gave me pause to reconsider the basic problem with the common interpretation of a resignation in the modern world. I have been quite conflicted of late regarding the notion of a Rumsfeld resignation, and it was refreshing to see a public figure call for the resignation of a friend while still retaining respect for that person. Anthony Zinni was on Charlie Rose earlier this week, and the hour-long interview should be up on the web within the next few days. It is well worth the time, and I highly recommend it. I would consider giving the interview a gold star if not for ... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ] Gore Speech |
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| Topic: Current Events |
1:43 am EDT, May 26, 2004 |
Decius wrote:
]] Tonight, as he vowed to stay the
]] course in Iraq, Bush demonstrated another mental defect:
]] incomprehension of his role in history as a fallible
]] human agent. Absent such comprehension, Bush can't fix
]] his mistakes in Iraq because he can't see how or even
]] that he screwed up.
]
] That's pretty much how I feel about the present spin work that
] Bush is engaged in. The situation in Iraq is fucked up. I want
] to see changes on the ground. Spin doctoring doesn't influence
] me. Bush's unwillingness to reflect on the past, either distant or recent, is a serious flaw. It is even more troublesome that despite having smart, thoughtful people on his team -- I'm thinking mainly of Rumsfeld, Powell, and Rice -- he seems largely unable or unwilling to integrate their arguments into his worldview. He seems to have adopted neither Powell's caution nor his care, neither Rumsfeld's constant questioning of assumptions nor his ongoing analysis of alternatives, neither Rice's depth of expertise nor her clarity. Last Friday, Bob Woodward was on Charlie Rose for the hour. If you didn't catch it at the time, it is very worthwhile. You can listen in streaming RealAudio at http://media5.bloomberg.com:443/cgi-bin/getavfile.cgi?A=22235869 Bob says something to the effect that Bush is not really thinking about or planning to run "against" John Kerry this fall. Rather, Bush is running against himself, or, more specifically, against his performance in Iraq and the global war on terror. Extrapolating from this viewpoint, it's possible that Bush will either decline to debate Kerry at all, or will go for the absolute minimum level of engagement -- perhaps a single hour-long debate in late September, for example. Bush will focus on foreign policy and national security; Kerry, about domestic issues -- health care and the economy. Mostly, they will just talk past each other. MSNBC - About last night |
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Pricing and Architecture of the Internet | Andrew Odlyzko [PDF] |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:27 am EDT, May 26, 2004 |
With telecommunications in a slump, the search is on for ways to re-invigorate this key industry. The main problems are clearly economic much more than technological, and many of the proposed remedies would lead to new architectures for the Internet that would provide for greater control by carriers. They would drastically reduce the role of the end-to-end principle, the main foundation for the success of the Internet, in which functionality resides at the edges of the network. In communications, the general trend has been towards decreasing price discrimination and simpler pricing. The history of transportation presents a different picture. It is conceivable that telecommunications might break with its historical record and follow the example of transportation. It is therefore of interest to examine the evolution of pricing and quality differentiation in transportation. Pricing and Architecture of the Internet | Andrew Odlyzko [PDF] |
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