Base10Blog
Monday, February 28, 2005
 
Base10's Daily Fitness Report - Day 6
Base10 went into work and took his meal hour early and decided to do an hour of tai chi. Even though it started to snow and a chill, wind developed, Base10 kept it up. Followed by a repast of salad and a container of split pea soup (yum!), Base10 started the day on a healthy note. The pounds should be melting away by the hour!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
 
Base10's Daily Fitness Report - Day 5
Base10 did not have the intestinal fortitude to get on the road bike today. He did however drag Mrs. Base10 out to the park to do an hour's worth of tai chi. It was sunny and clear, albeit a little chilly, but the practice was good. Boy are my legs tired! It should be noted that the more active side of Base10 is really starting to interfere with his beer-and-sports lifestyle. Tomorrow's activity? Don't know yet.
 
Live Blogging the Shoutfest, Part Deux
On the second segment of Meet the Press, Maureen Dowd was asked that if in hindsight the war in Iraq was justified because of the obvious wave of democracy spreading over the mideast. Dowd couldn't refrain from diverting the discussion by
What's amazing is that she got that all out in ten seconds. Such venom. No wonder the Times circulation is going down locally while it's national circulation isn't even close to the other national papers: WSJ and USA Today.

UPDATE: When asked about Sen. Hillary Clinton's race to the middle in recent days, Dowd instead talked about Condoleezza Rice being a "Matrix Dominatrix" in a recent appearance on a US military airfield in Germany. Hey, the troops liked it, and so did Base10. See this post for more information.
 
NFL and Other Sports News
It was an interesting week in the NFL. As we gear up for the Draft (and it is a mere eight weeks away), some interesting moves have been made. First, some famous players were released. Seattle released Jerry Rice and the Patriots released CB Ty Law. Drew Bledsoe has found a home with the Dallas Cowboys re-uniting him with the coach who brought him to his last Superbowl. In other news, Randy Moss was traded to Oakland in exchange for LB Napolean Harris and a draft pick. It also appears that WR Mushin Mohammed has found a home in Chicago. Whether they have anyone to throw to him is another question.

In Jets news, the Jets are purportedly ready to deal Santana Moss to Washington for former Jet and Chad Pennington favorite Laveranues Coles in a straight up trade. Base10 approves. Although Moss is a speed merchant, the combination of big receivers Coles and McCareins is enticing. Especially considering that Pennington doesn't have a particularly strong arm. I do wonder how this will effect the Jets on special teams.

Meanwhile at the combing, Maurice Clarett did not have such a great workout. His time in the forty does not bode well for his prospects of going in the first or second round.

In other sports news, Tiger Woods has finally gotten a weekend off. Woods failed to make the cut at the Accenture Match play championship. Hey, match play is tough and Tiger is not alone. Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh were also eliminated.

Today's sports action features the final round of the Accenture (see above). In NASCAR, the Auto Club 500 in California starts at 1PM. Click here for a preview. And finally, in NCAA Hoops, No. 4 Oklahoma St. faces No. 8 Kansas.
 
Live Blogging the Shoutfest
Base10 just caught the Governator in his interview on This Week. He did pretty well. I remember when he first ran that pundits predicted he would only be a "ribbon-cutter" much like Jesse Ventura. But Aaaarnold has some neat ballot initiatives going to get the state legislature back on track. Good interview.
 
Tel Aviv Bombing Update
Accusations are flying after the fatal bombing at a Tel Aviv nightclub on Friday. The Palestinian Authority is blaming Hezbollah, but Israel stated Hezbollah had nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility but only after initially denying it. The Israelis are blaming the Syrians.

It is in the Syrian's best interests to wreck the peace process. Pease between Israel and Palestine is the single most important issue in the stability of tyranical regimes in the Middle East. As Natan Sharansky and others have pointed out, so long as totalitatian leaders in Arab states can point to an external enemy, they can distract their own populations from their lack of democratic institutions. When you look at the situation in that way, Syria is the only party with a strong motive for the bombing, whether they did it directly or through proxy groups like Hezbollah or Islamic Jihad. This is especially true when they have pressure at home and in Lebanon to democratize.

Will this end the peace process? Probably not. While Israel is demanding cooperation, Israeli and Palestinian security forces have arrested seven in connection with the bombing.
 
BTK Killer Arrested
In an interesting bit of police news, Kansas police officials announced the arrest of Dennis Rader, a 59-year old Witchita man, for the BTK murders. The murders occured between 1974 and 1991 and total to ten victims. This also makes Rader 18 during his first crime. Oh and he was a Cub Scout troop leader too.
 
Base10 Fitness Report - Day 4 (Belated)
Yesterday, Base10 took a brisk walk to Kew Gardens and back, about a 60 minute walk. Alas, the park where he planned to do a round of tai chi was under renovations and fenced off. But actually a good walk in what turned out to be a beautiful day. Today, if the weather is similar--and it appears to be so far--Base10 is contemplating taking his road bike out. Not a long ride mind you, just a reintroduction of Base10's rear end to the saddle. Maybe ten miles in Flushing Meadow Park. The upside of this is lunch at the grilled steak stand by the soccer fields. The down side is the tights.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
 
Democracy Breaks Out in the Middle East--Again!
Egyptian dictator President Hosni Mubarak has surprisingly announced that upcoming Egyptian Presidential elections will allow opposition parties to field candidates. This comes on the heels of a snub by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who cancelled an upcoming state visit to Egypt in March over reform issues. It also follows first time ever Egyptian protests over the re-election of Mubarak.

Who knows if these reforms are going to be real, but isn't it great to see at least the semblance of democracy expand even further?
 
Inappropriate Blog Post of the Day
The AFP reports that bookies have opened betting on who will succeed John Paul II as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. According to Tradesports.com, the online option trading system, has yet to post a line, but the AFP reports that Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, the Archbishop of Milan is clearly the favorite.
 
I'm Too Sexy for My Shoes
Ann Althouse has some great comments about reports concerning Condoleezza Rice's fashion statement when she landed in a US airfield in Germany. Secretary Rice wore an all-black skirt and coat ensemble accessorized by knee high black leather boots with stilletto heels. Her choice of clothes was--how to be delicate--freakin' sexy, and Base10 strongly advises that traditional male readers click on the last link for a photo. Althouse artfully writes,
Women with power easily unleash ideation about sex -- and sex and power. If the woman can't be contained by the thought that her powerfulness has removed her sexuality altogether, then the thought becomes that her sexuality has merged with her power. In the case of Condoleezza Rice, who has a high position of power and is distinctly attractive, she seems to become a strange new being -- a superhero like Neo in "The Matrix"!

Is it wrong to talk about powerful women this way? I say no. Image, fashion, and beauty are all important. And we certainly didn't refrain from talking about how the male candidates for President looked in 2004. We obsessed over their ties, their hair and their makeup, and the bulges under their clothes. So go ahead and spout your theories about the meaning of Condoleezza Rice's high-heeled boots.

Mine is: these boots are made for running for President.

Surely this is a position that appeals to both the traditional male demographic and the non-traditional female one. But if Rice is not your choice for a candidate in 2008, check out the Weekly Standard where Fred Barnes makes the argument that Dick Cheney is the better choice for 2008. He rightly points out that Condi Rice has never run for anything. Running for President as your entry into politics might not be a great idea.

Obviously, 2008 is a long way away. But it is painfully obvious that Hillary Clinton is positioning herself as a moderate Democrat already and she will probably pick up the pieces after the Howard Dean led Democrats self-destruct in the primary fight. Dick Cheney is a hard sell against a moderate and very popular Hillary Clinton. In her favor, Secretary Rice is a former National Security Advisor and now Secretary of State. Her experience in government and her academic credentials certainly balance out the senate victory that Hillary brings to the table.

Republicans sure have come a long way. Base10 thinks the country is ready to accept a female President. Base10 also thinks America can except a black female President as qualified and intelligent as Ms. Rice. It would be great if it was the Republican Party that could make this happen.
 
Sunday Morning Shoutfest Preview
On Meet the Press, Tim Russert interviews Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), on Iraq & Social Security. Sounds like a snoozer, but Maureen Dowd and William Safire are also appearing, as if a brilliant conservative intellectual cancels out a screeching lunatic.

Meanwhile over on Fox News Sunday, they's be looking at the state of the Pope's health with Ray Flynn, former U.S ambassador to the Vatican, and Msgr. Thomas Hartman of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. In addition, Chris Wallace interviews Sen. John McCain (R-AR).

On Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer interviews Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski focussing on the Pope and the President's trip to Europe.

On This Week, George Stephanopoulos has an exclusive interview with the Governator, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Kind of an interesting lineup. Base10 will start with Aaaarnold, then move onto Fox and possibly finish with the last segment on Meet the Press with Dowd. Hey, it's not a shoutfest if you don't shout at the TV!
Friday, February 25, 2005
 
What Base10 is Up To
Base10 has been embroiled in a few projects of late and has been slacking on the blogging. He wants to write about a few topics this weekend, including:
In the meantime, for dedicated followers of Base10, here are a few links:

In breaking news, a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv killed several people when he blew up an explosive vest near a crowd outside a nightclub threatening to shatter a recent truce. Israel stated immediately that this event would not derail the peace process, but this statement attributed to Mahmoud Abbas by the AP is telling,
The Palestinian Authority will not stand silent in the face of this act of sabotage. We will follow and track down those responsible and they will be punished accordingly," Abbas said in a statement after an emergency meeting with his security chiefs.

"What happened tonight was an act of sabotage toward the peace process and an attempt to ruin the efforts to establish a state of calm."

Interesting choice of words. The bombers should be punished because the sabotaed the interests of the PA, not necessarily because they blew up a few innocent civilians. Well, at least it's a start. Base10 would like to think about this some more. Much evidence points to Hezbollah being the perpetrators, which is significant since they're probably losing their safe haven in Lebanon.

Meanwhile in Rome, the Pope is recovering from emergency surgery. He underwent an emergency tracheotomy on Thursday. According to doctors he is recovering, but the fragile state of his health is plain for all to see. Base10 wishes the Pontiff well. A friend at work remarked that John Paul II was elevated in 1979. So much has changed in the world since then. Could even the Pope have envisioned this back in 1979?

Finally, it's Friday, so that means there's a new column by Victor Davis Hanson. Hurrah! While Mr. Hanson's writing is invariably good, this particular piece is chock-full of good quotes. His main thesis is that American opposition parties (note that they are not always the left) often are the worst naysayers during formative world events. Hanson frames the problem thusly,
Some on the hard left sought to cite our support for Israel or general "American imperialism" in the Middle East as culpable for bin Laden's wrath on September 11. Past American efforts to save Muslims in Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, Kuwait, and Afghanistan counted for little. Even less thanks were earned by billions of dollars given to Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. The Islamofascist vision of a Dark Age world run by unelected imams where women were in seclusion, homosexuals were killed, Jews were terrorized, Christians were routed, and freedom was squelched registered little, even though such visions were by definition at war with all that Western liberalism stands for.

But Hanson cites examples of the (mostly liberal) appologist for the Germans in WWI, again in WWII, Ho Chi Min, Mao, Castro, The Soviets, and finally Afghanistan and Iraq and describes how they were dead wrong. Hanson concludes,
But nor should we fall into pessimism, when in less than four years we have destroyed the two worst regimes in the Middle East, scattered al Qaeda, avoided another promised 9/11 at home, and sent shock waves of democracy throughout the Arab world so far at an aggregate cost of less than what was incurred on the first day of this unprovoked war. Car bombs are bad news, but in the shadows is the real story: The terrorists are losing, and radical reform, the likes of which millions have never seen, is right on the horizon. So this American gloominess is not new. Yet, if the past is any guide, our present lack of optimism in this struggle presages its ultimate success
As usual, it really is a great article. Read the whole thing.

Anyway, more tomorrow.
 
Base10 Fitness Report - Day 3
Base10 didn't do much today in the way of fitness, but he did manage to get out at lunch and walk around lower Manhattan. A roughly half-hour stoll approaches the Brooklyn Bridge walk, so it's not that bad. Base10 also had a couple of slices of pizza for lunch. While not exactly health food, it certainly is not gratutiously bad for you. Base10 is looking forward to a sensible dinner and is starting to see that this is becoming really lame.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
 
Base10's Daily Fitness Report - Day 2
Base10 is unhappy to report that he did not perform any physical activity today. Unfortunately, setting up a training seesion with computers in the morning ate up some time and by the time the afternoon rolled around, it was snowing. (Still is snowing by the way).

However, since Base10's midsection is assuming equatorial proportions, he did enjoy a hearty repast of salad and tuna followed later in the afternoon by a sensible noodle bowl. Base10 does admit to having had a couple of cookies, but that's it.

(The diet thing may not work out as a day-to-day post. How many combinations can you get: salad/tuna, salad/turkey, salad/chicken... When will it end?)

In any event, Base10 must try to make his way home through the snow. Last report was 4 to 7 inches. New York is beautiful in the snow, but boy can it get messy. There might be some light posting along with flurries later this evening.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
 
Base10's Daily Fitness Report - Day 1
Since Base10's center has been expanding faster than the Big Bang lately, he has decided to increase his physical activity and watch his diet. On the theory that public humiliation for slacking is an effective motivational tool, he will be posting his daily progress. This is the first day of his grand experiment:

Today's activity consisted of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. The weather was absolutely breathtaking today. Sunny and in the forties. It is two miles across the Bridge and back--three if you walk all the way to Tillary Street on the Brooklyn side. Base10 opted for the two-mile route today. Following his brisk walk, Base10 then engaged in twenty minutes of tai chi chuan. Base10 followed this burst of activity with a repast of salad and tuna in water along with fat free dressing. Yum! Base10 is looking forward to a later meal of low fat soup.

Now in all honesty, Base10 did have a small muffin this morning with his coffee, but he's going to try to refrain from bad snack foods for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
 
What is Going on in the Middle East?
Today's news had a report of the largest demonstration in Egypt to date against dictator President Hosni Mubarak, where protestors called for free elections. This is unprecedented in Egypt, where opposition groups have long been kept at bay by a very efficient security apparatus. (An apparatus that is part of a government often financed quite liberally by US aid dollars). This news of course comes on the heels of massive demonstrations in Lebanon calling for the ouster of Syrian troops from that war-torn country. And don't forget that the Palestinian legislature just threatened to derail the new PA cabinet because it contained too many holdovers from the corruption-filled Arafat days. This action is causing PA PM Ahmed Qurei to rethink his choices.

All of these events follow the free elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine (I'm not going to include the fake ones in Saudi Arabia where women weren't allowed to vote).

So what's going on in the Arab "street?" It looks to Base10 that they're pretty pissed, but they're not pissed at us this time. They're pissed at they're own dictatorial-Arab-League-collection-of-tyrants-rationalizing-totalitarian governments ripping every single economic and social hope out of their Islamically submissive lives. Their governments either hide behind Islamic fundamentalism or they hide behind the necessity to crush it. The time of government like this may be over.

Meanwhile in the liberal enclaves of American universities and in the toniest sections of our bluest states, the voices of the left are whispering. They softly ask with a pained expression on each and every one of their faces, that maybe, just maybe, George W. Bush was right. People want freedom and they're willing to fight for it, just like the American people were willing fight for it so many years ago. The thing we have to do is make sure that the United States remains unequivocaly on their side.

Now.

Not after putting oil quotas first.

Not after advocating stability at all costs.

And certainly not after propping up some of these regimes for so many years.

The US must face facts that the Cold War priorities that dictated dealing with dictators is over. Unfortunately, the CIA still seems to be fighting the Cold War. Somebody needs to bring them into the 21st Century. They can't--or more likely won't--see what's going on here. Maybe John Negroponte can do it. Base10 has his doubts and is starting to think that the US Intelligence community needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up.

What else could happen? Base10 predicts a new student uprising in Iran. The anniversary of the crushed 1999 student uprising comes in July. Maybe, just maybe this year will be different. Maybe this year the mullahs are finally going to be put back into the mosques where they belong and representative government will take hold. Time will tell.
 
A Little Humiliation Can Be Good for the Soul

Base10 started the day thinking that he would stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge and back over his lunch hour. Unfortunately, he became occupied with a project and never left his cubicle. This is the latest instance of a bad trend, namely that Base10 is becoming increasingly sedentary. Now a short walk is not too much to ask during the workday, is it? Base10 has perhaps devoted himself too much to the service of his masters and not enough to a very reasonable workout period during the day.

So, on the theory that a little public humilation can lead to heightened productivity, Base10 will now try to post his daily physical activity. Not the normal activity associated with life, like walking to the subway, but specific exercise activity, like well walking over the bridge. The activity may be slight, or may be extensive. Okay, probably slight, but it's something. It might be a brisk walk or twenty minutes of tai chi, but whatever it is I will report it. I will also report the lack thereof.

Here is the first of Base10's reports:

Nothing. We'll see tomorrow. Tune in to the Base10 Exercise Report tomorrow for an update.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
 
And the Mainstream Media Says Bloggers are Unreliable

This Friday, Peter Jennings is doing a prime time special on UFO's. UFO's! What is ABC News thinking? One thing is for sure, there won't be girls in skin-tight mylar outfits. If you're interested in the photo of Lt. Elis in that last link (and a future involving her and a bunch of UFO's would certainly be interesting), click here for more information.
 
The Daytona 500 and Other Sports News

The Daytona started a little while ago, and Base10 is in store for something like another 189 more laps. Ah a crash just happened! Really. They just cut back from a commercial It doesn't look like anyone got hurt. Man, how do they drive in that? Anyway, America's race is on. Base10 was struck that this is the only major sporting event where a prayer preceeds the event. And the crowd seems genuinely payng attention when the sing the national anthem. Click here for the coverage on Yahoo. Favoites seem to be Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip. Of course, the sentimental favorite is Rusty Wallace, who announced his retirement after this year and has never won a Daytona 500. And of course, pretty-boy Jeff Gordon will always be a factor.

In other sports news, the New York Jets placed the franchise tag on Pro-Bowl DE John Abraham. This requires the Jets to be compensated with two draft picks if he were to sign with another team, and basically gives the Jets another year to work a trade or a long-term contract with him. Rumours continue to circulate about a possible trade involving Minnesota WR Randy Moss, reuniting him with his college QB Chad Pennington.

In other football news, not unexpectedly, San Diego franchised QB Drew Brees. In other interesting developments, the Bucs signed former first round pick QB Akili Smith and sent him to play in NFL Europe. Akili Smith was a talented quarterback but never got into the groove with the Bengals. This could be his last chance to prove he has starting QB ability.

Base10 extends his well wishes to New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi, one of the brightest lights of the Pat's Superbowl season, who suffered a mild stroke this week. As strokes go, it looks like his long term prognosis is good, but whether he can come back to play in the NFL is questionable at best.

In other shocking news, the Buffalo Bills announced that they will cut Drew Bledsoe and give the starting reigns to J.P. Losman. Losman, a first round QB pick last year has some mighty big shoes to fill. Base10 finds this curious indeed, since the Bills came on strong at the end of the season and seemed to be really gelling with a good running game to support the pass. One questions whether this was a good idea. In any event, Bledsoe will have no problem finding a starting job, possibly in Dallas. Miami, Seattle and Tampa Bay may need QB's too.

In baseball news, spring training starts this week. No major deals recently, but the recent war of words between the Red Sox and the Yankees have provided some entertainment. This will certainly make the begining of the season interesting, since the Yank's home opener is against the Sox on April 3rd, and the Sox home opener--also the traditional day to raise the flag and give out the World Series rings in April 11 against--you guessed it--the Yankees.

Finally, in College Hoops, the Fighting Illini are still undefeated at 27-0.

Well, back to the races!
Saturday, February 19, 2005
 
What Has Apple Done?
Base10 had it set in his mind today to buy an Apple laptop. For Mrs. Base10 of course, since Base10 himself is a linux kind of guy by preference but a Windows guy out of necessity. Anyway, Mrs. Base10 has been working very hard at school, and I decided to buy her a new laptop. Her old one is a clamshell iBook dating back to her conversion several years ago to all things Apple. This iBook has been through a lot: an HD upgrade (impossible to do in your house), broken CD drive door, dead battery, and so on. Finally, Base10 caught the news of the new generation Powerbook and was hooked. Base10 had in mind the 12" 1.5 Gigahertz G4 with the CD/DVD burner. Base10 met Mrs. Base10 after her Saturday morning class and went to J&R, but alas the item was not in stock. While the salesman did make a valiant effort to persuade me to buy the clearance model instead, I opted to try elsewhere.

Now as everyone knows, there are only three spots for Macs in the Big Apple (excuse the pun), J&R, Tekserve and most recently, the Apple store on Prince Street. Having never been there, Base10 dragged the missus to got see the place. First thing, visiting SoHo on a Saturday afternoon on a holiday weekend is not a particularly great idea. Needless to say, the streets and subways were very crowded, not with tourists mind you, but with that obnoxious subset of Manhattanites who wouldn't think to go to the outer boroughs. But I digress.

Going into the Apple store was interesting. It was also packed, but I have to say the design was great. Translucent glass stairway to a second floor open ampitheater where training was going on. Elsewhere there were loads of tables with mosey-on-up and use-me computers. Now we all know that these guys have the design thing down, but what they don't have down is the sales thing. Remember, Base10 walked into this place with the intent of being parted with a substantial amount of his cash equivalents. But there was no discernible organization to the store and not even a single sign that said "Buy a computer here!" Base10 could have solicited one of the floor workers, but that's not the point. It should be clear where to go to buy something. Apple, one of the great things about a retail outlet is that people want to buy things. In the future, please designate one of your employees to separate your customers from their money. It's what we've come there for!

Mr. and Mrs. Base10 left after a while, unwilling to suffer the crowds and the long lines. Up we headed to Tekserve on 23rd Street. I like Tekserve and have had the iBook serviced there before, but alas we arrived right after closing time. I just find it very frustrating that Base10 was looking to buy a big ticket item today, and there were no takers. It was as if the universe was saying, Sir, you really don't want to buy that laptop. It's a lot of money, why don't you sleep on it. Do a little more research.

All was not lost. Heading back to Queens, Base10 and his better half visited CompUSA. Now Base10 has often criticized CompUSA for its lack of sales reps, but this time they were out in force. We actually could do the deal here! But by then, indecision set in. Mrs. Base10 seemed to prefer the 15" model while Mr. Base10 suggested the 12" for portability purposes. The 15" model does boast a better video card and a PCMCIA port, too. It was clear. Now that the 15" model was on the table, more research was needed. Let's check if this one is in J&R.

Apple, here's what happened today. You had a fair opportunity to separate Base10 from a significant fraction of his income today and you failed. Will we buy tomorrow? Maybe, but who knows? Mrs. Base10 might go back to wintel machines, a new rumour of a better technology might come out, research about the undeisreability of the new Powerbooks might be published. Whatever might hapen tomorrow is speculation. Today, you could have made a sale. You did not.
 
Sunday Morning Shoutfest Preview
Looks like Sunday will have a good morning for pundits. On Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer interviews Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY).

Meanwhile, over at This Week, George Stephanopoulos interviews pretty-boy erstwhile Senator and vice-presidential candidate John Edwards. Also appearing on This Week, often embattled Iraqi candidate for Prime Minister, Ahmad Chalabi.

Over at Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace interviews Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) on intelligence reform and features a special appearance by former Presidents George H. Bush and Bill Clinton on tsunami relief.

Finally, on Meet the Press, Tim Russert interviews Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) along with space-and-time-defying Sen Hillary Clinton (D-NY) on the Iraq war.
Friday, February 18, 2005
 
The History of a Trick

Base10's alter ego also has this post about the interesting history of a very interesting magic trick.
 
The Robots of Omap Blog

Base10's alter ego has this post about America's oldest robot over at OmapBlog.
 
Blogger Is Slow
Blogger is really slow and unresponsive. I noticed it last night, but this morning it took a half-dozen attempts to get on, even with the Windows client. Blogging will be slow until they get their act together.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
 
Life on Mars, Social Life in Florida, and Other Stories

Base10 apologizes for the sparse posting the last couple of days, but has just been a bit busy at work. Among his projects are: (1) an allocation plan for a major bureau that just never seems to go away, (2) another allocation plan for a major bureau that just started, (3) migrating our current allocation plan for everybody else to software that everybody knows how to use, (4) the usual computer repairs and tweaking, (5) a plan to do a survey about a timely issue, (6) interpreting the results of a survey about a similar issue, (7) crunching numbers for a survey on an unrelated issue, (8) the usual numerical analysis of response times and radio runs. This is my life, folks.

Anyway, since Base10 is in a science and technology kind of mood, there are some interesting items in the news recently. These scientists believe there is life on Mars. Not before in ancient times, but right now. They base their claim on methane concentrations in the Martian atmosphere.

Meanwhile, researchers in Mongolia have discovered the fossil remains of a 55 million year-old bunny.

And then there's this item, which provides some protection for cyber-straying husbands--at least in Florida.

In this item, Reuters sides with the global warming paranoids. The lede,
A parcel of studies looking at the oceans and melting Arctic ice leave no room for doubt that it is getting warmer, people are to blame, and the weather is going to suffer, climate experts said on Thursday.
The article talks about several studies that confirm a rise in global temperature. The story alas, does not describe any evidence about the second assertion, that human activity is to blame. Oh wait, this is the "proof:"
"Could a climate system simply do this on its own? The answer is clearly no," Barnett [the researcher] said.

Now I don't claim to be one of these new fangled scientists, but doesn't the scientific method say you have to prove something, not just assert it?

Science martches on!
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
 
Base10's Technological Quandry

A confluence of technological events is surrounding Base10.

First, he just got a new and very fast computer at work. Aside from windows, he ran the Knoppix live CD from it and it was incredible, even running from the CD. Not the hyperthreaded Pentium, but pretty darn fast nonetheless.

Second, Base10 still wants to buy the MacMini. Base10 hates to admit that he would buy a computer based on design--hey that's what a girl would do--but Base10 has made this mistake before. He was an early adopter of the Tablet PC. A Fujitsu model. It really is great. That's why Base10 rarely uses it. Unfortunately. it gathers a lot of ooh's and ah's but it is not really as useful as a regular laptop. It's still a great machine, and I'll find some use for it at some point.

Third, Base10 is running Knoppix linux on his home server, but it has somewhat quirky features. For example, I cannot connect to MySQL remotely and I have tried many things. But Base10 just picked up the O'Reilly book "Knoppix Hacks" and it really helped in the tweaking department. For example, Base10 just set up his cell phone for mobile access on his every day laptop also running a hard disk install of Knoppix linux. Not an easy feat, by any measure.

Fourth, the book lists some really cool variations on Knoppix. Jeez, you could build a supercomputer with a few PC's and the Knoppix cluster distro. Base10 is even toying with the idea of turning the office network into a supercomputer for the weekend to help out some worthy computing cause. Hey, it could result in some good press too.

Fifth, the thing really holding back home hosting is not the hardware. Base10 feels confident that he could set up hosting on either a windows or linux platform rather easily. The basic learning curve is over. (Learning Perl and PHP is something else again). The problem is that Verizon is just not suited to this. Base10 is still thinking of going the AceDSL.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
 
Evolving Machines and the Global Consciousness

There were two highly interesting tech pieces mentioned on Slashdot recently. In the first item, researchers at Michigan State University have created a digital evolution laboratory, and came up with some disturbing results:
Scientists there have created virus-like computer programs that replicate, mutate randomly, and compete with each other... in other words, they evolve. Among such feats as learning to add and compare numbers, these digital life forms also once avoided scientists attempts at "killing" them, by playing dead.

Here's a link to the item on Slashdot and here's the project's web page and here's a link to the Discover Magazine article about it. Best of all, you can download the project and create artificial life on your home PC. What's interesting about this experiment is the blurring of the difference between biological and digital life. Will these little buggers ever get loose? At least they probably don't eat much.

In the second item, researchers at Princeton are looking at the output of random number generating computers around the world. Their theory is--in a somewhat oversimplified version--a form of human global consciousness can effect the generation of numbers and make it less random. They claim that they have seen changes in the output associated with major world events like the 9/11 attacks and the Asian tsunami. What's much more interesting is that they claim that these anomalies occur before the event actually takes place.
For during the course of the experiment, the Eggs [the number generators] have 'sensed' a whole series of major world events as they were happening, from the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia to the Kursk submarine tragedy to America's hung election of 2000. The Eggs also regularly detect huge global celebrations, such as New Year's Eve.

But the project threw up its greatest enigma on September 11, 2001. As the world stood still and watched the horror of the terrorist attacks unfold across New York, something strange was happening to the Eggs. Not only had they registered the attacks as they actually happened, but the characteristic shift in the pattern of numbers had begun four hours before the two planes even hit the Twin Towers.
They had, it appeared, detected that an event of historic importance was about to take place before the terrorists had even boarded their fateful flights. The implications, not least for the West's security services who constantly monitor electronic 'chatter', are clearly enormous.

Is global consciousness causing these machines to see into the future? You be the judge. Here's a link to the Slashdot item and here's the original story in tech site Red Nova. Skeptics have not ignored this. Click here for an article in Skepticreport.com about the phenomenon. Although the writer suggests that the researchers are cherry picking their data, even he thinks there may be something going on,
Is something happening? If we can refrain from equating "anomalies" with "psi", it does seem that something is going on. Whether it is flawed research or a real phenomenon is still out. But when we take into account that [the researchers] are not all that eager to falsify their own theories (as well as quoting Sagan and Hyman out of context to support their own agenda when in fact neither do!), it is very hard for me to accept that a real phenomenon is happening.

Also at Princeton, other researchers are looking at the way that human consciousness, this time at an individual level, can effect mechanical processes One Slashdot commentator writes,
There is another very bizarre phenomenon being studied at Princeton that is related and apparently shares a lot of the same hardware. The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research project was started to study the human machine interface, and quickly determined that humans, individually and collectively, can have a small influence on truly random events. The effect doesn't extend to pseudorandom events such as a PC's "random" number generator, which is actually deterministic. The magnitude of the effect varies with the individual(s) involved, but is on the order of one in ten thousand. However, this small result is statistically proved beyond any reasonable doubt. The experiments have been widely replicated by different researchers using different random events (Johnson noise in resistors, balls falling through a long sequence of pegs ala pachinko, etc.) Even more bizarre is the way the effect is not limited by time or space. People from the other side of the world have influenced random events, and if my memory is correct, random events in sealed experiments have been altered by human efforts in the future and the past.

Could entreprenurial crime fighters use this technology? Perhaps we could place random number generators in each precinct and use them to predict crime trends before they happen. Compstat could use the number spikes to deluge an area with police officers and thereby change the future.

But then the random number generators would not have spiked and the cops would not have been sent in to begin with. But then the future would not have been altered and the numbers would spike after all. I'm getting a headache. Chief, don't mind the glowing omnipotent AI in the office, it's simply predicting future crime. And evolving.

This item is cross-posted over at OmapBlog. Yes, I know I'm being lazy.
Monday, February 14, 2005
 
Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln

Today is the celebration of Lincoln's Birthday--although I believe his birthday was Friday. Thanks for everything you did for this county Abe, and we don't care whether you had a little swish in your step or not.

Base10 is hard at work. He is trying to configure a MySQL server at work (in an efort to migrate from the dreaded Microsoft). I have been trying to get it to work on a windows box at work - so far it works but I was only able to access it remotely after I removed Windows XP Service Pack 2. I suppose that's a feature. I also managed to get MySQL working on my deck at home, but I can't get that working remotely either.

Anyway, after watching the Pro Bowl last night I came to the horrifying conlusion that football season is really over. What am I going to do tonight?

Base10 will try to post a little later tonight. He came across a couple of interesting tech issues over the weekend that I'd like to comment on. On the political front, there's also the assasination of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon. Base10 predicts this will be the next Middle East flashpoint and maybe the beginning of the end for Assad.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
 
Sounds Like a Country Song

James Taranto reports on a touching AFP story,

Bakr Melhem, a Jordanian man, was separated from his wife, Sanaa, and was feeling lonely. So he adopted a pseudonym, "Adnan," and struck up a romance with a woman named Jamila. Agence France-Presse reports what happened next:

Cyber love blossomed between the pair for three months and soon they were making wedding plans. To pledge their troth in person, they agreed to meet in the flesh near a bus depot in the town of Zarqa, northeast of Amman.

It turned out Jamila was really Sanaa, Bakr's estranged wife--which wouldn't have been a problem except that, as noted above, Adnan was actually Bakar. It made for an awkward moment:

Upon seeing Sanaa-alias-Jamila, Bakr-alias-Adnan turned white and screamed at the top of his lungs: "You are divorced, divorced, divorced"--the traditional manner of officially ending a marriage in Islam.

"You are a liar," Sanaa retorted before fainting, the agency said.

Too bad they didn't like pina coladas.


Via Best of the Web.
 
When Art Goes Bad...

When Art Goes Bad...<br>

Here's a photo of Christo and Jean-Claude's 'The Gates' as it is currently being opened in Central Park. Well, it's colorful. Click here for the story.
 
Democratic Party Officially Loses Collective Mind

Democrats Elect Howard Dean As Chairman - Associated Press Writer
 
The Week in Sports

As football fans begin the long depressing night that is the NFL off-season, these is one last gasp--and one last chance to buy a box n a pool. The Pro Bowl airs tonight on ESPN (no network coverage for the NFL all-star game) at 7:30. To fans, this is just one last chance to see some of their favorite players. Although the Jets has three palyers going: John Abraham, Curtis Martin and Kevin Mawae, it has been long known that Abraham would not play. Now it looks like Martin is out as well, so the only Jet on the field looks like it will be Mawae. Well, so much for the Pro Bowl, but if your really interested, click here for the coverage at NFL.com. The only mild human interest story coming out of this week's Pro Bowl is the teaming up of the Barber brothers, Ronde and Tiki, for the first time in the Pro Bowl. Whatever.

So what is there to do today, sportswise?

Well first, you could analyze goings on around the various sports leagues. For example, Yankee's Jason Giambi apologized--for something, he didn't quite make it clear for what--this week. He's taking a lot of criticism for this in the press and it is well deserved. Here's just one example. In a related vein, Jose Conseco will be on 60 Minutes tonight to hawk his latest book detailing steroid abuse in the Majors. It's a given that MLB will take no action whatsoever about the allegations in the book.

In Mets news, Darryl Strwaberry will reportedly be working for a while as an instructor for the Mets in spring training. The Times points out that he is only the latest of the '86 Mets to rejoin the team. In other Mets news, new Cuban pitcher Aley Soler may miss the start of camp because of a dispute with his agent who has been suspended by the player's association.

In soccer news, congratulations to the US national team or defeating Trinidad and Tobago in a World Cup qualifier match. The US next faces Mexico on March 27th.

In Jets news, Herm Edwards announced that shoulder surgery on Chad Pennington was successful. In other Jets news, when asked about his ability to coach Randy Moss, Herm Edwards responded very positively. Whether that means anything, we'll see. Finally, the Jets also made a few coaching changes. The team announced yesterday that John Zernhelt will become tight ends coach and Dick Curl as the assistant to the Head Coach. Zernhelt was former head coach at the Citadel and Curl has been a Jets assistant for the last three years at an offensive assistant and as special projects coach. (Base10 wonders if the Jets has an ordinary projects coach. If not, this might be the job for him!)

Finally, in hockey, the NHL season is all but over. Owners have stated that if a deal could not be done by this weekend, a shortened season would not be played. Unless a rabbit can be pulled out the negotiating hat, it looks like Sir Stanley's Cup will stay home this year. A shame really. Hockey fans are very loyal, but there aren't enough of them. In the long run, this turn of events is probably better for the sport. The imposition of an NFL style salary cap and revenue sharing will make the sport more competititve.

If you get tired of analysis and actually want to watch something, there's always college hoops. But in this field, Base10 is unfortunately ill-equipt to comment. Wisconsin plays still-undefeated Illinios at 1PM. For local interest, St. Johns plays Seton hall tonight at 7:30.

Meanwhile over at the PGA, golfers are competing in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Phil Mickelson is so far in a commanding lead.

So in the end sportsfans, just try to wait until next week for the Daytona 500.
 
Sunday Morning Shoutfest Preview

A somewhat lackluster Sunday if you ask Base10. On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace will interview Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn), and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del).

Over at Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer interviews Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill).

On This Week with Sombody or Other, that George guy will interview Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND).

Finally, on Meet the Press, Time Russert will interview Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). And in a special bonus event, author and former soviet dissident Natan Sharansky debates windbag paleoconservative Pat Buchanan. While most of the shoutfest will be devoted to talk of the budget and Social Security reform, the must watch looks like the bit with Sharansky--an author Base10 greatly admires. I make the bold prediction he will knock the stuffing out of Pat Buchanan.
Friday, February 11, 2005
 
Ah Friday!

Light blogging this evening. Base10 is going out to dinner with Mrs. Base10 in Astoria this evening for sort of a pre-pre-Valentine's Day repast. Plus, work was actually well kind of good today.

For you die hards, in the spirit of Eason Jordan, here's a link to IMAO where Frank J. lists his Top Ten Reasons the Military is Targetting Journalists.

On the flawed theory that nuclear weapons can replace food for its starving population, in a continuing show of brinksmanship, North Korea has ruled out six-party talks over its nuclear program. North Korea is right. Six-party talks were getting nowhere. Base10 suggests referring the matter to the United Nations so we can take a few more years to come to an agreement. Stick to your guns Mr. President. This is just another example of that "whacky" North Korean diplomacy combined with the disinclination of China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea to pony up enough of their own resources. They'll get the message eventually. But let's get one of those MAOB's ready, just in case.

Here's a selection of Lynne Stewart Headlines (emphasis added):

The Bad:

Civil Rights Lawyer Lynne Stewart Vows To Appeal Her Conviction - NY1

Firebrand N.Y. Civil Rights Lawyer Lynne Stewart Will Appeal Conviction for Aiding Terrorists - ABC News

Stewart's Case Log: Revolutionaries, Hit Men, the Poor and the Obscure - NY Times

Civil Rights Lawyer Is Convicted of Aiding Terrorists - NY Times

Civil rights attorney convicted in terror trial - CNN

The Better:

STEWART: I'M A MARTYR - NY Post

TERROR'S HANDMAIDEN - NY Post

Clearly the Best:

JURY NAILS TERROR TRAITOR - NY Post

One can only hope that Lynne Stewart lives long enough to suffer a year in jail for every victim of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and his murderous followers. Then again, the alternative isn't so bad either.

Well, onto dinner. Tomorrow various things may happen (much like any day) but I may do some photo blogging in the morning. TTFN.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
 
Some Good News, Some Bad

A recent statement by North Korean diplomats admitted that the worker's paradise has nuclear weapons. This comes as no surprise really since intelligence assumed they already had a couple. But this item in Newsweek, the magazine of defeat, implies that North Korea's nuclear ambitions are justified since Bush really wants Kim il Joke Jong dead.

It's funny that the tone of the Newsweek article smacks of appeasement. I disagree with the author's analysis. If North Korea wanted to prove to the world it had a nuke, it would have done an underground test. This statement means nothing. They now feel they need to claim to have a working nuke. The fact is that we really don't know if they have one. And if you want to prove to the world that you have one, you wouldn't issue some silly statement through diplomats.

But there's good news today too. The trial of traitor lawyer convicted terrorist Lynne Stewart is over. A jury convicted her of, well basically aiding terrorists and she could get up to 20 years. For Stewart, that's probably a life sentence. You have to read the Reuters account. According to them, Stewart was "long a defender of the poor and unpopular" and quote her as saying, "I committed no crime. I know what I did was right. I was a poster girl for John Ashcroft and his Patriot Act." She also said, "I hope this case will be a wake-up call to all citizens of this country. You can't lock up the lawyers. You can't tell lawyers how to do their job. I'd like to think I would do it again. It's the way a lawyer is supposed to behave." Maybe not. Maybe the law insures that lawyers aren't terrorists too. And maybe we should remember that Lynne Stewart is not an innocent victim, but someone who has advocated the violent overthrow of the United States in the past. She deserves a long sentence. For a non-"you're destroying our civil rights" discussion of the Stewart case click here.

Special Bonus Good News: Al Franken is not running for the Senate. Base10 has also decided to take his name out of consideration as well. Who would vote for Al Franken?
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
 
Happy New Year!

Chinese style, of course. Mrs. Base10 and I are still trying to cook up a Chinese New Year dinner invite, but no luck just yet. Hey, we just want to party like it's 4703!

This site says people born in the year of the rooster have these qualities,
People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster peoples emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave.
You know it's pretty amazing that all people born in a single calendar year happen share all these traits, but what do I know?

Nicole Perez of the School of Holistic Aromatherapy says that,
In 2005, the year animal is the Rooster, but we also have the prevailing qi of the wood element to make this year, the Wood Rooster. A flowering shrub is a good metaphor for the wood qi (energy), new growth reaching upwards and outwards. The wood brings us new hope and optimism. However, in a wood rooster year, the wood clashes with the metal in the rooster, we can expect conflicts, yet these can be bridged with water qi, which means communication with wisdom.

Although the energy of the wood rooster sets the backdrop for the vibrations of the time, our awareness of this can steer us to act in the right way. The Roosters lack of tact means that diplomacy will be even more needed on the world scene in 2005 in easing conflicts and the United Nations will have a major role to play. It is important for the leading powers to really take notice of what the UN has to say in order to avert further crises. In fact the UN will be sixty in 2005, it was founded in the previous wood rooster year, 1945. Sixty is a full cycle in the Chinese view of time and a special celebration for any person or organisation reaching this milestone.

Whatever that means. School of Holistic Aromatherapy? I would like to know whether Ms. Perez knows former NFL RB Ricky Williams.
 
@$ (See if you can figure that out)

James Lileks has some interesting comments about recent media criticism of the Fox show "24." Base10 has never been a bid fan but has caught a few episodes and, well it's okay if you like that sort of thing. Lileks doesn't like the show for this reason:
I stopped watching 24 after one episode, because everyone at the CIA had Macs with Cinema Display monitors, and worked in an impossibly cool and underlit room. It also featured lots of Serious Typing, the means by which any hacker can get any piece of information. I understand its pretty good for network TV, Gripping and Fast-Paced, etc., but its all I can do to keep up with Carnivale.
I would like to point out that I think the "serious typing" thing originated in "Clear and Present Danger," but I digress. Anyway, Lileks takes issue with an article that condemns "24" for stereotyping an Islamic family that is involved in terrorism. No! Really! God (or Allah), when will it end?
 
How Great is This!

Some people just understand the importance of having celebrities on their side.

Via Prof. Bainbridge.


 
General Mattis, Please Speak Freely

Varifrank has a very good historical comparison between the unfortunately worded remarks of General Mattis and that of some of our country's other great generals. My favorite,
I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all this evening they would be reporting news from Hell before breakfast.

- William Tecumseh Sherman


Via Vodkapundit.
 
Welcoming the Soldiers

James Taranto--prompted by a Superbowl commercial thanking American troops--has a collection of emails in the Opinion Journal in response to an item about the cheers American soldiers get returning from overseas now as compared to the jeers they received in the Vietnam era. Here's the section,
Then They Spat, Now We Cheer

Yesterday's item on the divergent reactions to Vietnam and Iraq veterans brought many responses from readers eager to tell their stories, and we thought we'd publish a sampling. This one is from David Kruger:

I travel for business. In the past two weeks I have witnessed American Airlines giving empty first-class seats to soldiers and an entire terminal (in Denver) giving a plane full of disembarking soldiers a standing ovation on a busy Friday night. I pity those both here and abroad who don't understand that this public, spontaneous, unrehearsed and heartfelt honoring of our men and women in uniform is a privilege enjoyed only by the proponents of a just cause.

Chris Mallow tells a similar story:

This past summer, I was traveling on business to Atlanta. As I was walking through the terminal in preparation for my departing flight, I passed a large group of soldiers, at least 100, all in battle dress, holding their gear, waiting patiently in line. Seeing that they were checking in for a domestic flight, I assumed they were on their way home, so I asked where they were headed. All responded with the same answer: "Afghanistan."

I don't know any active soldiers personally. All of the military people I know have long since retired. However, all I could do was marvel at these men. While the group was somewhat subdued, all were very pleasant, none somber or sad. Most were talking pleasantly with each other as they killed time in the line. They were a true slice of America--many different colors of hair and skin, many different accents (I heard at least four as I passed by), all standing together. They knew where they were going and why, and they did it willingly, for all of us.
All I could do was shake as many hands as possible, smile, and thank them for going. I felt prouder to be an American at that moment than at any other moment in my life.

Steven Liston, a physician, recounts his Vietnam-era experience:

I, too, was spit upon and called "baby killer" in September 1971, in the San Diego airport, while wearing my Navy uniform. That was ironic, in that I was on pediatrics as a medical intern at the San Diego Naval Hospital at that time, hopefully helping save babies' lives.
The airport Super Bowl ad brought me to tears, not of pain remembering my experience, but from pride in today's American patriots.

Kenneth Millspaugh had a bad experience with beer nearly four decades ago:

Anheuser-Busch's Super Bowl ad spoke loud and clear to me. As a 19-year-old Army private training at Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1966, I visited the nation's capital. Walking down the sidewalk, I approached three of the city's young citizens. As I passed, I felt beer running down my back. The "youth" challenged me, "Hey, soldier boy." Not a welcome sign.

With a beer-soaked back, I walked away, and thankfully they did not follow. They had me surrounded, the poor bastards. Now, 39 years later, I get a vicarious welcome from Anheuser-Busch. God bless America, and thank God I lived to see it.

And Tom Reynolds sums up the differences between then and now:

My son is a Marine reservist who was called up to serve in Kuwait and Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein and liberate his millions of victims. Upon his return, we took a family vacation in December 2003, which found us having dinner one night at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant in Disney-MGM Studios. Being myself a veteran and proud father, I asked the staff if they had something special I might arrange to commemorate his return.

To my surprise, they made a very extravagant presentation and involved the rest of the restaurant's guests. They gave my son a standing ovation.

Later, as he chided me for causing him embarrassment, I told him I didn't do it for just him. I did it for the other guests too. Despite what some foolish pacifists or the head-in-the-sand media think, many people need and want to acknowledge our servicemen. Soldiers are applauded entering JFK or disembarking a plane in Portland by a citizenry both thanking the individual and making a public statement of support for the values for which this country stands.

To me, the Anheuser-Busch ad is successful because it reflects a current attitude and practice the media won't report. The war in Iraq isn't Vietnam; it's not a quagmire, and it's not something the media are going to spin as dishonorable or as a failure.

To every American soldier out there fighting terrorists on our behalf, Mr. and Mrs. Base10 thank you from the bottom of our heart. The amazing thing was that some people felt the original commercial was jingoistic.
 
Cross-posts

If you haven't checked it out yet, take a look at OmapBlog. Base10 has a few posts today here, here and here.

While you're there, check out Osama bin Laden Valentine's Day message here.
 
Double Standard

Here's the title and lede of a NY Times article on the trial of terrorist traitor lawyer Lynne Stewert:
Lawyer on Trial in Terror Case Finds Threat Left at Her Door

Lynne F. Stewart, a lawyer standing trial on charges of conspiring with Islamic terrorists, said she received a written threat at her home in Brooklyn yesterday from a militant Jewish organization, as the jury deciding her fate finished 101/2 days of deliberations with no verdict.

The article notes that fliers were also left around the court house--leading the Times to fear that Ms. Stewert would be denied a fair trial. The Times quotes a Jewish Defense Organization member who is not pleased with Stewerts efforts to aid terrorists,
In a telephone interview after the jurors went home for the day, Jeff Klein, who said he was a board member of the Jewish Defense Organization and a spokesman, said the group had not tried to contact any jurors directly. He said the group decided to begin the campaign against Ms. Stewart on Monday night.

"We're stepping things up," said Mr. Klein, adding that he had recorded the voice mail message. "We're hoping she's convicted, but our campaign is to ruin her by getting her neighbors to evict her from her home, and to put pressure on the landlord to evict her from her office. When we're done making their life miserable, hopefully they will make her life miserable."

There go those pesky Jews again, going around trying to influence juries and deny people fair trials. But wait, the Times does at least mention the prosecutor's counter-argument,
Robin Baker, a prosecutor, argued that the fliers outside court were a legal form of political expression, not much different from the placards that Ms. Stewart's supporters have often carried there.

Where was the indignation in the Times over jury tampering then?
 
Sometime the Blogosphere is Too Funny

The concept of gay penguins just makes you laugh.

Click here.

Here.

And here.

Via Instapundit.
 
Why the Palestinian-Israeli Truce Might Work

CSM commentator Ben Lynfield reports that some observers are taking the truce seriously.
This time around, analysts say, some key variables have changed. In Israel's view, the biggest difference is the death of Yasser Arafat, whom it and the US shunned for alleged ties to terrorism.

"Now the boulder has been removed and the road is clear," says Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin. But Palestinians say the problem was - and remains - Sharon, not Arafat.

Factors helping define the current Israeli-Palestinian dynamic, say analysts, include the mutual exhaustion, the planned Gaza withdrawal, and international determination not to allow Abbas's efforts at stabilizing Palestinian politics and ending the armed intifada to come to naught. "This is the first time I feel that both sides have reached a point where ... there must be a new era and better conditions on both sides," says Palestinian analyst Khader Abu Abarra.


We hope. See the next post.
 
And Why it Might Not

There's an interesting item in the Weekly Standard about continued efforts by Palestinian state-sponsored media to indoctrinate children into virulent anti-Semitism. It points out the media attention recently given a Palestinian Media Watch report detailing continuing incidents of anti-Semetic references in Palestinian media. Read the whole thing here. And read the Palestinian Media Watch report here.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
 
Tuesday Morning Quarterback on Tuesday Night!
Base10 finally got around to reading Tuesday Morning Quarterback on Tuesday Night! But TMQ has some great insights this week. I especially like this observation about Bill Belichick. After noting that Bill B. may go down in history as one of the best coaches in the history of the league, TMQ reminds us,
[R]emember, Belichick was considered a failure at Cleveland, where he compiled a modest 37-45 record. During his Browns years, Belichick was widely mocked for grimacing and looking disoriented on the sideline. Then he had his weird episode of being head coach of the Jets for about three hours, and again was widely derided. Now we should be discussing whether he is the best-ever coach.

One lesson to learn: Know [that] what Belichick did was initially unsuccessful, then widely mocked. He didn't give up.

This is a good lesson in life, but also know that if you persist in something, and all about you call you mad, you may very well be wrong. Unless you're George W. Bush, in which case you cannot be wrong because you have some extrasensory gift for judging world events.

All this talk is very inspirational but TMQ does not stop there. In an extra-inspirational column, TMQ talks about athletes who attribute their success to God,
Of course, many athletes who praise God after victory do so because what they want to express is humility. But it just doesnt work. The way to express humility after a sports victory is to praise your teammates, because they actually had something to do with the victory. Don't praise God, because God had nothing to do with whether both your feet came down inbounds.

At this point, the athlete who is sincerely religious might respond, "What I mean is that if I live a moral life and then prevail at the Super Bowl, this gives glory to God, and shows people that if they live a moral life, they will be rewarded, too." That sentiment is admirable. But sometimes athletes who are completely contemptible human beings prevail at the Super Bowl, and then what is the message? Observing the world, we don't see much relationship between those whose for whom virtue comes first and those who get on magazine covers or receive megabucks bonuses. Living a moral life is a goal unto itself, and is its own reward: The reason to live morally, regardless of whether your inspiration is faith or secular philosophy, is that living morally is the right thing to do. As for giving glory to God -- when you help your fellow man or woman, this gives glory to God. Sports events are only games.


Base10 particularly likes TMQ's proposed Athlete's prayer. Truly a fine one, and certainly one Base10 would teach his children had he been so blessed,
The Athlete's Prayer
God, let me play well but fairly.
Let competition make me strong but never hostile.
Forbid me to rejoice in the adversity of others.
See me not when I am cheered, but when I bend to help my opponent up.
If I know victory, allow me to be happy;if I am denied, keep me from envy.
Remind me that sports are just games.
Help me to learn something that matters once the game is over.
And if through athletics I set an example, let it be a good one.

It really is a good column. Well, Base10 has had enough of the intersection of God and sports, but certainly not enough of each. TTFN.
 
Base10's Job

You know, work can really interfere with blogging. Base10 had a meeting first thing this morning and has spent much time doing follow-up. And then there's response times. Base10 lives response times! Anyway, I have to try to finish up some small projects today and that is the rest of the agenda.

No posts 'till after work probably, but here's a couple of links to tide you over:

There's a truce in Palestine. But not everybody is playing nice. Base10 seriously questions whether this is going to mean anything. I hope that I'm wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

NFL observers should note that the marriage between Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and the Browns has been consumated. Crennel signed a five-year deal as head coach today.

Speaking of football, every office needs an "Office Linebacker." Here's a link that's been popular around the office.

Check out this item on the BBC. Tell me that this is not the most persuasive anti-drug ad you have ever seen. (Via OmapBlog).
Monday, February 07, 2005
 
Who Will Punish Ward Churchill?

Apparently, nobody at UNLV:
[Hans] Hoppe, 55, a world-renowned economist, author and speaker, said he was giving a lecture to his money and banking class in March when the incident occurred.

The subject of the lecture was economic planning for the future. Hoppe said he gave several examples to the class of about 30 upper-level undergraduate students on groups who tend to plan for the future and groups who do not.

Very young and very old people, for example, tend not to plan for the future, he said. Couples with children tend to plan more than couples without.
As in all social sciences, he said, he was speaking in generalities.

Another example he gave the class was that homosexuals tend to plan less for the future than heterosexuals.

Reasons for the phenomenon include the fact that homosexuals tend not to have children, he said. They also tend to live riskier lifestyles than heterosexuals, Hoppe said.

He said there is a belief among some economists that one of the 20th century's most influential economists, John Maynard Keynes, was influenced in his beliefs by his homosexuality. Keynes espoused a "spend it now" philosophy to keep an economy strong, much as President Bush did after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Hoppe said the portion of the lecture on homosexuals lasted perhaps 90 seconds, while the entire lecture took up his 75-minute class.
There were no questions or any discussion from the students about the homosexual comments, he said.

"I have given lectures like this for 18 years," said Hoppe, a native of Germany who joined UNLV's faculty in 1986. "I have given this lecture all over the world and never had any complaints about it."

But within days of the lecture, he was notified by school officials that a student had lodged an informal complaint. The student said Hoppe's comments offended him.

A series of formal hearings ensued.

Hoppe said that, at the request of university officials, he clarified in his next class that he was speaking in generalities only and did not mean to offend anyone.

As an example of what he meant, he offered this: Italians tend to eat more spaghetti than Germans, and Germans tend to eat more sauerkraut than Italians. It is not universally true, he said, but it is generally true.

The student then filed a formal complaint, Hoppe said, alleging that Hoppe did not take the complaint seriously.

He said university officials first said they would issue him a letter of reprimand and dock him a week's pay.

That option was rejected by Hoppe's dean and by the university provost, Hoppe said.

More hearings ensued, he said. In the end, the university gave him until Friday to accept its latest offer of punishment: It would issue him a letter of reprimand and he would give up his next pay increase.

Hoppe, a tenured full professor, contacted the ACLU on the recommendation of an attorney friend of his. Hoppe is now their client.
"I felt like I was the victim," he said, "not the student."

ACLU officials said the validity of Hoppe's economic theories does not matter. It is his right to espouse them in class.
"We don't subscribe to Hans' theories and certainly understand why some students find them offensive," said Gary Peck, the ACLU of Nevada's executive director.

"But academic freedom means nothing if it doesn't protect the right of professors to present scholarly ideas that are relevant to their curricula, even if they are controversial and rub people the wrong way."

Hoppe said he is dumbfounded by the university's response to the student's complaint. It is not his job, he said, to consider how a student might feel about economic theories.

"Our task is to teach what we consider to be right," he said. The offended student, he said, should have been told to "grow up."
Hoppe protested that university officials declined to speak to other students in the class to find out what actually happened and even rejected letters he solicited from a half-dozen students.

UNLV's general counsel, Richard Linstrom, would not talk about Hoppe's case, but said the university values free speech.
"The administration of UNLV is fully committed to academic freedom in all respects," he said. Linstrom said he was in a Board of Regents meeting most of Friday and had not seen the ACLU's letter.

Lichtenstein, the ACLU lawyer, said the university's response to Hoppe's situation might stifle free speech on the campus.
"If he can be silenced, that's going to create self-censorship among other faculty members who won't say anything controversial," he said. "Who's going to lose in all this? The students."

Well, you have to give a little credit to the ACLU for a change. (Ouch! The keyboard burns just typing that).
 
The New Yorker and The Elections

It's funny, you surf the web looking for liberal comments on the Iraqi election and you find very little. Check out this item from the New Yorker. Hendrik Hertzberg celebrates the Iraq election in the harshest terms possible for the Bush administration.
[Dick] Cheney was wrong about the durability of the Soviet bloc and wrong about the villainy of Nelson Mandela, and it may yet turn out that the clipping-clippers are wrong about the possibility of something like democracy in Iraq. No one knows. There are plenty of Vietnam echoes in Americas Iraq adventure, especially in the corrosive effects on domestic comity, the use of false or distorted intelligence to create a sense of immediate threat, and the arrogance, combined with ignorance of local realities, of many senior strategists. But the differences are large, beginning with the nature of the enemy. The Vietnamese Communists possessed a legitimacy derived from thirty years of anticolonial struggleagainst France, then Japan, then France again, and, finally, willy-nilly, the United States. Iraqs insurgency has support in the Sunni minority, but it is no national liberation movement. And for all the cruelty of the Iraq wars collateral damage, it has produced no equivalents of Vietnams carpet bombings, free-fire zones, or strategic hamlets. (Nor, it must be said, did Vietnam produce an equivalent of Abu Ghraib; but then Vietnam was a war in which both sides held prisoners.)

Wow! He covered everything! In fairness to Hertzberg he does celebrate what may be the birth of legitimate democracy in the Middle East, but I do take exception to this statement,
Critics of the Bush Administration can take comfort in the fact that the apparent success of the Iraqi election can be celebrated without having to celebrate the supposed wisdom of the Administration. Like the Homeland Security Department and the 9/11 Commission, the Iraqi election was something Bush & Co. resisted and were finally maneuvered into accepting. It wasnt their idea; it was an Iraqi ideaspecifically, the idea of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Shiisms most prominent cleric. In a way, it was a by-product of the same American ignorance and bungling that produced the unchallenged post-Saddam looting and the myriad mistakes of the Coalition Provisional Authority. But this timefor the first timethe bungling seems to have yielded something positive.

Iraq is still a very, very long way from democracy. And even if it gets there, the costs of the journeythe more than ten thousand (so far) American wounded and dead, the tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children killed, the hundreds of billions of dollars diverted from other purposes, the lies, the distraction from and gratuitous extension of the war on terror, the moral and political catastrophe of systematic torture, the draining of good will toward and sympathy for Americawill not necessarily justify themselves. But, for the moment at least, one can marvel at the power of the democratic idea. It survived American slavery; it survived Stalinist coöptation (the German Democratic Republic, and so on); it survived Cold War horrors like Americas support of Spanish Falangism and Central American death squads. Perhaps it can even survive the fervent embrace of George W. Bush.

Although there are many, many things to complain about in these two paragraphs, where do you get off claiming that the administration didn't want elections? Bringing democracy to a Middle Eastern state is just as important in the long term strategy in the war on terror as the removal of WMD. When was Bush against elections? Who demended that they go forward in spite of calls from the left (not least of which probably came from New Yorker readers) to postpone them? I will even let go of this though. The home of Seymore Hersch actually admits that elections in Iraq are a good thing.
 
Superbowl Wrap

Well the Pats won. New England fans will be insufferable for another year now that they took the football and baseball crowns and another NFL season is in the books. Base10 was correct in his call for taking the Eagles and the points, although--as always--such suggestions are for non-gambling use only.

All in all it was a good game. The Eagles certainly gave the Pats a run for their money in the first half and they were in it until the very last seconds of the game. Fans, you got your money's worth. Click here for the recap.

The only thing I didn't understand about the Eagles strategy was that they abandonded the run early. Forcing Donovan McNabb to throw against the Pats resulted in a staggering three interceptions--certainly not the way to win the championship.

Let's not be bad sports though, so congratulations New England Patriots! Talk of the dynasty aside, Bill Belichick has certainly cemented his position as a coaching legend, surpassing in my mind the status of his mentor, Bill Parcells. Whether this is sustainable in future years is open to question. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis is probably already on a plane to South Bend and defensive guru Romeo Crennel is reportedly lined up for the head coaching job at Cleveland.

At least there were the commercials. Base10's favorites were the Pepsi ad with the delivery truck and the CareerBuilder.com ads with the chimps. Here's a link.

Finally, in the "don't you people know how to have fun anymore?" department, Forbes reports that companies lose $820 million annually due to lost productivity as a result of the Superbowl. On that note, let's post some more at work!
Sunday, February 06, 2005
 
Last Post Before the Game

Base10 just saw the FOX pre-game show with Bush 41 and Clinton. The elder Bush looked pretty good, but I have to say that Clinton looked a little sickly. This followed a very touching presentation of the Declaration of Independence being read by present and former NFL players and coaches. Of course, Bush 41 used it as an oportunity to thank our armed forces while Clinton said it showed how far race relations have come because at the time of the Declaration only white men could vote. No mater what, there are always differences in the parties. In any event it was a feel good bipartisan moment. It is just about fifty minutes unitl zero hour, and Mrs. Base10 and I are still wondering whether we're going to stay out of go home for the festivities.
 
Teddy's On a Roll

In the space of two or three sentances, Ted Kennedy suggested that Social Security could be fixed by raising taxes. He also said that Medicare could be fixed by information technology. IT! As readers probably know, Base10 is a bit of a techie, but IT will not solve the trillions of dollars federal spending as a result of nondiscretionary spending in Medicare. IT! It is becoming increasingly clear that Senator Kennedy needs to receive some healthcare himself. IT! Must be one of them newfangled computers, ma. We gotta get us one of them internets.
 
Sunday Morning Shoutfest

Base10 almost forgot. He watched the Dick Cheney interview on Fox News Sunday this morning and the vice president did pretty well. Base10 was going to forego the rest of the shourtest, but just saw that Donald Rumsfeld and Teddy Kennedy are going to be on Meet the Press. One can only hope that Tim Rssert will let them fight it out. I'll take Rumsfeld laying 7. I am also willing to wager that at sometime during the broadcast, Teddy's going to say something that sounds like this, "The wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place, blah blah blah."
 
The Big Day is Here

Ah, the Superbowl is here. Kickoff time is at 6:30--although prior experience makes me think closer to 7:00--and Base10 is gearing up. It is your last chance to wear your Jets gear. Indeed it is the last game of the year. (One could argue that the Pro Bowl next week is actually the last game, but to me the Pro Bowl is more like post-coital snuggling. Nice of course, but the act is over).

In the continuation of a disturbing trend, the level of pre-game hoopla seems to have increased dramatically. The pre-game coverge on Fox starts at 10:00 AM. 10:00 AM. This amounts to more than twice the amount of coverage--most of which is a rehash of the regular season--than that of the actual events.

Then of course there is the sideshow to the big game: the ads. If you can't wait, click here. Base10 always enjoys these ads, but companies should also be cautious. Remember the "herding cats" commercial. What company was that again?

I also appears that the Terrell Owens question is still an open one. In spite of not being cleared by team doctors, Terrell Owens has sworn he will play. Unfortunately, the Mouth that Roared was held out of practice yesteday. Base10 would normally root against the Patriots, the hated division rivals of the Jets. However this year, hatred for the Pats is outweighed by hatred for Terrell Owens. What a quandry! Base10 will remain officially neutral. But, take the Eagles and the points.

In other football news, Dan Marino and Steve Young were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Well done gentlemen, and well deserved. Benny Friedman and Fritz Pollard were the other inductees.

In another item, Jamal Lewis is reporting to camp. Doesn't sound unusual except that it's a camp run by the US Department of Prisons. Lewis is serving a four-month sentence for drug conspiracy charges. It was so nice of federal authorities to arrange it so that it wouldn't interfere with his season.

In the latest development in the Jets stadium saga, MSG has made an offer to purchase the air rights over the MTA property upon which the stadium will be built. I think MSG should have to pay its fair share of property taxes on its existing properties before it is allowed to develop another site.

Enjoy the big game!
Saturday, February 05, 2005
 
The Final Frontier


hubble, originally uploaded by base10blog.

After spending so much time in terrestrial concerns, take time out to look at the cosmos. This photo was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is an exploding star 20,000 light years away.

Via Slashdot.


 
Social Security is Only the Beginning

There is a frightfully interesting article at Policy Review by Stanley Kurtz. And "frightful" is certainly an appropriate adjective to describe it. Kurtz reviews four books that try to describe a coming economic disaster that will be due to population decline. No industrialized country has anywhere close to a replacement birthrate. As European welfare states (lump US entitlement programs here) age, productivity growth will decline if not become negative. Some European countries may face a situation where 60% of the population is over 60. Funding a welfare state for this much of the population is, as environmentalists are fond of saying, unsustainable. Kurtz outlines all the author's disaster scenarios and their calls for change. If these analysts are even partially right, Social Security reform is a pretty minor affair.

Seriously interesting read. Base10 tends not to be so Malthusian. Kurtz dismisses technological innovation, but Base10 thinks far reaching innovations in fields like nanotechnology, fusion power and biotechnology could be as fundamentally transforming as the lightbulb, indoor plumbing, the steam engine or refrigeration. It need not be as bad as Kurtz and the others foresee. But you'd be foolish to ignore it. Base10 suggests that the Democrats who are relentlessly trying to argue that there is no Social Security crisis, would do themselves a great service by reading this article.
 
Rising Back Up the Evolutionary Scale

Base10 is pleased to see that as of today, he is once more a crunchy crustacean in TTLB. My public awaits! Anyway, what's on Base10's agenda for today? Actually, Base10 has some things to do around the house. But there'll still be time for blogging goodness. Fun, fun fun!
Friday, February 04, 2005
 
Posting Before the Clock Strikes Midnight

Ah, Base10 made it just under the wire. Manhattan College lost a squeeker and seems to be burying themselves. The Knicks...who cares. To uphold all of today's promises, here's to Emmitt Smith for retiring after 15 years in the NFL. And doing it in the uniform of the team with the big star on their field. Also, condolences to Max Schmelling, a great boxer that most in today's generation have never heard of, but passed on at the tender age of 99. For a championship boxer this is sweet victory.

Finally, Base10's shameless pick for the Superbowl. After careful scientific analysis, Base10 has determined that you'd be crazy to lay the points. The Pats currently are laying 7. Base10 has no strong rooting interest in the game. After all, all desire to see the Pats lose is cancelled out by hatred for Terrell Owens. Base10's prediction: a very close Superbowl, much like last year. Either team could win it, and you'd be crazy not to take the points.

On reflection, Base10 notes that we football fans have been blessed with some terrific Superbowls the last few years. Remember a few short years ago when the NFC dominated the game? Let's hope that this year's game upholds that most recent of competitive standards.

Well, more tomorrow.

Powered by Blogger