Surely He Is Innocent!

The NYTimes predictably presents a fabulist interpretation of the detention of a terrorist at Gitmo.

I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial. 

I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. But they don’t seem to care how long I sit here, either. 

When I was at home in Yemen, in 2000, a childhood friend told me that in Afghanistan I could do better than the $50 a month I earned in a factory, and support my family. I’d never really traveled, and knew nothing about Afghanistan, but I gave it a try. 

I was wrong to trust him. There was no work. I wanted to leave, but had no money to fly home. After the American invasion in 2001, I fled to Pakistan like everyone else. The Pakistanis arrested me when I asked to see someone from the Yemeni Embassy. I was then sent to Kandahar, and put on the first plane to Gitmo.

No one thinks he is guilty!  Why surely his interpretation of the events that led him to Gitmo must be 100% accurate.

Not quite.  Via the NYTimes' own website comes this information:

b. (S//NF) Recruitment and Travel: In the summer of 2000, Marwan Jawan (detainee's associate since the age of 8 or 10) 3 recruited detainee to travel to Afghanistan. Jawan prepared detainee for Afghanistan by providing him with training on the AK-47 assault rifle in al-Dahna, located approximately 30 minutes outside of Taiz. Based on these lessons, which occurred every Friday for four weeks preceding his travel to Afghanistan, detainee felt fully competent to go to the front-lines in Afghanistan. In late-2000, detainee traveled to Afghanistan via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AE), and Karachi, Pakistan (PK). 4 The Pakistani travel visa in detainee's passport was obtained by Marwan. 5 c. (S//NF) Training and Activities: Detainee traveled to Afghanistan, and stayed at a house in the Wazir Akbar Khan District of Kabul. Detainee left his passport at the house in Kabul before going to the frontlines to fight the Northern Alliance. He fought at the front lines north of Kabul as a fighter in the Sadiq Combat Unit, which consisted of approximately 15 or 16 fighters. Detainee received some pay as a fighter which enabled him to purchase needed items such as food and clothing. Detainee denied knowing UBL. 6 After the US and Coalition bombing campaign initiated in Afghanistan, detainee believed it was too dangerous to be an Arab in Afghanistan; therefore he fled the front-lines in December 2001 and stopped in Kabul. Detainee continued on to Khowst, AF, where he stayed for two weeks while he attempted to flee from Afghanistan.

...

Capture Information: a. (S//NF) Detainee was captured by Pakistani forces on 15 December while attempting to cross the Afghanistan-Pakistan border near Parachinar, PK, after fleeing to the Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan. Detainee was captured with a group of 31 other Arab al-Qaida fighters referred to by US intelligence reporting as the Dirty 30, most of whom are assessed to be UBL bodyguards and other members of UBL's security detail. 8 Pakistani authorities transferred the group to a prison facility in Peshawar, PK, where they were held for 15 days. 9 On 26 December 2001, Pakistani authorities transferred detainee from Peshawar to US custody at the Kandahar Detention Facility.

....

Detainee Threat: a. (S) Assessment: Detainee is assessed to be a HIGH risk, as he is likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests, and allies. b. (S//NF) Reasons for Continued Detention: Detainee is a member of al-Qaida. Detainee served as a security guard for UBL and is listed on al-Qaida affiliated documents. Detainee is assessed to have participated in hostilities against US and Coalition forces in Tora Bora and was a fighter in UBL's 55th Arab Brigade. Detainee was captured with a group referred to as the Dirty 30, which included known UBL bodyguards. Detainee received basic and advanced militant training at the al-Qaida al-Faruq Training Camp, and was an al-Qaida guesthouse staff member. Detainee was recruited by known al-Qaida recruiter Marwan Jawan, who also facilitated detainee's travel to Afghanistan. o (S//NF) Detainee is a member of al-Qaida and a former UBL security guard. Detainee's name and alias were found on al-Qaida affiliated documents.

The phenomenon of the NYTimes editorial page staff not reading their own newspaper [is not exactly new].  Clearly this individual is not what his "editorial" suggests he is.

There are elements of the media that are not simply striving to be independent.  They are clearly on the other side.  Far too frequently, the NYTimes editorial page staff strives to be included in that category.

Explosions

As of this moment (not when this entry is published) we have had a number of explosions in downtown Boston.  People are dead.  People are injured.

Speculation and prurient fascination are running amok.

Someone is supposedly being held in connection with this tragedy.

I have two immediate responses:

1) Wait for a while before assessing who is responsible for this attack.  It probably will not be the subject of immediate speculation.  We will probably hear an unfounded rumor or two before this is done.

2) Will we next be subjected to months of emotional appeals to ban bombs?  Or will we correctly focus on the individuals (and perhaps the inspiration if one exists) behind this awful attack?

Government Picking Losers

One local downtown eatery closed recently.  The owner had not been paying all of the taxes that he should have paid.  But there was more to the story.

Darryl Hoskins is an Army veteran that refined his culinary skills to the point that he was running one of the best restaurants in a nearby town.  So he decided to take a shot at owning and running his own restaurant.  Until this recent demise, I considered Darryl's Downtown to be one of the two best places to eat in the county.

Not that we are a center for culinary excellence, but that ain't exactly a bad rating given the competition.

Darryl prepared a selection of tasty dishes and presented them in a tasteful environment.  I had a chance to meet him a couple times.  He is a genuinely nice guy and a talented chef.  I hope he comes back from this setback with further culinary success.

But there is more to the story.

As a part of setting up shop, he took out a loan to by the building.  He didn't have enough money to cover the rest of the purchase, so the guy that owned the building gave him a small-ish loan to cover the gap.  Then the city of Jackson gave him an US$80,000 loan for renovations.

They have decided to forgive that loan.  The justification for that action is two fold.  First, the money actually came from the US government as part of a HUD block grant.  So the city didn't lose anything.  HUD has indicated that they do not care if the money is ever recovered.  If HUD ever recovered the money, they would simply recycle it back to Jackson as part of a future grant anyways.  The second reason is that the city is third in line to be repaid and thus it is highly unlikely that they will ever see a dime.  So why should they spend money on lawyers when they never expect to see any money back?

The loan from the city was contingent upon a couple of conditions.  One was that it be used for renovations.  Darryl was required to spend US$600,000 of his own money with the HUD funding covering the gap.  We have no idea if that condition was met, but a lot of renovation work was done with someone's money.  Also, he was supposed to create 16 low-to-medium income positions.  At the peak, he had 14 such positions.

He never re-paid a single dime of the money.


So the city of Jackson ended up spending money that was collected from other area restaurants (and other taxpayers) to subsidize their competition.  It is precisely this sort of government created market distortion that we really need to avoid.  But it is the sort of distortion that government excels at creating precisely because government agents are not impacted by the success or failure of their decisions. 

They will not have their pay cut as a result of their poor decision.  They will not lose their jobs.  They will go on blithely moving other people's money around.

Just one more area where we could cut spending and improve our economy by not burdening successful businesses with the responsibility of subsidizing their competitors.

The Throne

Comcast hosted their "Watchathon" last week where viewers could stream almost their entire catalog of TV shows for free.  The general idea is that customers would get hooked on those shows and pay to continue their viewing experience.

Not a bad idea unless you run into a cheapskate like me.  Their price per episode ($3 to $6 per) is way too high.  Particularly when I can use my Netflix account to get the DVDs.

However, it was a great opportunity to start watching the HBO series "A Game Of Thrones".  I made it through season 1 and had a couple of thoughts to offer.

One of the current trends in fiction is for authors to create some sort of mega-world where they can create a series of books.  While this is not exactly a new phenomenon, it does seem to be a bit more in favor these days.

Unfortunately, many of those series do not produce the level of narrative and character development to justify a multi-part story.  It appears from this consumer's perspective that many of these series exist only because the first one or two books were sufficiently promoted to create a sort of reader inertia that carries sales down the line.

Thankfully, George R.R. Martin's "The Game of Thrones" series does not fall into this category.  I have read the first four books.  I will read the fifth after I place an order for the physical paperback or the Kindle version price comes back to earth.

If find it particularly galling to pay more for an e-book than I would pay for a physical paperback.

In watching the HBO series, I was reminded of how much I have missed these characters.  In particular, I am curious about Arya as well as about John Snow dealing with the coming winter.  Well written characters and plots create an almost effortless invitation to return to the next installment of a series.

As I have previously observed, Hollywood has undergone a significant change over the last 40 years.  This change was immediately apparent in the HBO series.  Each episode included at least one or two images of full frontal nudity.  Sometimes it was to depict sexual liaisons.  At other times it was associated with some sort of punishment.  Almost every time, I was struck by the fact that recent films shown in a real theater almost never contain that level of nudity.

Blood?  Sure.

Gore?  Of course.

Explosions, bullets, rockets?  By the traincar load.

Deaths?  They stack up the bodies like firewood!

Cursing?  Hell yeah.

Nudity?  By comparison, it is a sidelight at best.

Far more eloquent observers have pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of Hollywood showing people killing one another with reckless abandon while simultaneously being unwilling to show people loving one another. 

Skirting The Comments

I found this the other day over on the XKCD forum and thought it to be most apropos.  Not that I every followed such sage advice, but I do think the analogy is most apt.

Sublime

Being oriented more towards the science end the world, I am more familiar with the use of the term "sublimation" than with the term "sublime".

Sublimation is the process of a material transitioning from being a solid to being a gas.  Gasses are considered to be a higher state relative to solids.  Liquids fall in between.

The descriptive use of sublime later became associated with a peak condition or experience.  The pretentious will routinely use the term "sublime" thus rendering it less than sublime.  The redundant will use the term "most sublime".

As with many superlatives, we may be better served by reserving the descriptive use of "sublime" for those occasions that more accurately reflect its meaning.  From a non-scientific perspective, such occasions might be those where an event transends from the base process or elements to become something truly unique.

Consider for a moment the lowly comic strip.  In particular, consider strip number 1190 from Randall Munroe of XKCD fame.



The strip began in the wee hours of March 26^th using the alternate (mouse over) text "Wait for it".  The image changed ever so slightly every half hour or so.  Over the course of the day (now 12 hours in as of this writing), the image has changed so that it appears as a sort of stop action film when viewed sequentially.  I have no idea how the images will unfold or when they will cease.  Randall's history suggests that this could be a massive undertaking that may last for days.  It might also be a huge April Fool's Day joke for all we know.

Only time will tell.

The art of XKCD is almost uniformly simplistic.  Yet it is through these simple images that Randall communicates thoughts ranging from base puns and geeky legerdermain to observations that come dazzlingly close to sublime.

As the successive images have unfolded thus far, a couple has been seen sitting on a beach.  They give the impression of being together, talking, walking a short distance, and building a sand castle.  One of the couple left the scene at one point and seemingly returned later on.  The other person continued to work on the castle throughout the elapsed time.

The reaction to this strip suggests that it is transcending the initial impression of simple stick figures in motion into being a larger commentary on human perceptions.  Within twelve brief hours, XKCD forum posts on this cartoon had jumped up to near 800.  Those comments ranged from very technical discussions regarding the computer code required to pull off this digital feat to broader discussions about perceptions of time and the relevance of this piece of art.

One comment that I enjoyed a great deal was by Clavuluza:

Is anyone else concerned at the fact that half-hours go by so quickly? I mean, I can measure my life in half-hours and they seem so ephimeral; reminds me of the Fight Club quote, "this is your life and it's ending one minute at a time". Also, this comic is making us wait to see developments, which is awfully close to real life interactions with stuff (which is kinda cool and very very meta). Furthermore, I am quite amazed at how everyone is trying to figure out some meaning behind it all when maybe, and quite possibly, it's just a pretty comic (much like real life, again), (though by being art it carries meaning just for existing).

Am I making any sense? Whatever, I'm really enjoying this experience.

(And to the people making unhappy predictions, if/when the comic ends and if/when it does it terribly, you can rightly say "I told you so" all you want; but for now, shut up! you're depressing everyone).

Whether or not these images are intended to have Deep Philosophic Significance, they have inspired a great deal of introspection.  Obviously, these images invite recursive analysis regarding the comments they inspire.

There are times in life when one should exist within the moment rather than being focused on deconstructing and analyzing the world around them.  In such times, it is as important to see and experience as it is to process and comment.  These are rare occasions.  And in this case, it is sublime.

Enjoy.

The Art Of Compromise

Courtesy of John Cox.

Can't Get No Respect

I got the following via email.  Despite my professed religious skepticism, I thought it was pretty funny.  The ending was a nice twist and represented some serious irony as well.

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:

1. He called everyone Brother.
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:

1. He went into His Fathers business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:

1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:

1. He never cut his hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:

1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:

1. He had to feed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. Even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was more work for Him to do.

Amen!!!

The above was as I received it.  I did adjust the line spacing a bit.  It had been forwarded several times.

Just in case you didn't catch the irony, check the capitalization for all of the options; Black, Jewish, Italian, Californian, Irish, woman.

Four of the five capitalized categories are properly capitalized.  One is not.  We do not refer to Caucasians.  We refer to caucasions..or whites...or honkys...or crackers...or whatever.  The same holds true....or should...for "blacks".

The only category not capitalized was "woman".  So even in a joke where women are singled out as being God-like, or god-like as the case may be, then apparently can't get the same respect as the other categories with respect to capitalization.

An America Doomed To Decadance

How else to describe the relative "necessity" for a tool to make doggie treats at home.  Ladies and gentlemen, Bake A Bone.

You Dipped What In Bronze??

Over at the Atlantic, they have a brief story about a short documentary that features Stu Larkin.  Mr. Larkin travels the country selling bronze baby shoes.  More accurately, he sells a service that bronzes your baby's shoes after your baby is done wearing them.  The company he represents bronzes other things as well.

Based on the links in the story, I think the Atlantic was far more interested in promoting the film's director; Peyton Wilson.  At least, I didn't see any links to Stu Larkin or The Bronze Baby Shoe Company that he represents.

I thought the film was fascinating not only because of Mr. Larkin's product/service, but because of the waning profession of the traveling salesman.  My great uncle was in that business for a very long time and was very successful at selling commemorative knives for Case cutlery.  The attitude that one must possess to be successful in that field is quite interesting.

Scaring Women...

...and men.

Former First Lady Laura Bush has acknowledged that during the 2012 election cycle, there were a few Republican candidates that scared women.

I have some bad news for Mrs. Bush, the scary behavior isn't limited to a few candidates.

It’s not the contraception, everybody thinks it’s about contraception, but what this court case said was young people have the right to engage in sex outside of marriage. Society never gave young people that right, functioning societies don’t do that, they stop it, they punish it, they corral people, they shame people, they do whatever. The institution for the expression of sexuality is marriage and all societies always shepherded young people there, what the Supreme Court said was forget that shepherding, you can’t block that, that’s not to be done.

Folks seeking to ban sex outside of marriage are pretty scary too.  It's a pity that the GOP embraces such idiocy rather than expelling it.  Having one viable political party would really be nice for a change.

The Local School Superintendent

There are two types of school administrators.

There is the type that plans for the future and controls costs.  This is the person that sets money aside for major renovations like a new roof.  They plan for growth by saving money for the new school that will be needed in 10 years.  They control costs by negotiating aggressively with every vendor and every labor resource.

And their districts have what they need.  They are trusted by the local community if a need for a additional funding comes along. 

And then there are the ones that spend it all.  These are the administrators that look at cutting school buses whenever local residents decline to support additional funding.  Their first tactic is to cut the things that inconvenience residents the most instead of economizing to minimize the impact of any cuts on the district.

Now those tactics are being writ large at the federal level due to the minimal reduction to the increase in federal spending by the "sequester".  As was reported elsewhere, the Department of Homeland Security released thousands of illegal immigrants and blamed the sequester.

Yet now we learn that the same agency is looking to hire close to 2,600 new federal employees.  Which leaves the reasonable suspicion that the release of illegal immigrants was more about political posturing than containing a bloated federal bureaucracy.

Quote Of The Day - Constitution Version

I'm totally ripping this off from Robb Allen of Sharp As A Marble.

Senator John McCain, not exactly my favorite Senator*, recently rebuffed Senator Rand Paul by stating:

"American citizens have nothing to fear from their government."

Which leads us to the Quote of the Day:

Wasn't (isn't) the entire point of the Constitution is that we do? 

I would include the Declaration of Independence as well.....



*Mr. McCain of the famed Keating Five.  Also, I once heard him refer to U.S. servicemembers who supported a literal reading of the Constitution as limiting federal power as being in need of "indoctrination".

Nothing like having a sitting U.S. Senator advocate for re-education camps to make your skin crawl.

Glowing In The Dark

What has been the real fallout from the earthquake, tsunami and failure of Fukushima nuclear power plant?  Not nearly as bad as predicted.  Not nearly as bad as was originally feared.

Rather than stand as a warning of the radiation danger posed by nuclear power, in other words, Fukushima has become a reminder that uninformed fears aren’t the same as actual risks.

I should point out that the results indicated were mostly non-zero.  However, the impact of those results is so slight as to warrant comparisons with living in Denver or working as an airline attendant; not exactly the sort of radiation hazards that causes folks to run wildly in a panic.

A sane national energy policy includes nuclear power with as many safety precautions built in as is humanly possible.  It also involves a rational and calm review of the facts.

A Good President

Stolen from Facebook via the Sgt. Grit:

Today in Marine Corps history: 11 March 1778: Marines participated in action when the Continental Navy frigate BOSTON, en route to France, sighted, engaged, and captured the British merchant ship MARTHA. As the drum of the BOSTON beat to arms, John Adams seized a musket and joined the Marines on deck until the frigate's captain, Samuel Tucker, sent him below for safety.

 You have to love a President that not only puts skin in the game, he puts his skin in the game!  I read the biography of John Adams by David McCullough.  I don't recall the above being included.  But I was certainly impressed by John Adams' life and commitment to our American ideals.

Bad Gun Advice Courtesy Of...

...Joe Biden.

For folks that wonder why pro-civil rights folks do not trust Democrats, Joe Biden is a near perfect case study.  He knows next to nothing about guns, but feels qualified to propose legislation for the entire country.

He recently suggested that a shotgun is as good as an AR-15 for self defense purposes.  He went so far as to suggest that you shoot a shotgun through a door at suspected assailants.

Aside from the fact that shotguns kick far more than an AR, the primary problem in the above is that it will buy you a ticket to court for reckless handling of a firearm.

Another problem with the above is....surprise....shotguns are used far more often to commit crimes than assault rifles.  The only weapon class used more often is an ordinary revolver.

These folks know nothing about guns yet feel qualified to legislate our lives.  Incredible.

Asset Forfeiture Gone Wild

So you own a building.  You rent office space to businesses.

One of those businesses makes a $37 pot sale to an undercover state trooper.

And the DEA decides to seize your building.

Tar and feather were invented for such moments.

Violence Against Women - Media Bias Edition

I was listening to an NPR report on John Boehner a couple days ago.  The reporter was insinuating that Mr. Boehner's leadership was lacking because he could not compel the GOP caucus in the House to support bills that his office was bringing to the House floor.  The example used was the recent continuation of the Violence Against Women Act.

The final bill passed in the House by a vote of 286 - 138.  Only 87 Republicans voted for this version of the bill.  Other Republicans had issues with the bill that ranged from questions of Constitutionality with regards to expanding tribal law enforcement authority beyond tribal members to ideological issues with providing abortion services to rape victims.

For the record, I think the Constitution matters.  Questions regarding Constitutionality matter.  I do not know if their concerns were fully legitimate as I have not studied the issue with any depth.

Also for the record, the GOP needs to get off the anti-abortion wagon.

Back to the issue of Mr. Boehner's leadership, I find it curious that he is being criticized for bringing a bill to the floor that passed the House and was signed into law as this is being typed.  He is the Speaker of the House.  He is not the Speaker of the GOP in the House.  Mr. Boehner's position exists to serve every American. 

So he brought a bill with bi-partisan support to the floor for a vote.  That is is job.

Isn't bi-partisanship something we want?  Or does bi-partisanship only count when the GOP is caving to a Democratic initiative?

The Holocaust

In case you missed it, researchers at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum recently released updated information on the Holocaust.

Everyone....at least those in the reality based community...agrees that the Holocaust was massive tragedy.  What they don't know, is that was worse than anyone realized.

Go and read.  I can't do it justice.

Those Little Cuts

I've observed this elsewhere, so it may as well go here, too.

When we had the so-called "fiscal cliff", we had roughly US$85billion in tax increases.  With the "sequester", we have had roughly US$85billion in spending cuts.  To be sure, those cuts are poorly focused.  If only we could get the Democrats to be responsible partners in passing a federal budget.

While I support an 80/20 ratio of cuts to tax increases, I also think that the above is "balanced".  Or at least, the perception of "balance" is a good test between a reasonable observer and a ideologue or a partisan.

It is hard to know exactly what the problem is with the Democrats in the Congress as well as our President.  I suspect that they see government spending as a means of power and control.  Anything that diminishes that power is something they oppose.

I also suspect that they may also suffer from a sense of denial.  Like every other person that has taken a real world look at our budgetary problems, they understand that the driving force behind our out of control spending is the unrestrained and unsustainable growth in social programs.  But because their "base" has been sold on the relative merit of those programs, they do not dare act as responsible legislators and begin limiting spending in that area.

Instead, we continue on an inexorable course towards national fiscal insolvency with plenty of pain for people that will find themselves dependent on government programs.

One disappointment is the lack of Presidential leadership on the issue.  Mr. Obama has said that we need to cut wasteful spending.  I have heard him issue such pronouncements in the past.

Yet he has not seen fit to demonstrate any leadership on the issue.  The White House has yet to issue a detailed list of programs to be cut.  Rather than work face to face with the Republicans to develop cuts that make sense, Mr. Obama has returned....again, and again...to the campaign trail.

The Democrats in the Senate are worse.  They haven't passed a budget for almost four years.  They won't pass their own budget.  They voted against Mr. Obama's budget in significant numbers.  And they refuse to bring any budget passed by the House to the floor of the Senate.

They are doing little more than closing their eyes and hoping that are nation's fiscal issues will somehow disappear.

Their eyes are closed. 

Ours are not.