Germany 2006 Starts Here: Tough Draw

The draw for next year's World Cup Finals was held. And we got hosed. The always nasty Italians, a robust Ghanian squad, and the Czech Republic (who, on their day, are the most attractive European team going in terms of style of play). Meanwhile England and the German hosts (hmmmmm) receive groups that could be charitably described as "cake".

I'm already fired up for this - I love international footballsoccerFUTBOL tournaments, though for whatever reason, the European Championships tend to have better games.

Update: Victoria has thoughts on the draw.

Further Thoughts on Miami Airport Shooting

Skepticism about whether Alpizar ever claimed to have a bomb is emerging from passengers from the plane. This doesn't really change my view of the incident for two reasons: first, there remains significant disagreement as to what actually occured on the plane itself. Eyewitness testimony not especially reliable in these sorts of incidents (past recollection of the same event witnessed under stress vary greatly from person to person). Second, there is still this account of what occured on the jetway:

After running from the plane, Alpizar . . . turned in the jetway, walked menacingly toward the agents and reached into his backpack, police said. Marshals stepped back before firing at Alpizar, who died at the scene, police said.

which has yet to be seriously disputed. You do not "shoot for the trigger finger" in this situation, you aim center-mass. Perhaps non-lethal means could have been used, but that sort of Monday morning quarterbacking assumes knowledge that the marshals could not have had at the time.

This incident not withstanding, I still think I'd rather have trained law enforcement personnel on planes than not. Though it is always appropriate to investigate whether the procedures and training can be improved in light of recent events. Otherwise, I stand by my earlier thoughts.

(Links via: Liberal Serving)

How to Handle the Holiday Cheer

Frankie, not relaxed, does her part to spread the joy...Quite possibly post of the month. NSFW if work frowns upon laughter.

Weekly DogBlog

Tige-in-Boots

Quick Musings: In Which Pooh Links to Fox News with Approval. Twice.

• Fletch links to yet another post that shows that fanboi's (myself most definitely included) have thought much more about the Lost premise than have the show's creators. Professor Paul Horwitz decries the show's use of the "Idiot Plot". I think he's wrong in that since no one has actually shared any of the weird things that have happened to them individually, they can't really have a sense of the magnitude of the weirdness. Plus, Jack already thinks Locke is crazy, and Locke knowing this is unlikely to share the fact that his legs do not function in real life. (Not sayng that the island is purgatory. I would never suggest that. I think the whole thing being one of Walt's comic books, ala St. Elsewhere is more likely, but I digress.)

• At FoxNews, The Agitator, Radley Balko, takes on Congress for taking on sports: "McCain . . . says the federal government needs to regulate professional boxing because the sport is hopelessly corrupt. That may well be. But then, so is Congress." Ouch. My thoughts, more or less exactlty.

• The Sawx officially need a shortstop. Miguel Tejada, yasay? (For Manny? Not Sure I'd do it.) The MFY's have responded to the Bosmos and Mets moves by offering arbitration to Bernie Williams's corpse and reportedly signing the terrifying Mike Myers to a 2 year deal. The Geezeman agrees with Simmons about the Rocket.

• The Onion. Genius. A rift within U2? W. hearing voices? Tell me more!

• Positve FoxNews item #2: Israel provides an example? Discussing Sharon and Peres's formation of the centrist Kadima party perhaps "[i]ts impact may reverberate in unexpected ways across the ocean — Sharon’s action provides a powerful example of how centrist politics might evolve in the U.S. if the moderate majority in this country continues to be held hostage by professional partisans on the left and right."

• Matt Yglesias wonders why all the Yao bashing. Just compare him to Ewing. To my mind, the fact that the comparison is apt justifies any and all Yao-bashing, though Mama Yao's son will never be a HoF all-ugly team member.

• Normal service returning. In a completely fair and balanced manner, FoxNews assumes the conclusion: "PBS Continues Probe Into Biased Film". Though there is good reason to believe that like a stopped clock at noon, Fox is right on this one. Cathy Young explains.

• Dangers of following blind links. Definitely NSFW. Well depends on where you work. But absolutely terrifying. Josh, I nominate this for December.

Air Marshall Shooting: What Else Could Have Happened?

This is tragic:

American Flight 924, scheduled to leave Miami for Orlando, yesterday afternoon when Alpizar, a Florida resident traveling with his wife, said he had a bomb in his carry-on bag, federal officials said. Alpizar had arrived in Miami from Quito, Ecuador, earlier that day and had stopped in Miami to board the second leg of his trip to Orlando, federal officials said.

Several witnesses said they saw Alpizar run from his seat near the back of the plane to the front toward the cockpit, where air marshals confronted him. [A Passenger], who said she was aboard the flight, said she saw the man identified as Alpizar run up the aisle, and he appeared to be panicked, she told WTVJ-TV in Miami. As he ran, his wife screamed "My husband! My husband!" and said that her husband was bipolar and had not taken medicine, Gardner told the television station.

Officials with the marshal program said two agents, whom they did not identify, confronted Alpizar in the jetway as he left the plane. Officials did not disclose how many shots were fired or where Alpizar was hit. They said the marshals were being interviewed.

Some reports have stated that Alpizar reached for the bag which he had claimed contained a bomb. At this point, what else can an air marshall do? I think so much of the whole terror alert stuff is largely cosmetic. The one aspect that actually makes me feel safer is the presence of air marhsall's on planes. However, some of the chest-thumping reaction strikes me as unseemly:

"This shows that the program has worked beyond our expectations," said Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House transportation subcommittee on aviation. "This should send a message to a terrorist or anyone else who is considering disrupting an aircraft with a threat."

The man was bipolar and off his meds. He had no bomb. At this point, there is no connection to a larger plot or any threat to national security. His death (and that of Jean Charles de Menezes in London in July) should not be celebrated as any sort of triumph over terrorism. They are casualties as surely as if they had been caught in an suicide bomber's explosion.



Update 12/8: Victoria liveblogged the whole thing over at Sundries. Some info I didn't have, and also an interesting look at how breaking news actually breaks. (link via:Kierkegaard)

BosMos Update

Loretta for Mirabelli? Like it, though it does give us two possible 'roid tainted infielders (Lowell being the other. I don't know anything about Loretta, but the "Huge '04 followed by terrible/injury riddled '05" is a red flag in my (and many other) book) Always worrisome. Not really losing a lot with Mirabelli. He's a nice enough player, but its put up or shut up time for Kelly Shoppach, and he's cheaper.

Next, there is the rumor that Renteria might be getting dealt. At 3 years and $30 mil left, I'm fine with that, thought makes we wish we still had Hanley Ramirez a little.

Finally, somebody is a free agent. Time heals all wounds...(well, maybe not for Simmons. I'm just tossing it out there...

En Fuego

I have to say, Publius at Legal Fiction has been on fire this week. A string of thoughtful, articulate posts. (Bias warning : he is a big L Liberal. Probably far to my left, and though I tend to agree with much of what he says, I think we differ in many areas: specifically, I think us getting our shit together in Iraq is possible, he doesn't.)

I'm Annoyed...

Since I started blogging about non-trivial things a few months ago, it's been a largely positive experience. Today was, to some degree, the first instance of "Bad Times" I've had. Not to put too fine a point on it, I got sucked in by a troll. Commenting on this post at Althouse, concerning a case recently argued in front of SCOTUS. (The case concerned the Salomon Amendment, which conditions funding to universities on law schools allowing military recruiters access to on-campus interviewing. To my mind, an interesting but not doctrinealy difficult application of Congress's spending power. It's also a stupid law, as it's based on upholding the worst-of-all-worlds "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. But stupid does not neccesarily equal unconstitutional, but I digress.)

Unsurprisingly, the issue involving gay rights, the discussion became heated. Unfortunately, my particular antagonist's first few points had seemed (nay, had been) reasonable. So I attempted to engage in rational debate well beyond the time at which it should have been obvious that such debate was not to happen. And then just as I decided I was done with the discussion, I get called out as a right-wing, homophobic bigot. Now, any regular reader of this blog knows the first charge is baseless, so I shrugged it off. But the 'bigot' bit cheesed me off. Anyone who knows me knows taht I'm never one to back down from verbal fisticuffs (and have probablycertainly incited a few brawls myself...) However, I tried to restrain myself perhaps because of this discussion at Cathy Young's place, and also because this was simply a no-win situation.

After calming down a bit (thanks Frankie), I realised that even today has been a 'net positive, if you'll pardon the pun. My personal interactions with other bloggers have been almost universally good, today being no exception. So what is one lemon?

Normal Service Returned

Cold water aplenty this morning. Just in case you were concerned.

Story of the Day: Christians Say W not Christian Enough

Pooh: In an effort to limit my own, endless supply of snark, I'm going to try and limit myself to one per day. We'll see how it goes.

Happy Holidays from the White House. How long before Bill O'Reilly denounces him?



(Welcome Democrative Underground Readers. Have a look see)

A Day Not Well-Begun

I am the world's worst morning person. I've actually been clinically diagnosed as such. Well, maybe not the worst, but a few months back, I visited a noted sleep therapy center. After an examination, they described my condition in three, massively polysyllabic words (which unfortunately, I didn't write down). When my blank stare did not abate, the doctor reassured me: "basically, that just means you're not a morning person." Thanks doc, $500 well spent (well, actually $25 of my dollars. The good old days of student insurance...) In retrospect, I should have gotten a doctor's note, so that when I'm late for work (and it is most certainly a 'when' and not an 'if'), I can show it to my boss. And then I don't have to go outside at recess with the other kids either.

This morning was special. When I turned on the shower, the entire apparatus emmitted a keening wail. I thought Moaning Myrtle might be stopping by for a chat. In addition to this, the water was almost literally boiling. Persons who live in cold climates may be used to having pipes freeze, or the hot water run out. But this morning, there was no cold water in my building. Not a drop. Needless to say, a boiling shower is not a refreshing start to the day (especially when coupled with the extreme cold of an Anchorage apartment in the morning.) I'm reasonably certain I showed up at work looking like something from one of the old Selsun Blue commercials as I couldn't fully rinse withou getting 2nd degree scalp burns.

So, if I seemed a little tetchy today, I had good reasons.

Violent (Rhetoric) Begets Violence

This is not good. A University of Kansas religious studies professor was attacked by two assailants on Monday. While this would be unsettling news in any case, the circumstances of the incident really case a pall. Professor Mirecki, best known for a recent spat with Intelligent Design proponents which caused him to withdraw a class on ID and other 'myths'. And lest we think the incident was random, it does not appear to have been:

[Professor Mirecki] said the assailants made reference to the intelligent design controversy during the attack.

“I had no idea who they were, but they certainly knew who I was,” he said.

[He] said he was taking a long, pre-dawn drive in the country to clear his mind in wake of the recent controversy and was planning to end his drive by stopping at a restaurant for breakfast.

Mirecki said he was taking a long, pre-dawn drive in the country to clear his mind in wake of the recent controversy and was planning to end his drive by stopping at a restaurant for breakfast.

He said two men were tailgating him in a pickup truck, and he pulled over to let them pass. He said he got out of his vehicle, then they did the same and beat him.

I don't want to read too much significance into this incident, as I strongly suspect that the assailants were simply yahoos rather than part of any sort of organization.

However, I cringe to think of the jokes being made about this on conservative talk radio in the coming days, considering that the furor originally arose over Mirecki describing his 'ID as myth' class as “a nice slap in their big fat face” to "fundies" in private emails.

Isaiah Thomas Signs Talented, Troubled Underachiever

Jamal CrawfordJerome JamesEddy CurryQyntel Woods signed with the Knicks today. For those not familiar:

A 2002 first-round draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers, Woods has experienced off-the-court problems throughout his rocky professional career.

Woods was on Portland's suspended list last season for allegations of animal abuse before being waived in January. He was released by the team the same day he pleaded guilty in an Oregon court for abusing his pit bull.

Last October, Woods was suspended five games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

But, at least he can play:

Woods has career averages of 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 118 games.

This is one of those mystifying things - the key long-term difference between sports franchises, especially in leagues with salary caps is the performance of General Managers - yet when they perform poorly, the coach or the players get the axe and the GM keeps on keeping on.

The Sawx finally won the WS when they got a GM who both understood that a lineup of slow, strike-out prone, Monstah-aiming beer-league softball types (with very thin pitching) wouldn't get it done, and didn't do everything possible to alienate, well, everyone (looking at you, Dan Duquette). The Spurs and Pistons are the best teams in the NBA, have been for the past few years, and likely will be for the next few because they draft well, sign players to reasonable contracts, and leave themselves flexibility for the off-season.

Meanwhile, despite clear indications that they should not remain employed, Isaiah and Matt Millen keep their jobs. Not only are they ruining their teams current chances, but (especially in Isaiah's case) they are mortgaging the future to do so. Of course, I hope Zeke keeps his job long enough to trade us Trevor Ariza for OliwoSkippy.

And Now For Something Completely Different

I feel much better now...anyway, I just realised I've been remiss in updating my entertainment choices of late.

First, let me heartily recomend The Boondocks on Cartoon Network. It's magnificently wrong in that 'early seasons of South Park' sort of way.

Secondly, after a long weekend spent with not much to do, I've decided that CSI:NY is the best of the three. And whatever they are paying him, David Caruso is stealing, absolutely thieving for what he passes as 'acting' these days.

Third, Just watched Layer Cake. A quality film. Takes some of the sensibility of Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and imposes a bit of narrative structure. So well crafted that you never notice the fact that the protagonist is lacking something vital until the last line of the movie.

Why Leadership Matters

Welcome to the ranty portion of tonight's blogging. I'll try to keep a cool head on my shoulders.

A few weeks ago, I saw the following quip, which I thought was funny:

Yes, it would be nice to have evidence-based policy-making. But even if we can't get that, perhaps we can do away with policy-based evidence-making.

(link via Hallq)

A few weeks ago, there was a post on Legal Fiction discussing all the 'hidden' effects of our choice of Presidents, focusing on a political decision to ignore recommendations of career civil rights litigators in approving what is essentially a poll tax in Georgia. (Recently, there has been a similar questionable decision in Texas. The Voting Rights Act is very complicated, but when career experts in the field unanimously agree, and are overruled on political grounds its noteworthy simply because it is so rare.) Since then we've seen more of the same with political fidelity and cronyism trumping knowledge and expertise. And finally, a damning roundup from The Plank:

1. Report accuses EPA of Slanting Analysis: Hill Researchers Say Agency Fixed Pollution Study to Favor Bush's 'Clear Skies'

2. Gonzales Defends Approval of Texas Redistricting by Justice

3. No One Home at HUD

Congressional investigators found spotty performance from the start in how federal and state officials handle complaints of housing discrimination: Sometimes they do not answer the phone or return the calls.

4. Head of POW Affairs Resigns

A senior Pentagon official who has been under internal investigation, accused of abusive management practices, told his staff he was retiring for health reasons.

5. State Department Using Ideological Litmus Tests to Screen Speakers

But we are told that such slavish devotion to administration policies is required to win the War on Terror. Except it appears to be hurting rather than helping. Witness:

FBI agents botched a terrorism investigation in Florida and tried to cover up mistakes, said Justice Department investigators, who also concluded that a high-ranking official retaliated against the longtime undercover agent who pointed out the problems.

(emphasis mine). At a certain point, jamming square ideological pegs into round real world problems goes beyond merely exasperating into outright dangerous. Having an ideology is fine, and in some ways, probably necessary. But belief does not equal knowledge. Faith does not equal expertise or skill. Desire does not equal capability.

I'm wary to make comparisons to historical regimes where toeing the party line has superseded competence and excellence as a job qualification, as such comparisons tend to be conversation stoppers. But there is a reason those are historical regimes. That manner of governance does not work: it cannot compete against meritocracy. I hope I'm wrong that these stories represent a larger pattern. I hope this is just another example of 'liberal bias' in the Mainstream Media. But I've seen little evidence to that effect. And unlike those in power, I need facts to back up faith.

Never Fear, the U.S. House of Reps is Here (BCS Version)

Arriving fashionably late, as usual, the International House of Pork (IHOP)U.S. House of Representatives (HREP) has discovered that the BCS is a crappy way to determine a national champion. They are so upset about this that they are going to hold hearings, presumably to tap into the sea of dirty money upon which DI-A football floats. As a thought experiment, with which word is the following most accurate?

"[Politics/College football] is not just an exhilarating sport, but a billion-dollar business that Congress cannot ignore," said committee Chairman Joe Barton, a Texas Republican.
. . .
"Too often [college football/politics] ends in sniping and controversy, rather than winners and losers," Barton said. "The current system of determining who's No. 1 appears deeply flawed."

From what I've seen the response has been evenly and oppositely divided, while being universally negative. Reaction A: "Don't they have more important things to do?" Reaction B: "Well, better they spend time screwing this up than something really important."

Insurgency is Like Credit Card Debt

You can either pay alot now, or pay much more, over a long period of time. We might be getting the message. Finally. Instead of playing jihadi-mole, we have begun to take and hold towns. Which is good:

"Allowing the people not to be controlled by insurgents and allowing them to live freely and not in the grip of fear is what will win the insurgency," he said. "This is when the real work begins."

Why has it taken so long?

America Loses Monopoly...On Bad Taste

I don't think this is what was meant by "No End but Victory":

The unprecedented number of troops who are returning from Iraq with missing limbs has given the US Paralympic Team an unexpected recruitment boost and the chance to become “unbeatable” at the next Games in Beijing in 2008. More than 60 potential recruits have already been identified in sports as varied as powerlifting, archery and table tennis.

This is not from the Daily Show or the Onion. This is a real 'news' item from the Times of London. Of course:

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and
dance and sing
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle
- that's the thing.
And...always look on the bright
side of life...
(Whistle)

Come on.

Always look on the bright side
of life...
(Whistle)

(and so on...). That's right, the Monty Python school of foreign affairs reporting is alive and well. (link via: Wonkette)

When Canadian Intellectuals Attack

Apparently, Canadians think we are stupid. Of course, we give them good reason, since we hate hockey and promote 'Intelligent Design' as science. But they are of good-enough humor that they only gently satirize us. An exerpt:

Linguists here in Canada have been following closely, with a mixture of amusement, bemusement, and, it must be admitted, a little trepidation, the deliberations of our neighbours to the south, who are currently considering, in a courtroom in Pennsylvania, whether "Wrathful Dispersion Theory," as it is called, should be taught in the public schools alongside evolutionary theories of historical linguistics. It is an emotionally charged question, for linguistics is widely and justifiably seen as the centrepiece of the high-school science curriculum—a hard science, but not a difficult one to do in the classroom; an area of study that teaches students the essentials of scientific reasoning, but that at the same time touches on the spiritual essence of what it means to be human, for it is of course language that separates us from our cousins the apes.

(via ObWi)