Monthly Archives: August 2006

article o’ the day: Israel and the art of sophistry

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John McCarthy, yoFrom John McCarthy in the Independent, which I really should read more often. Why in god’s name the home page is made to look as trashy as it is, is a mystery. If it didn’t look so US Weekly, I might actually read the damn thing.

I was pointed to the article over on the BoJo flamewar by Wobbly. And you thought they were extinct, didn’t you?

In any case, there is an interesting amount of debate going on in the press, and this is an article I keep coming back to. Well worth reading, if only for the information that Israel kidnapped two Palestinians the day before the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit, the official excuse for the current war.

In Tony Blair‘s speech in Los Angeles last Tuesday, he said he was sickened by what was happening in Lebanon but went on to effectively absolve Israel of responsibility for the devastation there. He urged: “Just for a moment, put yourself in Israel’s place.”

In that one phrase, our Prime Minister summed up everything that is wrong with our policy for the Middle East.

And before you accuse the author of mindless anti-Semitism and knee-jerk pro-Palestinianism, check the bio notes:

John McCarthy was kidnapped in Lebanon in 1986 and held for five years

John McCarthy makes the cover of Time

Typepad on Tomlinson

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Tomlinson. Not a happy puppy right now.Got an answer about Richard Tomlinson’s blog, although it’s not much of an answer. No, he didn’t take it down because his conditions had been met; it was taken down by Typepad itself, for TOS violations. Here’s the email:

Hi,Thank you for contacing us. Mr. Tomlinson’s weblog was suspended due to Terms of Service violations. We’re not at liberty to discuss the matter beyond that.Thanks,
Colleen
TypePad Technical Services
Six Apart, Ltd.

and here is a link to their Terms of Service. Looks like he fell afoul of #7. The “not at liberty” seems to indicate there are lawyers involved, don’t it?

For those of you who don’t know, Tomlinson is the former MI6 member and blogger who has been jousting with law-enforcement types for several years now. Probably most notorious for his claim that MI6 assassinated Princess Diana and he can prove it, he’s probably more dangerous for publicly posting a database containing the names of those he claims to know are/were working for Special Services. I blogged about his blog here. It was abruptly shut down on the 4th, as he was negotiating the return of some of this things (including his PDA and the computer of a friend) with the law.

911 activity book, fun for the whole inbred family

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Not making it up. Via Gawker.

911 activity book! Fun for the whole family!

I wish I could tell you that this is a tacky parody. Please note that it is appropriate “for ages 4 & up.” I think we can all agree that any commentary I might write seems unnecessary. Yes, we live here. Aum.

making fun of Europeans

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Some people do it better than others; better, even, than AA Gill. With a little help from Europeans, that is. EU States Lose, from Logged Hours via Gawker.

EU States DESERVE to lose, dammit!

4.) Jean-Jacques was so excited to come to LoveParade that he didn’t stop home to change after his rehearsals for Chippendale’s Easter Extravaganza.

Pee Wee Herman keeps it real

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Cuz that’s how he rolls, yo.

Why the “Sex” tag? Listen to the lyrics, baby!