Base10Blog
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
 
The Cycle

Base10 just got done with a bike ride--the first one he's taken in quite a while. It was pretty good. Ten laps around Juniper Park and tooling around Queens for a bit. All in all, about 20 miles. Base10 certainly wasn't trying to break any land speed records, either. It was just an attempt to reintroduce my butt to the saddle.
"Butt, I'd like you to meet Saddle."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm sure we'll get to be very close."
"We certainly will, Butt. But in the beginning, you'll be really sore at me. It won't last, though."
"Saddle, I could never be sore at you for long."
Okay, maybe I'm taking the talking butt part a bit too far...

The ride was fun though. And I'm wearing tights. I have shorts over them, of course. I do have to maintain my dignity.

I may even upgrade if I do a substantial amount of cycling over the summer. Maybe a nice titanium frame. Today, Juniper. Tomorrow, Rockaway!


Thursday, May 25, 2006
 
Greetings from the Beach

Base10 went to Rockaway today, but was somewhat disapointed. The bad news: Boggiano's current incarnation ("Vaughn's") was shuttered. It did however have a spray-painted message on one of the plywood sheets that read, "The Tap is Back." This is clearly a reference to one of Boggies' other incarnations, namely, the Tap-and-Grill. The place was sealed and the windows were soaped. Rockaway denizens hope for a speedy resolution. Base10 was forced to have clams at "The Wharf" instead. No locations please. "The Wharf" is only for Rockaway insiders.

The good news: it looks like Connely's is open for business.

Anyway, Base10 called his beach day a bit short because of cloudy weather. He did get to take a very pleasant walk along the shoreline, though, and that may have been worth the trip alone. Photography was not as good as expected, but perhaps Base10 will post some images tomorrow.


Wednesday, May 24, 2006
 
Last Day of School!
Base10 has to give his final this evening, so posting will be light until tomorrow, when I will likely be doing some beach-blogging in Rockaway.
 
Two Games for the Price of One!
Base10 is hungover tired from staying up late to watch last night's marathon game between the Mets and Philly. Sixteen innings before it got won by a Beltran homer. Behind at one point 6-2, the Mets emerged triumphant, 9-8. Click here for the recap. I'd say that fans certainly got their entertainment value for their dollar last night. This evening, Alay Soler, the Cuban emigre makes his debut. Clcik here for a preview.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
 
That's It Then

Base10 just finished his macro final and boy, are his growth models tired! Anyway, he hopes to be safely ensconsed somewhere watching the Mets-Phillies and Yanks-Bosox game shortlt. TTFN.


 
Light Blogging
Base10 has exams this evening so only light blogging until after.
 
Progress in the War
Ralph Peters has a piece about the oft ignored progress in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war on terror:
Headlines from Afghanistan always read "Five Soldiers Killed and Wounded," not "150 Taliban Killed." If today's journalists reported the Battle of Midway, we'd read "U.S. Aircraft Shot From Skies," with a brief mention of the destruction of the Japanese carrier fleet buried at the bottom.

The Taliban was decisively defeated. That doesn't mean it's gone. The religious madness the Taliban represents will remain at the edges of Afghan life - it's part of the cultural package, just as bigotry haunts the fringes of our society. But Afghanistan's a far less-menacing place than it was. In the real world, that's enough.

Good point.
 
Mets Were Off
The Mets didn't play, but the next best thing happened. The Yankees lost to Boston 9-5 last night.
 
What Does Cleveland Have Against Philly?
"Tribe Seeks Greater Freedom to Kill Eagles" - AP.
Monday, May 22, 2006
 
Guess the NY Times Headline
"U.S. Airstrike Kills Dozens of Taliban"

"US-led attack kills 96 in Afghanistan"

"Up to 80 Taliban Dead in U.S.-Led Strike"

"'80 Taliban dead' in U.S. attack"

"U.S. Planes Kill Afghan Villagers in Assault on Taliban"
 
Mets Redemption
The Mets did redeem themselves last night. Well, I shouldn't say the Mets so much as $10 million closer Billy Wagner. The Yankees emergency starter Aaron Small did surprisingly well against Tom Glavine who struggled at times. The Mets finally broke through and blasted Small for four runs taking the lead at 4-2 in the 6th. Outstanding defensive play by the Mets along with effective relief pitching by Heilman and Wagner resulted in a final of 4-3. The Mets take two of three and earn some NYC cred.

As of this morning, the Mets are no. 2 in the NL and lead the East. Philly and Atlanta are 3 and 4.5 games behind, respectively. The Mets are off tonight, but face Philly in a three-game series at Shea starting tomorrow. The Yankees face the Red Sox for a three-game series starting tonight at Fenway (or is that the way of the Fen?).

In other sports, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro appears to be doing okay after surgery on his leg. And of course, IRL fans are gearing up for the Indy 500 this Memorial Day weekend.
 
The Best of Times
Michael Barone, the smartest guy in American politics, writes about the unprecedented economic prosperity in the world today over in Real Clear Politics:
In 2005, as in 2004, the world economy grew by about 5 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund, and the IMF projects similar growth for several years to come. This is faster growth than in all but a few peak years in the 1980s and 1990s, and it's in vivid contrast to the long periods of stagnation or contraction in history.

The great engine of this growth is, of course, the United States, which produces more than one-quarter of world economic product and whose gross domestic product has been growing at around 4 percent -- 4.7 percent in the latest quarter. Other engines are China and India, each with about a sixth of the world's people, and economic growth of 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively. But other areas are growing, too: Eastern Europe (5 percent), Russia (6 percent), East Asia (5 percent), Latin America (4 percent), even the Middle East (6 percent) and sub-Saharan Africa (5.5 percent).

Lagging behind are the Euro area (1 percent) and the rest of Western Europe (2 percent). Lesson: Sclerotic welfare states produce mass unemployment and stifle initiative and innovation.

Barone also notes that not only is the world economy thriving, human suffering has also been greatly reduced:
But aren't we also living in times of record strife? Actually, no. Just the opposite. The Human Security Centre of the University of British Columbia has been keeping track of armed conflicts since World War II. It reports that the number of genocides and violent conflicts dropped rapidly after the end of the Cold War, and that in 2005 the number of armed conflicts was down 40 percent from 1992.

Wars have also become less deadly: The average number of people killed per conflict per year in 1950 was 38,000; in 2002, it was just 600. The conflict in Iraq has not significantly changed that picture. American casualties are orders of magnitude lower than in the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, and precision weapons have enabled us to vastly reduce the civilian death toll.

Finally, Barone notes the that the stumbling block appears to be Islamic fascism. He notes the recent letter from Iran's President to President Bush:
As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in his recent letter to President Bush: "Liberalism and Western-style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today, those two concepts have failed."

That's obviously nonsense, of course. Free markets and democracy are chalking up one ringing achievement after another -- as we can see from the surge in world economic growth and the reduction of armed conflict -- while the Islamists can achieve their goals only through oppression and slaughter.

Yes, they can inflict severe damage on us by asymmetric warfare, as they did on Sept. 11, and we must continue to take determined action to prevent them from doing so again. Yes, a nuclear Iran is a severe threat. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that, in most important respects, our civilization is performing splendidly.

Good article. Read the whole thing.
 
Politics, New Orleans Style
N.O. Congressman William Jefferson, a Democrat, was reportedly captured on videotape taking a $100,000 bribe. FBI agents recovered $90,000 from the freezer in Jefferson's house. At least he didn't bury it in his back yard in a coffee can.

Jefferson, of course, denies any wrongdoing.
 
Civil War in Iraq Palestine
While American media outlets seem determined to undermine the new Iraqi government by their continuing insistence that there is a widespread civil war going on, they seem unwilling to even suggest such a war is going on in Palestine.

This morning, there was a large-scale firefight between Fatah security forces and Hamas security forces outside of the Gaza parliment building. That seems like its the very definition of civil war, but hey, I don't work for the NY Times.

As to recent claims that al Qaeda was responsible for the recent bomb attack on Palestine's intelligence chief, Fatah's al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade did what comes naturally to them. They blamed the Jews:
Fatah's armed wing, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, issued a statement in which they claimed that Israel was behind the growing tensions between the party and Hamas.

"There is no presence for al-Qaida in Palestine," the group said. "These are only Israeli claims. Israel and its agents are behind the recent confrontations in the Gaza Strip."

If you really want a laugh, take a look at the al Jazeera coverage of the incident. You can pretty much see see who's side they're on (although I suppose yesterday's torching of al Jazeera employee's cars doesn't help you get even-handed coverage):
Witnesses said the incident began when members of a Hamas militia came under fire and sought cover in an abandoned building.

The militiamen exchanged fire with those shooting at them, the witnesses said.

At one point, a Palestinian police car tried to approach, but was shot at. Ambulances raced to the scene.

Earlier on Monday, a Palestinian fighter was shot dead in clashes in the Gaza Strip despite pledges by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the Hamas-led government to avoid escalation of violence.

To paraphrase paleo-conservative John McLaughlin, "It looks like civiiiiiiillllll waaaaaaarrrrr!"
Sunday, May 21, 2006
 
Civil War in Palestine?
It looks like the shooting war between Hamas and Fatah is heating up. Some Fatah officials are clearly luckier than others. Interestingly, in the latter case--the bombing of the Palestinian intelligence chief Tareq Abu Rajab--a previously unknown group claiming to be affiliated with al Qaeda claimed responsibility.

Meanwhile, conservatives in the US aren't the only ones who think that al Jazeera is biased.

For a really good Westerner's view of life in West Bank, read this article by Michael Totten.
 
This Looks LIke Good News
It seems like an Iraqi unity government has been formed. Unfortunately, three keys posts, including defense and interior ministers, have not been filled yet. It is hoped that they will hammer out these positions over the course of this week.

Browsing through the pundit shows this morning, many people are urging an immediate US pullout. Bill Kristol rightly argues on Fox News that this is exactly the time when we have to support the new government and it would be quite cowardly to cut and run now.

Iraq has problems, there is no denying that. Chief among these problems are the prevalence of armed militias. On the other hand, the endless stream of bad news is not an accurate representation of day-to-day life there. Amir Taheri writes of the real Iraq here.
 
Don't Remind Me
So let's see. The Mets win a nail-biter on Friday beating the Yankee's Big Unit 7-6. And what happens last night? Pedro pitches his heart out and the Mets have a 4-0 lead when Willie Randolph puts in our $10 million closer Billy Wagner. He proceeds to give up four runs before being yanked. Jorge Julio then proceeds to give up the go ahead run. Loss to the Yankees 5-4. I still don't want to talk about it.

Tonight, Glavine faces Aaron Small in the rubber match. Click here for a preview.

In other sports news, Barbaro, the winner of the Kentucky Derby was severely injured in the Preakness and will probably never race again. (At least when you win the Derby, a horse has a good shot at getting to the stud farm). The unlikely Bernardini won the race. The longshot paid over $27.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
 
Wedding Bells

Not for Base10, though.Base10 has a wedding to attend, so posting will be light today.


Friday, May 19, 2006
 
Allahpundit is Back!
One of Base10's favorite bloggers--Allahpundit--appears to be back. Click here for the creator-of-worlds take on Iran's new law requiring Jews to wear little yellow Jew badges on their garments.

And click here for a very strange story about Lionel Richie.

We love Allah!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
 
Job Interview Update

The interview went pretty well (although Base10 has been wrong about these things before).

The same cannot be said for the Mets who tanked the rubber match against St. Louis 6-3. But fear not Met fans, the Phillies lost as well so we still maintain a two game division lead going into our weekend battle with baseball's evil overlords.

More later. Maybe.


 
Job Interview
It's a lovely day in Gotham and Base10 has a job interview in a couple of hours. Blogging will be light, but Base10 will try to get some entries in tonight.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
 
Well, That's It Then

Base10 taught his last class tonight for the semester. Whew! I will never underestimate the work of academics again.

But I did enjoy it. I think developing some expertise on the statutory scheme of information security can really pay off. Next time--assuming I teach next time--I think I'm going to cover mostly the statutory scheme and leave only a little bit to tech issues. But more on this over the summer.


 
Base10 Has Class
Base10 has to grade some papers and prepare for class tonight, so blogging will be light for the rest of the day. More tomorrow.
 
More Trouble in Palestine
The Hamas-led Palestinian government has fielded an armed security force in defiance of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
 
Da Vinci Coda?
This summer's much hyped blockbuster movie release--Ron Howard's film adaptation of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code--was greeted not with a bang but with a wimper at Cannes this week. Some critics called it a "stodgy, grim thing" and an "unwieldy, bloated puzzle."

Perhaps Catholic Church officials have nothing to worry about. Base10 tried to read the book, but in spite of its potboiler pace, put it down about halfway through. It was just too boring and derivative. Base10's impression of the book was--like many readers--that of a dumbed-down Umberto Eco novel. In what field is Robert Langdon a professor? Symbology? Isn't that supposed to semiotics? American audiences are perhaps unaware of such funny sounding words.

Ian McKellan, who co-stars in the film, condems the "snobs" that are criticizing the film and stated that Catholics should be glad that the movie expounds on the idea of a Jesus and Mary Magdalene marriage since it proves that Jesus wasn't gay. Well, what do you expect from Magneto?
 
NSA Data Mining
An interesting aspect of the "luds and tolls" NSA database story originating in USA Today has emerged. The original story claims that the NSA has pen register information obtained from Verizon, Bell South and AT&T. Both Verizon and Bell South have denied giving the NSA this information and further still, deny they were even asked.

This is a strange development. Perhaps it could identify the leaker, who I hope will spend many years in jail.
 
Who's the Best in the NL?

This certainly remains to be seen, but the no. 2 Mets beat no. 1 St. Louis 8-3 last night. Thew game was actually much closer since there was a long rain delay in the seventh and the Mets had just captured the lead. Glavine is now 6-2 and is tied for most wins in the league. Hurrah!

Tonight however, the Mets pitch Steve Trachsel, who is not quite as accomplished this season as Glavine.


Tuesday, May 16, 2006
 
Down Underneath the Brooklyn Bridge

img213, originally uploaded by base10blog.

Base10 took this photo a couple of months ago during his first experiments with Diafine. These little rooms are underneath the structure of the Bridge. Before 9/11, there was a plan to open up these stalls for commercial use.
Alas, after 9/11, that plan was scraped for fear one of the shops might become the Hamas Gun Powder Emporium.

Taken with the Bessa r3a and, I think, tri-x.


 
CUNY Moonbat Alert!
A fellow by the name of Nicholas Levis is appearing at CUNY to tell the truth about 9/11. Click here for the details. Why a publicly funded university should provide a forum to this conspiracy theorist is beyond me. How a Ph.D program (sociology, naturally) in a publicly funded university should sponsor the program is an even better question.

You know, I was going to rant a little more about this, but you just have to skim through this guy's website to see what kind of deranged, looney-left, blame America kind of guy he really is.

Note that the program is RSVP only. They must not have enough tin-foil hats to go around.
 
Mets News
Base10 is finally coming to terms with the Mets performance over the weekend, which can be described in one word: dismal. The Mets went 2-1 in their weekend series against Milwaukee. Sunday, in spite of the fact that Pedro Martinez struck out 10 batters and the Mets did manage to tie the game in the top of the ninth, they just couldn't get it done. Chad Bradford gave up a walk-off homer in the ninth.

Worse than that though was leaving in Jose Lima at the end of the fifth on Friday. Sitting on a 3-1 lead and frankly pitching masterfully, Lima ran out of steam, was unable to keep the ball over the plate and loaded the bases. He then gave up a three run double. The Brewers never looked back after that.

Just remember kids, although the Mets appear to have come down to earth, they are still no. 2 (nfortunately we're playing no. 1 tonight) in the National League, are atop the NL East and lead the Braves by 5 and 1/2 games. The bad news: the red hot Phillies are only one game back, so the Mets can't afford to totally tank this week. And all of this happens right before we face that other team up in the Bronx this weekend.

Tonight, Glavine is on the mound for the first game against St. Louis. Click here for a preview.
 
Immigration Reform
Base10 just missed the President's speech last night, but is catching the cable news saturation coverage today. Base10 has to say that he mostly agrees with the President. Among the more controversial proposals was the President's desire to deploy National Guard troops to the border to engage in support roles until 6,000 more Border Patrol agents can be trained.

Base10 thinks this is a sop to conservatives and will not have any real effect on border security. The real proposals are use of high-tech to improve border security coupled with a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for the illegals that are here.

Actually, the President should be congratulated for taking a middle path on a very contentious issue. Whether Congress will respond is another matter.

There were mostly negative reviews in National Review, but check out Victor Davis Hanson's comments:
The president's comprehensive proposals include something for everyone:

For the conservative base: tamper-resistant identity cards; the National Guard on the border; employer sanctions; and emphasis on assimilation.

Liberals applaud a sort of earned citizenship without forced deportations; and appreciate Kumbaya rhetoric.

Libertarians and employers get their guest-worker program.

Of course, for those very same reasons no group will be happy. Yet the president mapped out the middle ground that will probably form the parameters of all future debate.

But my own chief worry is that guest-workers will only perpetuate the problem by supplying a continual unassimilated, low-paid, and ultimately volatile underclass. And such a helot program (a cultural and social catastrophe in Europe) is, in fact, antithetical to many of the president's own proposals. Cheap labor will undermine the wages of the very illegal aliens that are granted residence while they apply for citizenship; it will continually provide the fuel for La Raza and Aztlan romance; and keep fresh the tired ethnic sloganeering and tribal activists who hate assimilation and would die on the vine without fresh victims of "exploitation"—while ensuring that Mexico gets its remittances and avoids reform by exporting its unwanted.

Second, there was nothing specific offered to match the rhetoric of assimilation. Why not introduce court-proof, English-only legislation that would return our federal documents to one language? Or at least proposals in our schools to emphasize the melting pot? Or new patriotic citizenship applications that emphasize English and knowledge and appreciation of American culture?

All in all, I think the speech was politically astute in its emphasis on "transition" and the evolving nature of his remedies, and, pace critics, will probably earn the president more supporters than detractors.

Any pundit who can work the word Helot into the political debate deserves to be applauded.
 
Signs of Panic in Palestine?
The AP is reporting that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the EU to "Give peace a chance" by resuming aid to the bloodthirsty terrorist organization Hamas that now controlls the Palestinian government. He threatens "dire consequences." Shouldn't it be obvious to the Palestinian people that if you vote a terrorist organization into power that the consequences might be dire?
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed Tuesday for the European Union to give the Hamas-led government a "chance to adapt" to international requirements and not cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority.

"Stopping assistance to the Palestinian Authority, cutting aid, will exacerbate the deteriorating economic and social situation," Abbas told the European Parliament.

Abbas said the cuts had left the Palestinians facing a "humanitarian catastrophe."

"I would like the mechanism approved ... last week implemented as soon as possible so we can avoid this catastrophe," Abbas told a news conference after the speech.

Abbas said he hoped to start a "national dialogue" in the next few days that could lead the Hamas government "to amend its platform" and conform with commitments to the peace process made by the previous Palestinian administration.

"Our approach needs the support of the international community," Abbas told the EU assembly. "The new government must be given the given the chance to adapt to the basic requirements of the international community."

Monday, May 15, 2006
 
Bonus Photo of the Day

juniperdiafine, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is a scene from Juniper Park. It was really a test shot. Tri-X rated at 400 ASA using Diafine to reduce contrast. It's not bad, but it's a little too grainy for my taste.

Taken with the tri-elmar and Bessa R3a.


 
Vacation Pics

lakegeorgefire, originally uploaded by base10blog.

While Mr. and Mrs. Base10 were up at the dude ranch at the end of the month, we stopped in Lake George to look around. It was very nice, although a lot of the stores were closed. Anyway, while we were there, there was a major structural fire on the main strip. An ice cream shop, I think.

Some of the locals told us that this was the third suspicious fire in as many months. One of the other fires involved the town's psychic reader. (Gee, you think she would have seen that comming).

Taken digitally with the Epson R-D1 and the tri-elmar.


 
Now I Should Believe It!
"Hugo Chavez Says Iran Not Seeking Nuclear Weapons" - Fox news.
 
Talk to Iran?
Surprisingly, Ralph Peters recommends that the US engage Iran in direct talks. I'm not sure if I agree with him, but he does make some good points:
We're missing a great opportunity (as we did with Castro, Hugo Chavez and others) to use open contact as a means to reach past vicious leaders to their people. If we appear rational and earnest, we encourage the Iranian opposition. But a public stance of pre-determined belligerence plays into the regime's hands.

As with Cuba, we've become prisoners of our own politics. Before we attack with military forces, we should bomb 'em with American culture, fanny-pack tourists and business deals.

For millions of Iranians, the pre-Khomeini days of warm relations with America have become a golden myth. There's tremendous latent goodwill toward us. Get those frequent-flyer shock troops in Brooks Brothers suits on the ground to make contact with the real resistance movement - the folks who want better lives for themselves and their kids.

Of course, whenever Ralph Peters agrees with Kofi Annan, something very strange is going on.

UPDATE: Christopher Hitchens weighs in on this issue in his usual, well-written, way.
 
The Doctor is In
Victo Davis Hanson notes what today's journalists would write if they were covering WWII.

After the debacles of February and March at Iwo Jima, and now the ongoing quagmire on Okinawa, we are asked to accept recent losses that are reaching 20,000 dead brave American soldiers and yet another 50,000 wounded in these near criminally incompetent campaigns euphemistically dubbed “island hopping.”

Meanwhile, we are no closer to victory over Japan. Instead, we are hearing of secret plans of invasion of the Japanese mainland slated for 1946 or even 1947 that may well make Okinawa seem like a cake walk and cost us a million casualties and perhaps involve a half-century of occupation. The extent of the current Kamikaze threat, once written off as the work of a “bunch of dead-enders,” was totally unforeseen, even though such suicidal zealots are in the process of inflicting the worst casualties on the U.S. Navy in its entire history.

Worse still, our sources in the intelligence community speak of a billion-dollar boondoggle now underway in the American southwest. This improbable “super-weapon” (with the patently absurd name “Manhattan Project” — in the midst of a desert no less!) promises in one fell swoop to erase our mistakes and give us instant deliverance from our blunders — no concern, of course, for the thousands of innocents who would be vaporized if such a monstrous fantasy bomb were ever actually to work.


I hate to criticize Dr. Hanson, but Zell Miller wrote a similar piece way back in '04.

It is nice to see that the good doctor has sufficiently recovered from his recent surgery to give us these terrific articles.
 
An Interesting Idea
Judge Posner has an interesting suggestion in the Journal today that the United States creat a domestic intelligence agency similar to the UK's MI5. He correctly points out that having the FBI--a law enforcement agency--in this role is not the optimal arrangement:
The British understand that a criminal-investigation culture and an intelligence culture don't mix. A crime occurs at a definite time and place, enabling a focused investigation likely to culminate in an arrest and conviction. Intelligence seeks to identify enemies and their plans before any crime occurs. It searches for terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. with no assurance of finding any. Hunting needles in a haystack is uncongenial work for FBI special agents. And so at the same time that the attorney general was testifying before Congress that the National Security Agency's intercepting some communications of U.S. citizens is essential to national security, leaks from inside the FBI revealed that special agents are disgruntled at having to chase down the leads furnished to them by NSA. FBI special agents--the bureau's only operations officers--want to make arrests, and so they zero in on animal-rights terrorists and ecoterrorists--people known to be committing crimes and therefore relatively easy to nail. These people are criminals and should be prosecuted, but as they do not endanger national security, prosecuting them should not be an intelligence priority.

It really is a good read.
 
Your Resignation is Accepted
Base10 is appalled by the hubris of the writer and more importantly, the hubris of the Boston Globe for publishing this stupid op-ed piece:
An open letter to William P. Leahy, SJ, president of Boston College.

DEAR Father Leahy,

I am writing to resign my post as an adjunct professor of English at Boston College.

I am doing so -- after five years at BC, and with tremendous regret -- as a direct result of your decision to invite Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the commencement speaker at this year's graduation.

Many members of the faculty and student body already have voiced their objection to the invitation, arguing that Rice's actions as secretary of state are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive.

Steve Almond


The article is longer than this, of course. God forbid an editorialist be brief while screaming hysterically that Bush/Cheney/Rice/Rumsfeld lieeeeeeeeed and got us involved in an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. It's all about the oil, after all. Blah. Blah. Blah.

And Mr. Almond is the author of such diverse works as My Life in Heavy Metal and Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America. Nothing against Almond, but his expertise is clearly not in foreign affairs, national security (or Jesuit theology, for that matter).

The guys over at Human Events are noting the job opening.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
 
Work, Work, Work...

Base10 is going to make this a study day, so he doubts he will be posting much. Once again, weather reports belied the fact that it's a beautiful day today.


Friday, May 12, 2006
 
Photo Stuff

As Base10 promised himself, he got a hundred feet of film during the week. Unfortunately, while Base10 located some old film cassettes, he could not find his old bulk film loader. So this afternoon, I moseyed (we retirees do a lot of moseying) down to the photo district and bought one.

It turned into a beautiful day. Weather forecasts last night predicted rain all day. While it did rain, the torrential downpours seem to have bypassed Gotham. I may burn through a couple of rolls of HP5 before I go home.

I've got a couple of rolls of 135 and a few rolls of 120 to develop so that should keep me busy for the rest of the afternoon.


 
Apologies
Base10 posted a bunch of photos from the beach yesterday and didn't notice that some were not rotated. The poor dough boy had to spend the night on his side. Not fair, I tell you. Anyway, that's all fixed.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
 
Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 5

Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 5, originally uploaded by base10blog.

And it seems to go on and on...



BTW, all photos taken with the R-D1 and a tri-elmar.


 
Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 4

Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 4, originally uploaded by base10blog.

But the beach is still pretty.


 
Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 3

Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 3, originally uploaded by base10blog.

Not even Connoly's is open yet...



And Bogiano's isn't even open yet. WTF?


 
Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 2

Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 2, originally uploaded by base10blog.

There are no beach crowds today. It's a blustery day here in Gotham.


 
Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 1

Liveblogging Rockaway, Pt. 1, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is actually Base10's first real retirement day--a day that I do not have to go to school. I decided to take a short excursion to Rockaway. This is the Rockaway Doughboy. There are, I believe, four of them in Queens. Perhaps one day I will do a retrospective.



Anyway, Base10 was pleased to discover that the Rockaway bus now makes some extra stops. This is very convenient if you want to stop at, say, Vincent's Clam Bar on the way back from the beach. W00t!


 
There Goes That Wacky Mahmoud Again!
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel "a tyrannical regime that one day will be destroyed."

Remember, the Washington Post thinks this guy speaks for the entire Muslim world.

You know it's about time the United Nations sent this guy a sternly worded letter.

Of course, last week, Israel reminded Iran that more than one country can be wiped off the map. And when Shimon Perez says something like that, Iranians should realize they are traveling down a very dangerous road.
 
A Paper Bear?
Russina President Vladimir Putin took a swipe at Vice-President Cheney yesterday. Cheney, you may recall, was critical of Russia's backsliding on democracy and using its oil and gas resources to promote its political agenda. According to the Sidney Morning Herald, Putin gave a speach to the Russian legislature:
Mr Putin noted in his speech that the American military budget was 25 times the size of Russia's and said the US had turned its home into a castle. "Good for them," the Russian President said, looking up from his notes, directly at his audience, "but this means we must make our own home strong and reliable. Because we see what is happening in the world. We see it."

Mr Putin said Russia had to resist foreign pressure by bolstering its army, which is currently a ragtag group of a million conscripts galvanised by special forces and nuclear weapons.

"We must always be ready to counter any attempts to pressure Russia in order to strengthen positions at our expense," he said. "The stronger our military is, the less temptation there will be to exert such pressure on us."

Some people are talking about this exchange as if it were a renewal of the Cold War. Of course, since countries with rapidly declining populations rarely make war or engage in arms races. I wouldn't take Putin too seriously.
 
Shocked, Shocked That There's Spying Going on in a Spy Agency!
A breaking story is out this morning about--shock of shocks--a spy agency is engaging in, well, spying. The NSA has compiled a database of phone calls made by US callers. This is not the content of the calls, but the record of one number dialing another.

This is called, in law enforcement circles, "ludds and tolls" meaning local usage details and toll calls. It is the record of calling that you made from your phone. Newsflash: you have no expectation of privacy in a phone number you dial (you're giving it to a third party), and it is well settled law. Indeed, for law enforcement officers to get these records, a warrant is not even required, merely a subpoena. Bottom line, what the NSA has done is NOT illegal.

The purpose of this program is obviously some type of data mining. Use statistical tools to find connections between callers to other callers, suspect locations, etc.

The news shows are making much of this, but it is seemingly a tempest in a teapot. Newt Gingrich just appeared on Fox News and suggested that the President go after this issue head on and challenge the Congress and the Democrats that, yes, we are doing this to protect the country. It is not illegal. It is not an invasion of privacy. Would you have us discontinue a useful program to track terrorists?

Indeed.
 
The Joy is Back in Flushing
Okay, after a little two-game losing streak (we'll call it a blip), the Mets came back last night and annihilated the Phillies 13-4. Ouch!

Tonight is the rubber match. Unfortunately, Trachsel is pitching so the game could last for like five or six hours. Click here for a preview.
 
An Interesting Suggestion
While silly Minutemen patrol the US-Mexican border and politically crazed local Arizona politicians use local laws to arrest illegal immigrants (possibly in violation of Federal law), Victor Davis Hanson may have come up with a solution.

The good doctor suggests ending remitances to Mexico. Think about it. People come here to work but they send a large part of their income back home to Mexico (between $10 and $15 billion per year--not exactly a small chunk of the Mexican economy). Limit remitances and you take away the incentive for crossing the border. This idea really could work in the conext of a gues-worker program--only allow legal guestworkers could send money back.

Cruel? Perhaps in the short term. But it would force Mexico to enact needed reforms to invigorate its economy. It's certainly an interesting suggestion.
 
Be Afraid, GOP!
When Peggy Noonan is critical of Republicans it is not time for the Republican leadership to take some time out and thoughtfully consider options to repair the base. On the contrary, it's time for Republican leaders to run out into the streets, throw up their arms and scream, "What have we done?"

I doubt that will happen. The GOP is quickly proving itself just as capable of losing elections as the Democratic Party. Check out Ms. Noonan's piece in the Journal:
Republicans inside and outside Washington are right when they say Republican leaders take a daily pounding in the press. They do. They're right when they say this causes attrition. It does. They're right when they say history handed the Republicans a unique challenge in 9/11 and after.
But it's also true that the administration and the Congress are losing their base, and it isn't because of the media. Republicans on the ground love to defy the MSM. When the media dislike their guy, they take it as proof their guy is good.

Of all the bad poll numbers for the Republicans, I think the worst is the right track/wrong track numbers, which continue to trend downward. A majority of the American people think we're on the wrong track. How can this be when the American economy is in a boom? When the Dow Jones Industrial Average is approaching its all-time high, when annual growth is almost 5%, when unemployment is low, and so is inflation? (People don't talk much about inflation anymore, but in the 1970s and early '80s it was the thief in the night that kept America sleepless. They could almost feel the worth of their savings going down with each tick of the clock. It was more disruptive, more damaging to a sense of security, than street crime. It is a an unnoticed achievement that it has been so low so long.)

How is this possible, indeed? Ms. Noonan concludes,
The oddest thing about Republicans and Democrats in power is that they always know the technical facts, always know about fund raising, always know what the national committee is saying about getting turnout. But so often they don't know the message or even have a message. Which is funny, because they're in the message business. They're like shoemakers who make pretty shoeboxes but forget to make the shoes.

Party leaders say they're aware they're in trouble, aware of a sense of stasis in the country. They are going to solve the problem, they say, by passing legislation. They're going to pass a budget. And they're going to pass an immigration bill, too. People will like that.

But no they won't. The American people are not going to say, "I am relieved and delighted our Congress passed a budget." They will be relieved and delighted if Congress cuts spending. They would be relieved and delighted if Congress finally took responsibility for the nation's borders. They won't be impressed if you just pass bills and call it progress.

Party leaders are showing a belief in process as opposed to a belief in, say, belief. But belief drives politics. It certainly drives each party's base.

One gets the impression party leaders, deep in their hearts, believe the base is . . . base. Unsophisticated. Primitive. Obsessed with its little issues. They're trying to educate the base. But if history is a guide, the base is about to teach them a lesson instead.

If Howard Dean wrote this you'd dismiss him as a hack. When Peggy Noonan writes this, it is time to sit up and take notice.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
 
More News on the Economy
Let's see:

Is it just me? This is the economic equivalent of hitting the cycle. Why does the president receive no credit whatsoever for any of this?

Robert Samuelson has an interesting take in the Washington Post. I don't always agree with Samuelson, but he seems to have hit it on the head:
Ours is a post-affluent society. Because so much previous suffering and social conflict stemmed from poverty, the advent of widespread affluence suggested utopian possibilities. Up to a point, affluence succeeds. There is much less physical misery than before. People are better off. Unfortunately, affluence also creates new complaints and contradictions.

Advanced societies need economic growth to satisfy the multiplying wants -- public and private -- of their citizens. The social order depends on it. But the quest for growth unleashes new anxieties and economic conflicts that disturb the social order. Affluence liberates the individual, promising that everyone can choose a "unique way to self-fulfillment," writes historian Avner Offer. But the promise is so extravagant that it preordains many disappointments and sometimes inspires choices that have antisocial consequences, including family breakdown and obesity. Statistical indicators of happiness, Offer notes, have not risen with incomes.

 
Cable Update
Readers yesterday may have read about Base10's recent acquisition of cable television. It's great, but I have several observations, so far:
  1. Star Trek, in one of its various incarnations, is on at least one channel all the time. This is a good thing.

  2. Video-on-Demand is a really great idea. No more renting movies.

  3. No matter how many channels you have, it is still possible that nothing is on.

  4. Except for a couple of good series and a great made-for-cable movie now and again, most programs on the Sci-Fi Channel feature giant man-eating insects.

  5. Watching cable news 24/7 can actually get boring.

Seriously, my next purchase is a Slingbox. How cool is that?
 
Don't Get Greedy!
The Mets lost a brutal matchup against the Phillies last night 5-4. Pedro pitched well (10 k's) but still gave up three runs. The Mets did come back to tie the game in the 8th. However, opting not to close with Wagner, Randolph let Heilman close. Heilman loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth and gave up the winning run on a fielding error.

It's a shame. Getting your butt kicked is one thing and tends to bring the team down to earth. Losing this type of game, well, it hurts more when you have victory in your grasp. Fear not though, Mets fans. We are still the best team in the National League and No. 2 in all of baseball. Although Philly is hot, they are still three games back. Don't get over confident! Don't commit the sin of hubris!

Doubly disapointing is that the Yankees got beat, too, losing 14-3. As every Met fan knows, there is nothing more gratifying than a Mets win coupled with the Yankees getting spanked by the 'Sox.

Glavine is on the mound tonight. Click here for a preview.
 
UN Sets the Standard in Human Rights Oversight
In typical United Nations fashion, the UN elected Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia to the new Human Rights Council.

Good job, UN! Remember this is a new UN body that replaces the ineffective Human Rights Commission. Base10 is sure this new body will do a much better job.

To review the human rights record of Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia, click the following links:

Cuba.

China.

Saudi Arabia.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
 
Cable TV and Ramsey Clark
Base10 finally left the ranks of the Luddites and finally went and got cable television. Where Base10 lives, there are only two options: Time-Warner and RCN. Base10 opted for RCN, mainly because RCN carries the NFL Network while TW does not (at least not yet). Curiously, RCN doesn't have NY1--a mainstay for local news and politics--but this wasn't enough to deter Base10. Base10 also got the internet service along with cable. It's pretty good, but I got the slow plan and can see myself upgrading to the faster 10 Mps option (they even offer a 20Mps option, but I wonder how they can do that) in the near future. So far, so good, but I can't get rid of the DSL until I figure out what to do with my existing email address. Heck, I may even start hosting again.

Now I can be a newshead full-time! You know, flipping from CNN to Fox catching the saturation coverage of the latest trivial story. Base10's loss is of course his readers's gain. If he didn't have cable he would have missed this story. Communist sympathizer and former Johnson administration official Ramsey Clark showed once again that he is every dictator's best friend. He, of course, accused the US of rigging Saddam's trial and bemoaned its lack of "fairness." I quote:
Saddam's trial on charges of crimes against humanity was "a direct threat to international law, the United Nations, universal human rights and world peace," Clark said at a news conference. He demanded that proceedings be transferred from the Iraqi Special Tribunal to a new court that could work independently, free of prejudice.

Clark, who was attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson from 1967-1969, said the United States wanted the trial to "vindicate its invasion, to validate its occupation, and to make the world believe that the Iraqi people demanded that Saddam Hussein and leaders in his government be executed."

Clark has become known for his radical left-wing politics and for defending controversial figures, including ousted Liberian leader Charles Taylor, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in April, and Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a leader in the Rwandan genocide.

Saddam's trial has been rocked by the murders of two defense lawyers and one judge. It is currently adjourned until May 15 but Clark said the defense would seek at least another month to review documents.

So far in the trial, he said Saddam's defense lawyers have been denied exculpatory documents and evidence, as well as witnesses statements and court transcripts.

The judges have either been Kurds or Shi'ites, and the defendants with one or two exceptions Sunnis, he said. "It's a sectarian persecution, if you will."

Clark said a fair trial in the midst of such widespread violence sweeping the country was impossible.

Well, I guess that's what you get when you agree to defend a homicidal maniac. Saddam should get as much consideration as he gave the 148 people he massacred. I'm glad Mr. Clark is so worked up. Maybe he should go complain to his friends a the WWP and ANSWER. Maybe they could organize some protests in opposition to the actions of the Iraqi government. Hey, now they can!
 
Haven't We Heard All This Before?
Who is the one person in the world that, if they offered to give you advice on Iran, you should do the exact opposite? You guessed it, Zbigniew Brzezinski, the failed National Security Advisor under Jimmy Carter. Mr. Appeasement wrote an op-ed in in the LA Times and I quote:
[A]n attack on Iran would be an act of political folly, setting in motion a progressive upheaval in world affairs. With the U.S. increasingly the object of widespread hostility, the era of American preponderance could even come to a premature end. Although the United States is clearly dominant in the world at the moment, it has neither the power nor the domestic inclination to impose and then to sustain its will in the face of protracted and costly resistance. That certainly is the lesson taught by its experiences in Vietnam and Iraq.

Even if the United States is not planning an imminent military strike on Iran, persistent hints by official spokesmen that "the military option is on the table" impede the kind of negotiations that could make that option unnecessary. Such threats are likely to unite Iranian nationalists and Shiite fundamentalists because most Iranians are proud of their nuclear program.

Military threats also reinforce growing international suspicions that the U.S. might be deliberately encouraging greater Iranian intransigence. Sadly, one has to wonder whether, in fact, such suspicions may not be partly justified. How else to explain the current U.S. "negotiating" stance: refusing to participate in the ongoing negotiations with Iran and insisting on dealing only through proxies. (That stands in sharp contrast with the simultaneous U.S. negotiations with North Korea.)

The U.S. is already allocating funds for the destabilization of the Iranian regime and reportedly sending Special Forces teams into Iran to stir up non-Iranian ethnic minorities in order to fragment the Iranian state (in the name of democratization!). And there are clearly people in the Bush administration who do not wish for any negotiated solution, abetted by outside drum-beaters for military action and egged on by full-page ads hyping the Iranian threat.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the title of the article strike you as particularly ironic--"Been There, Done That"--in light of Brzezinski's abject failure to deal with the Iranian regime in the 80's?

Well, others are critical. Amir Taheri writes in the Opinion Journal and reminds us of just how abject a failure Carter and Brzezinski's policies toward Iran were:
In 1979, soon after the mullahs seized power, Mr. Carter sent Ayatollah Khomeini a warm congratulatory letter. Mr. Carter's man at the U.N., a certain Andrew Young, praised Khomeini as "a 20th-century saint." Mr. Carter also tapped his closest legal advisor, the late Lloyd Cutler, as U.S. ambassador to the mullarchy.

A more dramatic show of U.S. support for the mullahs came when Mr. Brzezinski flew to Algiers to meet Khomeini's prime minister, Mehdi Bazargan. This was love at first sight--to the point where Mr. Carter approved the resumption of military supplies to Iran, even as the mullahs were executing Iranians by the thousands, including many whose only "crime" was friendship with the U.S. The Carter administration's behavior convinced the mullahs that the U.S. was a paper tiger and that it was time for the Islamic Revolution to highlight hatred of America. Mr. Carter reaped what he had sown when the mullahs sent "student" fanatics to seize the U.S. embassy compound, a clear act of war, and hold its diplomats hostage for 444 days. "The Carter administration's weakness was a direct encouragement to [anti-American] hard-liners," wrote Ibrahim Asgharzadeh, one of the hostage-takers, years later.

Mr. Brzezinski's op-ed took the title "Been There, Done That," meant as a sneering nod to events that led to the liberation of Iraq. A more apt title, however, is: "Been There, Done That, Learned Nothing"--a nod to Mr. Brzezinski's failure to learn the lessons of Iran even three decades later.

 
Fa Loves Pa
"Dolphins, like humans, recognize names" - Reuters.
Monday, May 08, 2006
 
Will Democrats Take Over the House?
The short answer, probably not.

John Fund has an interesting article in the Journal today about Republican prospects for losing the House. To quote:
Despite such [bad GOP poll] numbers, analysts caution that a GOP wipeout in November is unlikely. Polls of generic support for the major parties are notoriously unreliable as a predictor. In 1996, Democrats enjoyed a 14-point advantage over Republicans in congressional races only two months before the election. In the end, they gained only nine seats, and that was before sophisticated gerrymandering dramatically shrank the number of competitive districts and after Republicans won some heavily Democratic districts in 1994. Jonathan Last, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, also reminds us that "Democrats have shown time and again that they can blow a lead like nobody's business."

The House is the Republicans to lose. Let's hope they wake up. We need realistic immigration reform. We need spending discipline. We need permanent tax cuts. Otherwise, the GOP will be putting the can in Republican.
 
Retirement
Retirement is settling in, but Base10 is still getting used to it. Pluses: not having to get up and go to work in the morning. And much less snacking like I would do at work. Minuses: not having to get up and go to work in the morning. And daytime television. The jury is still out.

I want to write something about my time with the Department. (Notice I did not use the NYPD Blue popularized phrase, On the Job). Not a memoir, really. More a reflection on twenty years there and my impressions of New York's history during that time. Just a thought, but it is not something I can really dash off. Maybe after finals.

What about Base10's secret identity? Well, Base10 isn't off the books, as it were, until the end of June and doesn't preclude the possibility of going back if his job prospects fall through. Base10 is unwilling to burn bridges until then, and possibly not until he gets a firm offer about his new job. But this will be soon.
 
Put the Brooms Away, For Now
The Mets lost like pigs to Atlanta yesterday losing 13-3 against a great performance by John Smoltz on three days rest. The Mets brought up Jose Lima to pitch but he didn't last long into the game. The game itself was a bizarre affair that included a badly called balk on Lima, a double caused by the ball hitting an inattentive ball boy (who would want that job title?) and a Lo Duca and Cox ejection.

You didn't really think they would sweep, did you? Don't complain, Mets fans. We are still 21-10 and ahead of Atlanta by eight games. The Mets now face a tough road trip. The face a real challenge this week against the suddenly red-hot Phillies, then a three-game series against Milwaukee, then a three-gamer against St. Louis. Only then do the Mets return home to face--you guessed it--the Yankees!

And the Mets face all this during challenging times of their own. Victor Zambrano is out for the season after hurting a tendon in his elbow. Meanwhile Bannister is already on the DL with a strained hammy, and John Maine is also out for a while with a broken blood vessel in one of his pitching fingers. The Mets brought up Lima, who has had some good starts as well as Bartolome Fortunato. Scheduled in this week is Pedro, Glavine and Trachsel.

The first challenge of the season then is to patch to gether the starting rotation. We're two guys short, and Willie Randolph is stubbournly refusing to consider Heilman for one of the slots.

The boys are off today. See you on Tuesday night.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
 
Joy of Joys!

The Mets dispatched Atlanta this afternoon after the oft-maligned Kaz Matsui hit a two-run double. Although the Braves made some noise in the ninth with Jorge Julio on the mound (and don't say you were completely confident in that one), the Mets won 6-5. They are now 21-9.

The extra special bit this weekend's 14 inning marathon last night. (Base10 must admit that he crapped out in the 12th). It used to be that the Mets lost games like that... In any event, we have taken two series (and lost one) against the Braves so far. Sweet.


 
War's Over--We're All Just Folk Now

Base10 will have more words about retirement soon--maybe tomorrow. He must admit, that it still hasn't completely sunk in. But he's gone, and any more visits to the workplace will be as a guest.

In case you can't place the above title, it's a line from "Serenity" and it's sort of like how I feel.


Friday, May 05, 2006
 
Misrepresenting the Economy
The AP is unbelievable. Check out this headline:
"Payrolls Grow Smallest Amount Since Oct." - AP.

Here's the first paragraph:
New hiring slowed significantly in April as employers added just 138,000 people to their payrolls, the slowest pace of job growth in six months. The overall unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent.

Dude, unemployment is at 4.7%. Up until a few years ago, nobody though unemployment under 5% was even possible. The fact that new job creation slowed slightly might be indicative that the economy is at full employment.

Consider the next two paragraphs:
The latest snapshot of labor market activity, released by the Labor Department on Friday, also showed a sharp jump in workers' wages, which is sure to raise inflation fears.

Wages grew by 3.8 percent over the last year, the biggest 12-month gain since August 2001.

The headline makes the reader think the economy is doing poorly, but it's actually so hot that inflationary fears are being raised by economists. True, no? Yes, but buried at the end of the article:
The report comes as analysts expect the economy to log slower growth in the April-to-June quarter, predicting it will expand by about 3 percent. Such growth would mark a moderation from the brisk 4.8 percent pace registered in the January-to-March period but would still be considered healthy.

Actually it would be twice as high as the historical average growth of the US economy, not just healthy.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
 
This is Interesting
Did you know that the Saudi Arabian stock market is down 40% since February in the worst crash in its short history? This seems anomalous when oil dollars are flowing into the economy and presumably are increasing capital investment. Curious indeed.
 
AP Alternative Reality
Only in AP-land is getting your client life imprisonment without the possibility of parole defined as "success:"
The jury rejected two key defense arguments — that Moussaoui suffers a mental illness and that executing him would make him a martyr. No jurors indicated on the verdict form that they gave any weight to those arguments.

Nine jurors found that Moussaoui suffered a difficult childhood in a dysfunctional family where he spent many of his early years in and out of orphanages. Three found that Moussaoui only played a minor role in the attacks.

In their successful defense of Moussaoui, defense lawyers overcame the impact of two dramatic appearances by Moussaoui himself — first to renounce his four years of denying any involvement in the attacks and then to gloat over the pain of those who lost loved ones.

 
Victory, Again!

The Mets won last night in extra innings after blowing a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth. Billy Wagner just couldn't get the job done. However, the rest of the bullpen pulled it out and Delgado scored a walk-off homer in the bottom of the twelfth. Final: 4-3. It's terrible to contemplate the loss of a game that you led for eight innings after a terrific Pedro Martinez outing. But thems' are the breaks. Base10 can't wait for tonight. Glavine pitches tonight.


 
Mouse Gets Life

Zacarias Moussaoui will not be executed for his role in 9/11. So ruled a jury yesterday.

It's easy to be vengeful and wish the guy dead. But the more I think about it, the more I think the life sentence is appropriate.

First, it demonstrates to the Arab world that Americans are not blood-thirsty vengeance seekers. He was brought before a court of law and sentenced. He was not sentenced to death. The criminal justice system should not be used for political purposes. But here, the result might just help American cred a bit.

Second, Mouse was not a top-level player. His claims during his testimony were hateful, but not credible. He was at most a minor functionary and was not perhaps the best first candidate for the death penalty in the 9/11 case. Spending his life in prison, he will live his future like he lived his past--a tiny little al Qaeda piss ant. No martyrdom material here.


 
Base10's Agenda

Base10 is of to work on a beautifully mild spring day here in Gotham. It looks like he won't be writing those words much longer. Today and tomorrow are my last working days. They will be spent, mostly, on cleaning up the crap I've accumulated over a twenty-two year career.

Tonight? Maybe the Met game? I don't know yet.


Tuesday, May 02, 2006
 
What Should I Do Over the Summer?
Base10 is contemplating his summer. Worst-case scenario: Base10 takes his comps on June 8th and June 29th. He then has July and August off before he (hopefully) starts his new job. (More on this later when it becomes official). Two whole months in the summer. Base10 cannot remember the last time he had an entire summer off and did not have to go to work or go to school.
Some ideas so far:
  1. Take some photography courses at the International Center for Photography. They offer some pretty neat courses, particularly one in large format that I'd like to take.

  2. Go somewhere to take pictures. There are dozens of photography workshops where a trip is combined with refining your technique. (Pay particular attention to the lingerie photography workshops. It's all for the sake of art)!

  3. Go to Rockaway and drink beer take pictures on the beach every day. Okay, let me amend that. Ride my bike to Rockaway every day to get back in shape. Then drink beer take pictures.

Base10 will consider any idea. Please vote on the above or add some new suggestions in the comments.
 
Usage on the Left
When did the phrase illegal immigrant or indeed just immigrant become migrant in modern press usage? Check out this article from the AP (emphasis added in both passages):
As temperatures rise, the U.S. Border Patrol and aid groups are gearing up for what they fear could be one of the deadliest summers for migrants sneaking into the United States. The U.S. Senate is debating a bill that could lock the border tighter than ever, and activists fear the flow of migrants is moving to an even hotter and more remote section of desert than the current favorite, an area south of Tucson, Ariz., where hundreds of people have died since 1994.

And consider this passage:
In southern Arizona, Border Patrol agents routinely run across people vomiting uncontrollably in the summer heat, their skin clammy, their eyes glazed over, said Aerr Eltringham, a Border Patrol spokesman in Tucson. Some migrants are found dead.
On a recent afternoon, agents for the Mexican government's Grupo Beta aid group distributed pamphlets to migrants preparing to cross. The pamphlets recommend carrying plenty of water, food and salt, and advise migrants to keep their clothing on to avoid dehydration and sunburn. If the heat gets to be too much, the pamphlets advise setting a fire to summon rescuers.

When did this new usage begin? Why use the word migrant as opposed to immigrant? The American Heritage Dictionary (wait, perhaps we're not allowed to quote from that in this debate) defines migrant as "a worker who travels from one area to another in search of work" while it defines immigrant as "one who enters and settles in a foreign country." The latter term defines the individual in terms of his movement from nation to nation, the former defines him or her in terms of their economic motivation. I'm not saying one term describes the phenomenon better than the other, but I don't ever remember the migrant word being widely used when describing illegal border crossings from Mexico. I have an AP style guide at work and I'll check it on Thursday. Base10 doesn't like this sort of thing. It reeks of newspeak and is doubleplusungood.
 
Another Dude Ranch Picture

ridinhy, originally uploaded by base10blog.

Here's the entrance to Brokeback Mountain Ridin-Hy Ranch. Note the wooden horsey and bear.Taken digitally with the Epson RD-1 and a tri-elmar,


 
The Enterprise Veers to the Left
A recent link over at NRO suggests that Ben Affleck may be portaying Capt. Kirk in the newly proposed Star Trek prequel.

Jonah Goldberg says,
"Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!"
 
Foreign Policy Laughs
Sen. Joe Biden has proposed partitioning Iraq into three main areas: the Sunni west, the Shiite south and the Kurd north, and forming a loose coalition of these areas. Sounds like a plan. A stupid plan, but a plan none the less.

Sen. Biden, I know how hard it is for senators to do this, but be quiet for five minutes. This is a dumb idea. Autonomous regional control would embolden Iranian supported Shiite militias to seize control of the south and radical Sunnis to seize control of the west perhaps shaping it into a new Taliban-run Afghanistan. While a Kurd state would probably not hurt US interests, it would alienate Turkey--presumably a US ally. If this is meant as a way to light a fire under the new Iraqi government, then perhaps the suggestion has its place. If this is a serious foreign policy proposal, Joe Biden should give up all presidential aspirations.

The LA Times, of course, shows its colors in its lede:
Three years after President Bush declared beneath a "mission accomplished" banner that major combat had ended in Iraq, a leading Senate Democrat on Monday suggested the creation of separate, autonomous regions for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds to counter continuing ethnic and religious violence.

Shouldn't the Iraqis decide on their own government? Wasn't that the point of all of this? Biden's proposal is little more than a modern day Munich agreement.
 
How Sweet It Is!
The Mets won another game last night after a walk-off run scored on an Washington Nationals error in the bottom of the ninth. The game was actually pretty tough and was tied 1-1 into the ninth. Victor Zambrano actually gave a pretty good performance for a change. Perhaps he's been reading the blogs. Final: 2-1.

To make things even a little sweeter, the Yankess lost to the Red Sox last night 3-7 largely on a three run homer by Yankee-killer David Ortiz. The best part about that game, of course, was the warm welcome given Johnny Damon by the Fenway crowd who did such things as throw dollar bills onto the field and don tee-shirts that read:
Johnny Damon:
Looks Like Jesus
Acts Like Judas
Throws Like Mary.

Tough crowd. But nothing is better than a Mets win coupled with a Yanks loss to Boston. Base10 will be watching tonight.

The Mets pitch John Maine tonight, bringing him up from Norfolk to replace Brian Bannister who is on the DL. Click here for a preview.
Monday, May 01, 2006
 
Immigrant's Day

Today, activists are urging immigrants to not go to work or school and boycott legitimate businesses in a show of "solidarity" in the face of those who would take away their rights as citizens--oh wait, I might have gotten a bit mixed up there.

Surprisingly, teacher's unions are urging that students who walk out of school not face discipline. One wonders what they are trying to teach.

It is coincidence, of course, that this event coincides with May Day, the international day of homage by the extreme left to the time when communist workers rule the world.

Base10 thinks this should become a national holiday. Immigrant's Day. Every year, if you are an immigrant or are related to one you can have the day off from work or school. The only people that would get screwed out of a day off would be Native Americans, Inuits and Hawaians. They'd have to report for work, of course. Talk about a proposal that would have broad-based support!


 
How 'Bout Them Jets!
While Base10 was in the far away mountains, the NFL was having its draft. Base10 did manage to catch some of it. Anyway, Gang Green seems to have done pretty well. Massive offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson was taken with the fourth pick overall. On top of that, the Jets took another lineman with the 29th pick overall: Nick Mangold is a center who may wind up with the team for the next decade. The Jets also took Kellen Clemens, a QB out of Oregon in the second round.

I liked the Jets draft. They took players to fill glaring needs. At the begining of the off-season, Base10 knew that the line was the key to success for the team. It is easy for team management to take the popular pick. They could have taken Matt Leinart and had back cover stories for months. Instead they chose two linemen in the first round whose names many fans will never learn. But these players will be around for ten years and will creat a quality line that can protect a quarterback as well as open up the running game. They may not be flashy, but they show that Mangini and Tannenbaum are determined to make the hard decisions to move the team forward in the long term. With a tandem like that on the line, can you imaging what they will be like next year? We know we have long term issues at QB and RB. These picks went a long way to solving them.
 
How 'Bout Them Mets!
The Mets finally won a series in Atlanta. That's nice, but it's a shame that Trachsel pitched so poorly yesterday. Mets lose 5-8. Just remember, the team is still 16-8 and six games ahead of Atlanta. That is something to take away from a long road trip.

The weekness of the Mets just now seems to be the starters. Trachsel and Zambrano are obviously inconsistent. I won't say weak, since they are both capable of pitching gems. The good news is that you have Heilman who is certainly capable of starting. (Indeed, you could have made the argument last year that he should have been starting instead of Zambrano). But Willie Randolph seems to be determined to leave this kid in the bullpen for some reason.

Mets face Washington tonight in a two-game series, Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday and Atlanta again over the weekend, but this time at home in Shea. And remember, right now, we don't suck.
 
The Retired Life, Sort of...
Well, Base10 is letting it sink in. It is, after all, a big step. And I have until June 30th to change my mind. But it's done.

I will likely be starting a new job in August (more posting on that when it's oficial). And between now and then, Base10 will reveal his secret identity. It's time to give up the masked-superhero crime fighting and give it to the next generation.

Anyway, Base10 spent a long weekend up at the Ridin-Hy Ranch in the Adirondacks. It is beautiful country. However, Base10's sinuses felt like they were going to explode all weekend. Nice scenery, but please, let's get back to an urban environment where there are no stinkin' trees already. Seriously though, the place is very nice and Base10 recommends it. Here is the view from the room where Mr. and Mrs. Base10 was staying:
lakesherman
Nice scene to wake up to, non?

Base10 still has some stuff to do this week. He must go in on Thursday and Friday to clean out his stuff. And he promised work on one final project before he leaves. After that, his student and teaching duties last until May 24 followed by comprehensive exams in economics in middle and late June. After that, Base10 will be spending many days on the beach at Rockaway.

Base10 got some other good shots and will be posting them in the coming days.

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