When I get my voice back, remind me to do a version of this video...
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Miss C? "Burgoo"??? I Can Top That!
OK, this made me throw up a little in my mouth...
Except modern Kentuckyians have, well....
"Ma-aaa! There's a chunk of Michelin in the burgoo!"
"That's fibre, child, now chew and swaller!"
For those of you too bored to click the link, "lutefish" (or 'fisk, depending on what Scandahoovian country your ancestors ran away from) is a soft gelatinous mound of fish..."stuff"...that's been soaked, first in ice cold water, then in a mixture of cold water and lye (yes, you read that correctly), then soaked in more cold water to remove the lye (found in birch ashes) and most of the nutritional value. Finns do all this outside (wisely), so our ipeäkala (roughly translated "not on your fucking life!") has to be covered with a layer of congealed reindeer fat to protect it from critters. The fat keeps the raccoons from getting to your delicacy, but your on your own to get rid of the pesky family of Norwegians that will take residence under your porch.
This of course adds an oily texture to the lutefish. It's important to not overlye the fish, or it turns into soap. My mom was never much of one for rules, so this might explain why I don't like Christmas so much, and also why I never give soap as a present. It's too tempting to open and eat.
As it turns into a jelly, it can basically be stored frozen forever, meaning a fish done in the 1800s would probably still be edible today, if stored in Santaland up in the permafrost of the Sami region. Of course seeing as nobody actually likes eating lutefish, there's a good reason why that sample from the 1800s would still survive to this day.
Once the fish is prepared, it is then soaked again with water, and cooked on its own for a few minutes. This is to ensure it doesn't infect any edible matter in the kitchen. Traditionally, the fish is then pounded between two pine boards. Epicures throw the fish away and eat the boards, but not us Finns, noooooooo, we're far too tough for that pansy way out!
Rumour has it that the Vikings once pillaged an entire city in France without drawing a sword, merely carrying a barrel of lutefish in front of them.
Serving lutefish involves preparing a cream sauce made of heavy cream and a strong laxative, as the fish has a tendency to, um, gum up the works. Also, never eat lutefish if you plan to be around an open flame twelve hours later.
The cream sauce, with a fresh ground pepper garnish, serves to mask the taste of the fish, and also to provide some meager nutritional value to the meal. Lutefish is served with boiled potatoes, mostly because no self-respecting vegetable would be caught dead on the same plate, but also to add a hint of colour to the bland off-white colour scheme of your feast.
So, to periphrase Letterman...."Burgoooo....luuuuutefish...burgoooooo...luuuuutefish"
Burgoo is a stew-like soup of meat and vegetables that the settlers who poured through the Cumberland Gap survived on as they tamed this region. It featured whatever meat -- squirrel, rabbit or possum -- the backwoodsmen bagged on any given day.Actually, that sounds delish...find any animal, and use it in a stew.
But Owensboro in the western part of the state is now one of the few places where burgoo is still served in restaurants, at church picnics and barbecue cook-offs, albeit in a slightly updated form.
In many ways, burgoo is similar to Brunswick stew, another one-pot, slow-cooked dish popular in the south.
Except modern Kentuckyians have, well....
Kentucky, the untamed western frontier when the American colonies declared independence in 1776, is struggling to keep a taste of its past alive -- a stew traditionally made from roadkill and veggies.I can kind of imagine the dinner table conversation:
"Ma-aaa! There's a chunk of Michelin in the burgoo!"
"That's fibre, child, now chew and swaller!"
[U]nlike Brunswick stew, which has been embraced by epicures, burgoo is just a generation removed from its roots as a roadkill-and-veggie ragout. Indeed, in the late 1990s, during the scare over mad cow disease, health officials warned Kentuckians to stop eating squirrel brains, which, like squirrel meat, remains a something of a delicacy here.Jeez, and I thought lutefish was nauseating.
For those of you too bored to click the link, "lutefish" (or 'fisk, depending on what Scandahoovian country your ancestors ran away from) is a soft gelatinous mound of fish..."stuff"...that's been soaked, first in ice cold water, then in a mixture of cold water and lye (yes, you read that correctly), then soaked in more cold water to remove the lye (found in birch ashes) and most of the nutritional value. Finns do all this outside (wisely), so our ipeäkala (roughly translated "not on your fucking life!") has to be covered with a layer of congealed reindeer fat to protect it from critters. The fat keeps the raccoons from getting to your delicacy, but your on your own to get rid of the pesky family of Norwegians that will take residence under your porch.
This of course adds an oily texture to the lutefish. It's important to not overlye the fish, or it turns into soap. My mom was never much of one for rules, so this might explain why I don't like Christmas so much, and also why I never give soap as a present. It's too tempting to open and eat.
As it turns into a jelly, it can basically be stored frozen forever, meaning a fish done in the 1800s would probably still be edible today, if stored in Santaland up in the permafrost of the Sami region. Of course seeing as nobody actually likes eating lutefish, there's a good reason why that sample from the 1800s would still survive to this day.
Once the fish is prepared, it is then soaked again with water, and cooked on its own for a few minutes. This is to ensure it doesn't infect any edible matter in the kitchen. Traditionally, the fish is then pounded between two pine boards. Epicures throw the fish away and eat the boards, but not us Finns, noooooooo, we're far too tough for that pansy way out!
Rumour has it that the Vikings once pillaged an entire city in France without drawing a sword, merely carrying a barrel of lutefish in front of them.
Serving lutefish involves preparing a cream sauce made of heavy cream and a strong laxative, as the fish has a tendency to, um, gum up the works. Also, never eat lutefish if you plan to be around an open flame twelve hours later.
The cream sauce, with a fresh ground pepper garnish, serves to mask the taste of the fish, and also to provide some meager nutritional value to the meal. Lutefish is served with boiled potatoes, mostly because no self-respecting vegetable would be caught dead on the same plate, but also to add a hint of colour to the bland off-white colour scheme of your feast.
So, to periphrase Letterman...."Burgoooo....luuuuutefish...burgoooooo...luuuuutefish"
Friday, December 22, 2006
Three Days Til Christmas Music Blogging
The best free Christmas gift ever: a new Xmas video from Twisted Sister!http://www.twistedsister.com/ - Come All Ye Faithful
Thanks Again, Captain Obvious!
Anybody who has ever taken the PATH trains in New York & New Jersey could have told you this without a multimillion dollar study:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An analysis done for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says commuter train tunnels under the Hudson River are more vulnerable to a bomb attack than previously thought, The New York Times reported on Thursday.This is a rail system that shuts down when there's a catastrophic rainfall, much less a terror attack, because of flooded tunnels. It's a very shallow train service, which means there ain't a whole lot of "stuff" on top of the tunnels to contain a blast, and to filter water more slowly, allowing for time to evacuate. To boot, the tubes are made of cast iron, which makes them highly susceptible after nearly 100 years of service to failure on a grand scale when hit with an impact.
The analysis revises critical aspects of an assessment given the agency last spring, making clear that the PATH tunnels stretching across the Hudson riverbed are structurally more fragile than first thought, the paper said in an article on its Web site.
The New York Times said it had received a draft summary of the most recent analysis from a government official concerned about what the official felt was a lack of action.
The latest analysis indicates it would take only six minutes for one of the PATH system's four tunnels to flood if a significant bomb were detonated, the official was quoted as saying.
Indeed, when the Towers fell in 2001, the entire line between the World Trade Center and Newark that ran under the Hudson River was flooded out. Although the water would not reach street level even if the entire tunnel was exploded, there's a strong possibility the water could rise out of the PATH system and into the adjoining New York City subway system at various stations along Sixth Avenue, flooding most of the lines servicing the West Side of the island.
This is a fairly significant weak spot in the New York City and New Jersey homeland security armor: The PATH lines carry some 250,000 people each day and are open 24 hours a day. Security at many of the stations is lax, mostly because of the open air design of the stations (some are outside at ground level and in fact, the PATH train is designated a train and not a subway for this reason).
So thanks once again, Captain Obvious for pointing this out...
snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky
New York
New Jersey
PATH trains
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Four Days Til Christmas Music Blogging
Sorry, man, misery loves company and I'm fucking annoyed with this season already...
Tit For Tat
You may recall that, just before the November election, a story came out about New York state Comptroller Alan Hevesi regarding a corrupt practice of his regarding having a state employee chauffeur his wife. At the time, I chalked it up to karma, but there were overtones in the story of Republican desperation to win an election, ANY election, statewide.
Well, this story is clearly about karma...for the GOP:
Hmmmmmmmmmm, kinda like chauffering your wife at state expense...
Clearly, the focus is on Bruno who, as state Senate majority leader, leads the only body in the state still held by the GOP. Already, another friend has stepped forward to admit that the FBI subpoenaed his records of a closed real estate deal that he and Bruno were involved in.
Why do I think this is karma? Eliot Spitzer is about to accept the resignation of Alan Hevesi (as noted above), but he cannot possibly be happy about it. Hevesi, despite his personal peccadilloes, has a reputation as a resourceful and strong Comptroller, at both the state and local level, and would have been an important piece of any attempt by Spitzer to lower property taxes while maintaining a budget surplus in the face of very difficult economic times.
Hevesi's replacement would have to be vetted by both houses of the state legislature, including the GOP-controlled Senate. The Bruno-controlled Senate. If Bruno wasn't in control....
New York
Republicans
Joe Bruno
Well, this story is clearly about karma...for the GOP:
ALBANY -- An FBI investigation of Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's business interests has set off alarms among Senate Republicans who fear their flagbearer has been wounded as Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer, a tenacious Democrat, prepares to take office.It should be noted that Federal subpoenae have been issued to two close associates, including Jared Abbruzzese, a Long Island businessman who runs a nanotechnology firm which has received state funds that are traditionally earmarked for non-profit organizations. Abbruzzese also is petitioning the state for a race track license, something Bruno would be intimately involved in granting. The tit-for-tat? Apparently, Abbruzzese has let Bruno use his corporate aircraft, without reimbursement, to fly him all over the state.
Members of the GOP held out hope Wednesday that Bruno, 77, can withstand the scrutiny of a federal inquiry, but those sentiments were clouded by apprehension, especially at a time when Democratic state Comptroller Alan Hevesi may be hours from indictment.
"There's a lot of angst about where this is going to go," said one Republican Senate official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "People are wondering whether Bruno can survive and whether he can lead."
Capital Business Consultants, the advisory firm Bruno runs out of his Brunswick home, has been under investigation since late spring, but Bruno tried to stay upbeat when he revealed the federal probe late Tuesday. He even wished members of the press corps "Merry Christmas" at the end of a news conference.
Hmmmmmmmmmm, kinda like chauffering your wife at state expense...
Clearly, the focus is on Bruno who, as state Senate majority leader, leads the only body in the state still held by the GOP. Already, another friend has stepped forward to admit that the FBI subpoenaed his records of a closed real estate deal that he and Bruno were involved in.
Why do I think this is karma? Eliot Spitzer is about to accept the resignation of Alan Hevesi (as noted above), but he cannot possibly be happy about it. Hevesi, despite his personal peccadilloes, has a reputation as a resourceful and strong Comptroller, at both the state and local level, and would have been an important piece of any attempt by Spitzer to lower property taxes while maintaining a budget surplus in the face of very difficult economic times.
Hevesi's replacement would have to be vetted by both houses of the state legislature, including the GOP-controlled Senate. The Bruno-controlled Senate. If Bruno wasn't in control....
New York
Republicans
Joe Bruno
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Five Days Til Christmas Music Blogging
Hump Day Comedy Blogging
I anticipate this word will be heard a lot in the next few days, so why not watch an history and proper usage of the "F bomb"?
Tagged
Sheesh. I had hoped to make it through at least this year before being tagged for a blogpost.
In Blogtopia (©Skippy), when one is tagged, usually it involves posting a list of....well...something. In this case, my ten favorite books.
Thanks a LOT, Jacq...
In Blogtopia (©Skippy), when one is tagged, usually it involves posting a list of....well...something. In this case, my ten favorite books.
Thanks a LOT, Jacq...
OK, so protocol dictates that I now hit a blogger for their list. Lemme see....Targa! Your turn!
1) Connections - James Burke, also...
2) The Day The World Changed - James Burke. I find the study of history fascinating, but particularly from a technological point of view. These two books (he has several others, as well) present some of the modern advances, like space travel, the personal computer, and the atom bomb, in the context of the inventions that preceded them that directly affected their development (e.g. The Jacquard loom for the personal computer).
3) The Bible - Who knows? Look, I take a lot of comfort in some of the stories and parables in their, and besides, it's helped me win more bar arguments than any other book I've ever owned.
4) The Last Dive - Bernie Chowdhury. I read this at the beginning of every dive season to remind myself that you CAN die doing this sport, if you don't take great care, plan your dive, and then dive your plan.
5) The Complete Works of Shakespeare - Duh! I like to read the plays and some of the sonnets, and it beats having forty-odd paperbacks to track.
6) Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams. All five books of the trilogy. It's funny, it's sarcastic and has deep social commentary. What more could I want?
7) Homecoming - John Bradshaw. A more powerful book I've ever read. Buy it. Read it. I promise you that if you take one percent of it away with you, you'll be a far better person for it.
8) The Drama Of The Gifted Child - Alice Miller. When I was struggling with adulthood (yea, like, yesterday...), a friend gave me this book and told me to read it, after hearing all about my childhood. It described my condition to a T, and helped me to understand some of what I had grappled with all my life: being someTHING to someone, and not someone myself.
9) The Way Things Work - David Macaulay. A great book for understanding the technology around you, it's regularly updated to keep up with a fast-paced world. Besides, you never know when you'll need to do surgery on your iPod.
10) Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Al Franken. Anytime I need to get pissed off at the right wing, I pick up this book. I haven't had to read it much since 2004, however, I've been regularly pissed at them. :-)
The "Blair-Bush" Project
Iraq's vice-president claims Tony Blair was "brainwashed" by President Bush into not setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq.While "brainwashing" is likely a fairly...um....dramatic term for what happened, no doubt, Blair was spanked (and probably forced to visit Israel and the Palestinians as punishment for going off the party line...you know them Bushies!)
Tareq al-Hashemi suggested Mr Blair had supported his idea of announcing a timetable, but then changed his mind after talking to Mr Bush.
The two leaders discussed the issue about three months ago, after which the PM was to raise the issue with Mr Bush.
Once upon a time, I had a lot of respect for Tony Blair, who seemed genuinely interested in not only being a good friend to America, particularly Bill Clinton, but who seemed a decent and honorable man with a good heart and a mind to boot.
But once he over-cozied up to Bush, barring the initial overly zealous kissy-face session (hey, new leader, you want to make a good impression), things went quickly downhill for Blair, not just in my eyes, but in the eyes of Britons everywhere.
Which is sad.
Just once, I'd like Blair to show some backbone:
I love that word "relationship". Covers all manner of sins, doesn't it? I fear that this has become a bad relationship. A relationship based on the President taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to, erm... Britain. We may be a small country but we're a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that. And a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward, I will be prepared to be much stronger. And the President should be prepared for that.I know you've seen the movie, Mr. Prime Minister. You must have. It's merely the best Christmas film ever made. You're leaving office soon anyway. Give British pride a shot in the arm, and just say "no" to Dubya, even once. Let him feel that he is as unwelcome and hated in Europe as we all know he is, and as he is here.
You got nothing to lose!
snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky
Bush
Tony Blair
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
If You Want The Truth, Speak To A Democrat
Anyone who's been a long time reader of Simply Left Behind (which basically means since the Red Sox won the Series) knows I have an huge hard-on for the Comptroller General, David Walker, a Clinton appointee (the CG is a seven-year appointment. It will be a sad day for America when he has to step down).
Let's just say that he does not have good news for us:
Now, that may not mean much to you, but if you're investing in, say, General Motors, and GM's accounting firm issues a financial statement at the end of the year, and puts a disclaimer in it that it was unable to perform a full audit of the books because of GM's accounting systems, you'd better sell and fast, because GM is about to tank.
Actually, it probably already has if you're reading about it in the financial report.
Keep in mind, as well, that this is just what they can vouch for, and that their report specifically has to exclude future payments such as Social Security and Medicare, because by law, they cannot assume the level of those payments will either increase or decrease. And none of the long term costs of the Iraq and Afghani wars are included, estimated to be another $2 trillion dollars.
All to pay for some tax cuts for the rich, who aren't even putting the money back into the American economy.
Thanks a lot, Dubya!
(hat tip to Miss Cellania for pointing out a report on this quietly-released report of December 15)
snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky
Bush
Let's just say that he does not have good news for us:
Despite improvement in both the fiscal year 2006 reported net operating cost and the cash-based budget deficit, the U.S. government’s total reported liabilities, net social insurance commitments, and other fiscal exposures continue to grow and now total approximately $50 trillion, representing approximately four times the Nation’s total output (GDP) in fiscal year 2006, up from about $20 trillion, or two times GDP in fiscal year 2000.Um, as an accountant, let me translate this for you: The US is broke. Flat out, bankrupt. Further mucking this picture up is that the government's accounting system is so screwy that the GAO refuses to certify the report that it is required to make to Congress on an annual basis!
As this long-term fiscal imbalance continues to grow, the retirement of the “baby boom” generation is closer to becoming a reality with the first wave of boomers eligible for early retirement under Social Security in 2008.
Given these and other factors, it seems clear that the nation’s current fiscal path is unsustainable and that tough choices by the President and the Congress are necessary in order to address the nation’s large and growing long-term fiscal imbalance.
Now, that may not mean much to you, but if you're investing in, say, General Motors, and GM's accounting firm issues a financial statement at the end of the year, and puts a disclaimer in it that it was unable to perform a full audit of the books because of GM's accounting systems, you'd better sell and fast, because GM is about to tank.
Actually, it probably already has if you're reading about it in the financial report.
Keep in mind, as well, that this is just what they can vouch for, and that their report specifically has to exclude future payments such as Social Security and Medicare, because by law, they cannot assume the level of those payments will either increase or decrease. And none of the long term costs of the Iraq and Afghani wars are included, estimated to be another $2 trillion dollars.
All to pay for some tax cuts for the rich, who aren't even putting the money back into the American economy.
Thanks a lot, Dubya!
(hat tip to Miss Cellania for pointing out a report on this quietly-released report of December 15)
snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky
Bush
Pot To Kettle: "Psst....You're Black!"
Very little commentary here:
Huh? Donald Trump is lecturing about "role models"???
Yea. Role model. For a Ferengi.
The most ironic thing in Donald Trump's life?
This is by no means to excuse Conner's behavior, if indeed she's been doing cocaine. However, to accuse her of partying too hard in a business that demands she hone her skill in flirting and sexual innuendo strikes me as being, well, a bit disingenuous considering who's pondering the firing.
On the other hand, given how irrelevant beauty pageants have become in this generation (AMEN!), perhaps this was a career move on Conner's part. After all, we all know Vanessa Williams, the disgraced former Miss America, but precious few other winners of these kinds of contests.
snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky
Donald Trump
Tara Conner
The Miss Universe Organization, owned by Trump and NBC, scheduled a news conference Tuesday to discuss Miss USA Tara Conner, who has come under fire amid reports she has visited bars, though she is not yet 21.And rumours that she's tested positive for cocaine. The issue is, can she be a role model to young American women?
In a statement last week, the organization's president, Paula M. Shugart, said officials would evaluate Conner's "behavioral and personal issues to see what we can do to work with her and what we will do about her reign going forward."
Huh? Donald Trump is lecturing about "role models"???
- Things were so bleak for Trump at this time that in the August 21, 1990 edition of the Jersey Record, columnist Mike Kelly wrote "If we still had debtors' prisons, Trump would be in the dungeon." Kelly added that "Donald Trump is a Third World Nation."And to boot, he's a teetotaller who sells vodka. So, he preys on people's weaknesses and vices, like gambling, alcohol, and sex, and exploits them for his own personal profit.
- Creditors who got stuck with the past losses were not as fortunate. Whereas Donald walked away from his empire unscathed, others were forced to take catastrophic writeoffs and losses even up to 2004, when [Fred, his father] Trump refused to continue to back his casino.
- But when it comes to philanthropy, Trump is probably the country's least generous corporate baron. While fellow titans like Bill Gates and David Geffen have used their charitable foundations to make many significant donations, Trump is, by comparison, an absolute cheapskate. The Donald J. Trump Foundation's most recent tax return, filed with the IRS about two months ago, shows that the developer forked over a measly $287,000 in 2002 (down from 2001's $306,000). While those low six figures would be exemplary for an average American, it's a remarkably paltry--not to mention pathetic--sum for someone who's reportedly worth ten figures (in fact, as recently as three years ago, Trump's giving barely topped $160,000). Even the 2001 terrorist attacks couldn't get the attention of the New York native's foundation, which reported no donations to 9/11-related charities.
Some selected quotes:
"All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me - consciously or unconsciously. That's to be expected. "
"When I build something for somebody, I always add $50 million or $60 million onto the price. My guys come in, they say it's going to cost $75 million. I say it's going to cost $125 million, and I build it for $100 million. Basically, I did a lousy job. But they think I did a great job. "
Yea. Role model. For a Ferengi.
The most ironic thing in Donald Trump's life?
Carolyn Kepcher, who sat by while her boss Donald Trump dismissed one would-be apprentice after another, has now felt the full force of his iconic phrase: “You’re fired.”Must be a lot of mirrors around the Trump residences...
The [N.Y.] Post attributed Kepcher’s firing to excessive self-promotion as a star at the expense of her performance at her day job, an account echoed for The Associated Press by a person close to the situation. The person insisted on anonymity because it was a personnel matter
This is by no means to excuse Conner's behavior, if indeed she's been doing cocaine. However, to accuse her of partying too hard in a business that demands she hone her skill in flirting and sexual innuendo strikes me as being, well, a bit disingenuous considering who's pondering the firing.
On the other hand, given how irrelevant beauty pageants have become in this generation (AMEN!), perhaps this was a career move on Conner's part. After all, we all know Vanessa Williams, the disgraced former Miss America, but precious few other winners of these kinds of contests.
snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky
Donald Trump
Tara Conner
Monday, December 18, 2006
Seven Days Til Christmas Music Blogging
How American Politics Works, UK Division
Hardly covered this morning on any American news show...well, OK, I say that laughingly...was the fact that British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in the Middle East for talks with both the Palestinian leadership as well as the Israeli.
Much of the reaction from "Fright Wing" of American politics, and in particular, the blogosphere, centered on the fact that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has nothing to do with our troubles in Iraq.
Granted, the connection would seem to be tenuous, perhaps more additive than causitive, but in point of fact, the entire inflammation in the Middle East is causing much of the uproar in Iraq and Afghanistan. Settling the Palestinian question, some form of truly autonomy and a seperate homeland, would go a long way to settling things down in general. Think of it as having the flu, with nausea and diarrhea. Taking Pepto won't cure the flu, but it will help you feel a little better and let your body rest so it can focus on the disease.
OK, so why play down this story? A few reasons spring to mind. First, of course, is that this was actually unilateral action by Tony Blair and had nothing to do with the ISG report. Possible. Not likely, but possible, in which case, Bush would have to play it down as nothing more than a desperate attempt on Blair's part to salvage some form of legacy (there's that word again) ahead of his forced resignation later in 2007.
Second, assuming he was asked by Bush to intervene, by downplaying the story, Bush can deflect the obvious questions about this being tied to the ISG report, and what other recommendations can we see taking shape shortly? Troop withdrawals? He's probably got another agenda he has to deal with at this point, what with the transition to a hostile Congress (point of fact: has any other President with a same-party Congress achieved so little in six years?), and a citizenry that's getting a little...antsy.
Third, and this works under either scenario, this entire venture gets to be viewed as Tony Blair's baby. Should it fail (and given the history of this region, there's every reason to believe it will), it would be credited/debited to him, not the Americans, even though we clearly have more to gain should he succeed (in which case, expect Bush to jump on the bandwagon and commandeer it).
Finally, American intervention in Palestine is not likely to improve relations between the two countries anytime soon, so long as Bush is President. He's viewed as far too hostile to the Muslim community in the region, and any envoy he sends (short of former Presidents Carter or Clinton) would be discounted, and likely ridiculed, for their efforts. Even Condoleeza Rice, who apparently would have Abbas' ear, is impotent at this point, given her recent comments regarding the UN resolution on Beit Hanoun incident. Since Abbas is under intense pressure from two sides, Hamas and Fatah, to maintain his governing coalition, it's vital that the US stay the hell out of this internal conflict.
Ergo, Blair makes sense as an envoy to speak for not only Europe (which has more sympathy for the Palestinians than we do) but also America. The subtext is how this is an outgrowth of the ISG report. Why it took him this long to directly involve himself in the matter is a settled question: he's likely been prevented before.
Tony Blair
Israel
Palestinians
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday he would push on with plans for early elections despite bitter opposition from the Hamas government.You'd think that would be a pretty big story, but I believe it's been deliberately downplayed by the Bush administration, to deflect attention from the fact that Blair was asked to go there in reaction to the Iraq Study Group's report last week.
Blair said it was critical that the international community supported the moderate Abbas in the coming weeks.
The two leaders were meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah just hours after a truce took effect in Gaza following days of heavy fighting between forces loyal to Abbas and Hamas that pushed the impoverished strip to the brink of civil war.
Much of the reaction from "Fright Wing" of American politics, and in particular, the blogosphere, centered on the fact that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has nothing to do with our troubles in Iraq.
Granted, the connection would seem to be tenuous, perhaps more additive than causitive, but in point of fact, the entire inflammation in the Middle East is causing much of the uproar in Iraq and Afghanistan. Settling the Palestinian question, some form of truly autonomy and a seperate homeland, would go a long way to settling things down in general. Think of it as having the flu, with nausea and diarrhea. Taking Pepto won't cure the flu, but it will help you feel a little better and let your body rest so it can focus on the disease.
OK, so why play down this story? A few reasons spring to mind. First, of course, is that this was actually unilateral action by Tony Blair and had nothing to do with the ISG report. Possible. Not likely, but possible, in which case, Bush would have to play it down as nothing more than a desperate attempt on Blair's part to salvage some form of legacy (there's that word again) ahead of his forced resignation later in 2007.
Second, assuming he was asked by Bush to intervene, by downplaying the story, Bush can deflect the obvious questions about this being tied to the ISG report, and what other recommendations can we see taking shape shortly? Troop withdrawals? He's probably got another agenda he has to deal with at this point, what with the transition to a hostile Congress (point of fact: has any other President with a same-party Congress achieved so little in six years?), and a citizenry that's getting a little...antsy.
Third, and this works under either scenario, this entire venture gets to be viewed as Tony Blair's baby. Should it fail (and given the history of this region, there's every reason to believe it will), it would be credited/debited to him, not the Americans, even though we clearly have more to gain should he succeed (in which case, expect Bush to jump on the bandwagon and commandeer it).
Finally, American intervention in Palestine is not likely to improve relations between the two countries anytime soon, so long as Bush is President. He's viewed as far too hostile to the Muslim community in the region, and any envoy he sends (short of former Presidents Carter or Clinton) would be discounted, and likely ridiculed, for their efforts. Even Condoleeza Rice, who apparently would have Abbas' ear, is impotent at this point, given her recent comments regarding the UN resolution on Beit Hanoun incident. Since Abbas is under intense pressure from two sides, Hamas and Fatah, to maintain his governing coalition, it's vital that the US stay the hell out of this internal conflict.
Ergo, Blair makes sense as an envoy to speak for not only Europe (which has more sympathy for the Palestinians than we do) but also America. The subtext is how this is an outgrowth of the ISG report. Why it took him this long to directly involve himself in the matter is a settled question: he's likely been prevented before.
Tony Blair
Israel
Palestinians
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Your Homeland, Less Secure, Redux
There is, as the article points out, a certain Pirandelloesque quality to the Department of Homeland Security:
Naturally, once word of his hoax got around, there was a certain...consternation...amongst the DHS and the FBI. Who, I mean, who could possibly have thought up such an unique and terrifying idea? To scan an actual boarding pass, and alter a legitimate one so that anyone could present it at an airport security gate, and pass?
Um, I dunno...anyone who's ever scanned a hundred dollar bill and then printed counterfeit versions of it? I would have assumed that the Secret Service was under the umbrella of the DHS and thus forced to share such information (the Secret Service having been originally part of the Department of Treasury, hence in charge of counterfeiting), but apparently not.
Meanwhile, the dunderheads at DHS are more concerned with...ID cards.
Catching terrorists, despite the Bush administration's mantra of "fahtin' 'em 'ere, so's we dunnit haff ta faht 'em hyar", is a matter of criminology, not warfare. Good police work, like training more plainclothes security agents who observe the behavior of people in public places, or more agents trained in Farsi to infiltrate known terrorist-sympathetic groups (like some charities which funnel money to Al Qaeda and Hamas and Hizbollah...this worked wonders against the IRA in England), and plain-old "connect the dots thinking" like the kind Colleen Rowley did before September 11, finding Moussaoui in a flight school and realizing he might be up to no good, that's what is going to stop the next terror attack, which is coming.
It's only a matter of time, not a matter of if.
In late October, Christopher Soghoian, a Ph.D. student in the School of Informatics at Indiana University, found his attention wandering during a lecture in his Cryptographic Protocols class. While sitting in class, he created a Web site he called “Chris’s Northwest Airlines Boarding Pass Generator.”In other words, Sohogoian basically put up a "fill-in-the-blanks" scan of a Northwest Airlines boarding pass.
A visitor to the site could plug in any name, and Mr. Soghoian’s software would create a page suitable for printing with a facsimile of a boarding pass, identical in appearance to one a passenger who had bought a Northwest Airlines ticket would generate when using the airline’s at-home check-in option.
The fake pass could not be used to actually board a plane — boarding passes are checked at the gate against the roster of ticket buyers in the airline’s database — but it could come in handy for several other purposes, Mr. Soghoian suggested, such as passing through airport security so you could meet your elderly grandparents at the gate.
Or, as he told his site’s visitors, it could “demonstrate that the T.S.A. Boarding Pass/ID check is useless.” It worked well, indeed.
Naturally, once word of his hoax got around, there was a certain...consternation...amongst the DHS and the FBI. Who, I mean, who could possibly have thought up such an unique and terrifying idea? To scan an actual boarding pass, and alter a legitimate one so that anyone could present it at an airport security gate, and pass?
Um, I dunno...anyone who's ever scanned a hundred dollar bill and then printed counterfeit versions of it? I would have assumed that the Secret Service was under the umbrella of the DHS and thus forced to share such information (the Secret Service having been originally part of the Department of Treasury, hence in charge of counterfeiting), but apparently not.
Meanwhile, the dunderheads at DHS are more concerned with...ID cards.
The root problem, as some experts see it, is the T.S.A.’s reliance on IDs that are so easily obtained under false pretenses. “It would be wonderful if Osama bin Laden carried a photo ID that listed his occupation of ‘Evildoer,’ ” permitting the authorities to pluck him from a line, Mr. Schneier said. “The problem is, we try to pretend that identity maps to intentionality. But it doesn’t.”Admittedly, a lot more inconvenient to Mr. Kennedy than to the terrorists, who would just pony up a few hundred...well, maybe thousand...for a new fake ID. It's not like they just have to fool the barely-up-from-acne clerk at the liquor store.
Woe to him or her who happens to have a name identical to someone else deemed a possible menace to society and who finds, upon check-in, that the no-fly list places one’s own name by Mr. bin Laden’s. When a terror suspect’s alias using the Kennedy name appeared on the list, gate agents blocked Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts from boarding in Washington. And Boston. And Palm Beach, Fla. And New York. Each time, supervisors interceded on his behalf, but only because of his status as an elected official.
Catching terrorists, despite the Bush administration's mantra of "fahtin' 'em 'ere, so's we dunnit haff ta faht 'em hyar", is a matter of criminology, not warfare. Good police work, like training more plainclothes security agents who observe the behavior of people in public places, or more agents trained in Farsi to infiltrate known terrorist-sympathetic groups (like some charities which funnel money to Al Qaeda and Hamas and Hizbollah...this worked wonders against the IRA in England), and plain-old "connect the dots thinking" like the kind Colleen Rowley did before September 11, finding Moussaoui in a flight school and realizing he might be up to no good, that's what is going to stop the next terror attack, which is coming.
It's only a matter of time, not a matter of if.
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