23/08: Biden? Really?
Quoth Me: If Biden gets the nod, I promise to eat my hat (as I jump for joy).
I really don't have many hats, so I will settle for a little crow.
First of all, I like Joe Biden more than most of my friends and conservative compatriots.
I have written:
I am guessing that most of our reading community does not understand my admiration for Joe Biden. You see the grandstanding, bloviating, self-absorbed senator always mugging for the cameras. I see that Joe Biden too, of course. But I also see the Joe Biden who is talented, diligent, and dedicated to good government. I admire the America-loving public official who has spent almost his entire career learning foreign policy and the judiciary in order to be a constructive element of the solution. He is, in fact, quite good at and what he does, and he oftentimes offers incredibly astute analysis on the topics to which he had dedicated his life.
After the Democratic midterm election victory, I placed great hope in him to act as a voice of moderation in a volatile political atmosphere (hopes he quickly dashed--which I wrote about back in January of 2007):
My sincere wish was that the Senator would choose statesmanship over grandstanding. There are two Bidens. Most of us are familiar with the blowhard-Biden of the judiciary committee, spewing gibberish and comically attempting to match wits with great legal minds. But there is another Biden. A thoughtful, pragmatic and experienced Senator who loves his country more than himself.
I was hoping for the statesman Biden--but got the clown. The demagoguery above also serves as his unequivocal signal that he seeks the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 2008. Only Joe Biden with a bad case of Potomac Fever would be addled enough to display this degree of wanton foolishness.
Under Present Circumstances, do I still think Biden is a bad move for Obama? Yes. Although I say so with a large dose of humility. Team Obama has had most of this right thus far. Based on past performance, their accuracy quotient is much higher than mine. Having said that, why do I continue to think this is a mistake?
1. Obama missed a chance to improve his fortunes in an important electoral state (Virginia, New Mexico, Indiana, to name only the most obvious). Congratulations, Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden. You are now assured of Delaware's three electoral votes. In that regard, it is the smartest choice since George W. Bush grasped Wyoming's three electoral votes with the selection of Dick Cheney.
Obama left a lot on the table. No matter how effective Biden might prove to be, Republicans are breathing a sigh of relief this morning. There were some choices out there that would have created gigantic strategic problems. This one does not.
2. Biden has a big mouth and (thus far in his life) an uncontrollable ego. Biden talks a lot, and he has a penchant for injudicious statements. Back in February of 2007, I wrote repeatedly in his defense concerning his controversial comments regarding the then-insurgent candidate, Barack Obama.
Remember this statement:
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
He was essentially right--but do you recall the outrage? At the very least, considering the target audience to which he was appealing, Biden's comments were foolishly chosen.
Why haven't we seen more Joe Biden dust-ups over the years? For the simple reason that no one really pays him much attention. Not so anymore. From now until 4 November, the world will be following him around and scrutinizing his every word. Not good for Camp Obama. Sure, the mainstream PrObama press will give him a pass whenever possible, but the conservative media will push and press every chance they get. My guess is that Biden will give them plenty of chances. These guys are likely to be putting out fires almost continually.
3. For all of Biden's faults, ironically, his positive attributes are likely to overshadow the primary candidate. The lesson of 1988 was that a VP nominee should not make the top guy look small by comparison. Remember the undercurrent that eventually dominated the 1988 landscape: why isn't Lloyd Bentsen (the distinguished and seasoned Texas senator) at the top of this ticket? Michael Dukakis (the man in the tank with the funny hat) grew less presidential with every appearance of the stolid but steady Bentsen.
Will this happen for Obama-Biden? Maybe.
4. We will read this odd move as an admission that Obama is deficient in foreign policy.
Why Biden? Because the Democratic Party wise men, in a minor panic over the late instability in Eastern Europe, now wonder if recent events make the experienced Republican warrior infinitely more attractive. What if American voters come to a late-breaking realization that we really do live in a dangerous world? While the foreign policy of "come on, y'all, can't we just all get along?" seemed bold and innovative in the snows of Iowa and New Hampshire, we have slept since then. We have wondered about "Three AM Phone Calls." What if there really are bad actors on the world stage who will not bend to the eloquent rhetoric of an Ivy League intellectual? What if nations really do pursue their own interests irrespective to the goals of greater humanity?
Joe Biden is an answer to those questions. Joe is old school. Joe knows.
But Americans don't vote for vice presidents. If those questions really need an answer, John McCain is it. The Obama brain trust would have been wiser to roll past those questions as if they did not matter. By admitting that foreign policy is relevant, Obama cedes this newly important field to his opponent.
I really don't have many hats, so I will settle for a little crow.
First of all, I like Joe Biden more than most of my friends and conservative compatriots.
I have written:
I am guessing that most of our reading community does not understand my admiration for Joe Biden. You see the grandstanding, bloviating, self-absorbed senator always mugging for the cameras. I see that Joe Biden too, of course. But I also see the Joe Biden who is talented, diligent, and dedicated to good government. I admire the America-loving public official who has spent almost his entire career learning foreign policy and the judiciary in order to be a constructive element of the solution. He is, in fact, quite good at and what he does, and he oftentimes offers incredibly astute analysis on the topics to which he had dedicated his life.
After the Democratic midterm election victory, I placed great hope in him to act as a voice of moderation in a volatile political atmosphere (hopes he quickly dashed--which I wrote about back in January of 2007):
My sincere wish was that the Senator would choose statesmanship over grandstanding. There are two Bidens. Most of us are familiar with the blowhard-Biden of the judiciary committee, spewing gibberish and comically attempting to match wits with great legal minds. But there is another Biden. A thoughtful, pragmatic and experienced Senator who loves his country more than himself.
I was hoping for the statesman Biden--but got the clown. The demagoguery above also serves as his unequivocal signal that he seeks the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 2008. Only Joe Biden with a bad case of Potomac Fever would be addled enough to display this degree of wanton foolishness.
Under Present Circumstances, do I still think Biden is a bad move for Obama? Yes. Although I say so with a large dose of humility. Team Obama has had most of this right thus far. Based on past performance, their accuracy quotient is much higher than mine. Having said that, why do I continue to think this is a mistake?
1. Obama missed a chance to improve his fortunes in an important electoral state (Virginia, New Mexico, Indiana, to name only the most obvious). Congratulations, Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden. You are now assured of Delaware's three electoral votes. In that regard, it is the smartest choice since George W. Bush grasped Wyoming's three electoral votes with the selection of Dick Cheney.
Obama left a lot on the table. No matter how effective Biden might prove to be, Republicans are breathing a sigh of relief this morning. There were some choices out there that would have created gigantic strategic problems. This one does not.
2. Biden has a big mouth and (thus far in his life) an uncontrollable ego. Biden talks a lot, and he has a penchant for injudicious statements. Back in February of 2007, I wrote repeatedly in his defense concerning his controversial comments regarding the then-insurgent candidate, Barack Obama.
Remember this statement:
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
He was essentially right--but do you recall the outrage? At the very least, considering the target audience to which he was appealing, Biden's comments were foolishly chosen.
Why haven't we seen more Joe Biden dust-ups over the years? For the simple reason that no one really pays him much attention. Not so anymore. From now until 4 November, the world will be following him around and scrutinizing his every word. Not good for Camp Obama. Sure, the mainstream PrObama press will give him a pass whenever possible, but the conservative media will push and press every chance they get. My guess is that Biden will give them plenty of chances. These guys are likely to be putting out fires almost continually.
3. For all of Biden's faults, ironically, his positive attributes are likely to overshadow the primary candidate. The lesson of 1988 was that a VP nominee should not make the top guy look small by comparison. Remember the undercurrent that eventually dominated the 1988 landscape: why isn't Lloyd Bentsen (the distinguished and seasoned Texas senator) at the top of this ticket? Michael Dukakis (the man in the tank with the funny hat) grew less presidential with every appearance of the stolid but steady Bentsen.
Will this happen for Obama-Biden? Maybe.
4. We will read this odd move as an admission that Obama is deficient in foreign policy.
Why Biden? Because the Democratic Party wise men, in a minor panic over the late instability in Eastern Europe, now wonder if recent events make the experienced Republican warrior infinitely more attractive. What if American voters come to a late-breaking realization that we really do live in a dangerous world? While the foreign policy of "come on, y'all, can't we just all get along?" seemed bold and innovative in the snows of Iowa and New Hampshire, we have slept since then. We have wondered about "Three AM Phone Calls." What if there really are bad actors on the world stage who will not bend to the eloquent rhetoric of an Ivy League intellectual? What if nations really do pursue their own interests irrespective to the goals of greater humanity?
Joe Biden is an answer to those questions. Joe is old school. Joe knows.
But Americans don't vote for vice presidents. If those questions really need an answer, John McCain is it. The Obama brain trust would have been wiser to roll past those questions as if they did not matter. By admitting that foreign policy is relevant, Obama cedes this newly important field to his opponent.
22/08: Islamic (-ist) Reformation
There is an idea popular with liberal Westerners regarding the potential of an Islamic Reformation. According to the all-seeing wiki, this Reformation would bring Islam up to speed with the rest of the world (or Europe) - Islam would become a liberal, modernist, humanist religion. The unofficial spokesman of this Reformation is Salman Rushdie, although several "Progressive Islam" movements are sometimes associated with the idea of reform within Islam.
I would say that this comparison to the Reformation is mis-applied. The Islamic Reformation is already underway, in the form of an IslamIST Reformation. While the analogy to the Protestant Reformation is of limited utility, since it is already in use it should at least be corrected.
The Islamists as Reformers
Driven, ambitious men of a religious bent are dissatisfied with the present state of their chosen religion. The see corruption in their temporal and spiritual leaders and indifference on the part of their co-religionists. They see the changes in theology from the founding of the religion to the present day, and mark these as unauthorized, un-Godly innovations. They urge a return to the sole legitimate religious Scripture. Religion should guide all aspects of personal and public life, in their view. To that end, they establish organizations, and issue proclamations of the characteristics of "true" religion. They are viewed by some as having no "authority" to issue such proclamations, but to their supporters, these statements are often viewed as law.
Who was just described? Martin Luther and John Calvin, or Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb?
The differences
1. There is no Catholic Church and single orthodoxy to reform.
In the Islamist movement, it is the temporal leaders and outside forces who are primarily to blame for the current state of the religion, rather than the religious leaders. These Islamic religious leaders, the scholars of law and theology, are not held as the answer, however. To the Islamists, in general, the state should remain the dispenser of law, which it has become in the Sunni Islamic world in the past 100 years. The movement is thus a reform, not a return to the "classical" Islamic state. The state would remain, but with the Islamists in charge, using an Islamic worldview to dispense justice, with possible advising by the scholars. (See Noah Feldman, "The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State")
2. The direction of violence.
I would almost say that the Islamists have jumped the gun and declared jihad before their chickens were hatched, to keep mixing metaphors. Serious attempts were made at the internal reforms, in Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Sudan, and Syria; these met with mixed success, mostly failures. Before these reforms took hold, however, branches of the Islamists declared a wider, global fight against their oppressors, the West. Now the very governments which the Islamists initially sought to reform have the world superpower allied against them. The chances for Islamists to take control of the government in Egypt, for example, are much lower now than 10 years ago.
3. Democracy.
This may be the Islamist's best chance, due in part to the Bush administration's hand-tying policies. The U.S. is not only protecting its interests and seeking retribution for the September 11 attacks, it is seeking to promote democracy worldwide. The problem here is that the power of the U.S. is so great, the corruption of governments in most Islamic countries so complete, that the most inspirational option available to the majority of Muslims is the Islamist movement. If the Islamists are able to be elected into office, the U.S. would be unable to deny their legitimacy.
So...Where to?
The Islamic Reformation, as listed by wikipedia, doesn't stand a chance. Liberal Muslims can, if they want, live in a secular, western society, taking refuge in multiculuralism and giving their Islamic roots a token nod. Simply put, there is no impetus to fight for a Reform.
The Islamists, the real Reformers, have that impetus. They live in majority Muslim countries, have deep and abiding faith and ties to their religion, and are pissed off. The character of their Reformation is different than the Protestant Reformation, but it may well change the world in an equally significant way.
I would say that this comparison to the Reformation is mis-applied. The Islamic Reformation is already underway, in the form of an IslamIST Reformation. While the analogy to the Protestant Reformation is of limited utility, since it is already in use it should at least be corrected.
The Islamists as Reformers
Driven, ambitious men of a religious bent are dissatisfied with the present state of their chosen religion. The see corruption in their temporal and spiritual leaders and indifference on the part of their co-religionists. They see the changes in theology from the founding of the religion to the present day, and mark these as unauthorized, un-Godly innovations. They urge a return to the sole legitimate religious Scripture. Religion should guide all aspects of personal and public life, in their view. To that end, they establish organizations, and issue proclamations of the characteristics of "true" religion. They are viewed by some as having no "authority" to issue such proclamations, but to their supporters, these statements are often viewed as law.
Who was just described? Martin Luther and John Calvin, or Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb?
The differences
1. There is no Catholic Church and single orthodoxy to reform.
In the Islamist movement, it is the temporal leaders and outside forces who are primarily to blame for the current state of the religion, rather than the religious leaders. These Islamic religious leaders, the scholars of law and theology, are not held as the answer, however. To the Islamists, in general, the state should remain the dispenser of law, which it has become in the Sunni Islamic world in the past 100 years. The movement is thus a reform, not a return to the "classical" Islamic state. The state would remain, but with the Islamists in charge, using an Islamic worldview to dispense justice, with possible advising by the scholars. (See Noah Feldman, "The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State")
2. The direction of violence.
I would almost say that the Islamists have jumped the gun and declared jihad before their chickens were hatched, to keep mixing metaphors. Serious attempts were made at the internal reforms, in Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Sudan, and Syria; these met with mixed success, mostly failures. Before these reforms took hold, however, branches of the Islamists declared a wider, global fight against their oppressors, the West. Now the very governments which the Islamists initially sought to reform have the world superpower allied against them. The chances for Islamists to take control of the government in Egypt, for example, are much lower now than 10 years ago.
3. Democracy.
This may be the Islamist's best chance, due in part to the Bush administration's hand-tying policies. The U.S. is not only protecting its interests and seeking retribution for the September 11 attacks, it is seeking to promote democracy worldwide. The problem here is that the power of the U.S. is so great, the corruption of governments in most Islamic countries so complete, that the most inspirational option available to the majority of Muslims is the Islamist movement. If the Islamists are able to be elected into office, the U.S. would be unable to deny their legitimacy.
So...Where to?
The Islamic Reformation, as listed by wikipedia, doesn't stand a chance. Liberal Muslims can, if they want, live in a secular, western society, taking refuge in multiculuralism and giving their Islamic roots a token nod. Simply put, there is no impetus to fight for a Reform.
The Islamists, the real Reformers, have that impetus. They live in majority Muslim countries, have deep and abiding faith and ties to their religion, and are pissed off. The character of their Reformation is different than the Protestant Reformation, but it may well change the world in an equally significant way.
Category: America and the World
Posted by: an okie gardener
The Chinese government is putting on a clean, bright, smiling face for the world in Beijing, complete with bikini-babes cheering on beach volleyball.
But the face that reveals the dark heart of the Chinese government is seen in its treatment of protesters.
China shoots Tibetans dead.
Somebody tell me again. Why do we buy from these murdering bastards?
But the face that reveals the dark heart of the Chinese government is seen in its treatment of protesters.
China shoots Tibetans dead.
Somebody tell me again. Why do we buy from these murdering bastards?
21/08: Silly and Embarrassing
From MoveOn.org:
How many houses do you own? Most Americans could answer that question quite easily.
But John McCain couldn't remember yesterday when asked by reporters. It's actually kind of ridiculous. He paused and said, "I think—I'll have my staff get to you." (The correct answer? At least seven.)
This could be an election-defining moment—it's a reminder of just how out of touch John McCain is with the lives of regular Americans. We need to make sure every voter hears about it.
All the networks are gleefully reporting this new line of attack. Is it a "defining" moment? Maybe. Elections are funny things. This thrust is undoubtedly going to enjoy the full support of the prObama mainstream media.
But what's the point, really? Are we now not allowing rich guys to be president?
How many houses does John Kerry have? How many houses does the Kennedy family own? How many houses does Al Gore own? How many houses did FDR own?
Less than seven? More than seven?
Nearly thirty years ago, John McCain married a beautiful young woman from a rich family. Does Barack "I'll take the high road" Obama really think that fact is an election-defining moment?
You never know how these things are going to play--but my guess is that most people will see this desperation shot as embarrassing (to Obama). My second prediction: no one in the mainstream media will see the attack as anything less than legitimate. And that's the way it is.
How many houses do you own? Most Americans could answer that question quite easily.
But John McCain couldn't remember yesterday when asked by reporters. It's actually kind of ridiculous. He paused and said, "I think—I'll have my staff get to you." (The correct answer? At least seven.)
This could be an election-defining moment—it's a reminder of just how out of touch John McCain is with the lives of regular Americans. We need to make sure every voter hears about it.
All the networks are gleefully reporting this new line of attack. Is it a "defining" moment? Maybe. Elections are funny things. This thrust is undoubtedly going to enjoy the full support of the prObama mainstream media.
But what's the point, really? Are we now not allowing rich guys to be president?
How many houses does John Kerry have? How many houses does the Kennedy family own? How many houses does Al Gore own? How many houses did FDR own?
Less than seven? More than seven?
Nearly thirty years ago, John McCain married a beautiful young woman from a rich family. Does Barack "I'll take the high road" Obama really think that fact is an election-defining moment?
You never know how these things are going to play--but my guess is that most people will see this desperation shot as embarrassing (to Obama). My second prediction: no one in the mainstream media will see the attack as anything less than legitimate. And that's the way it is.
21/08: A Good Thing
Category: American Glory
Posted by: an okie gardener
A friend sent me this link to a beautiful story. Virtue, compassion, goodness.
If you have a reputation as a tough guy to maintain, you may want to be alone when you watch this.
If you have a reputation as a tough guy to maintain, you may want to be alone when you watch this.
Category: National Security
Posted by: an okie gardener
According to the Denver Post, the coronor has ruled that the man found dead in that Denver hotel room, Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, committed suicide using cyanide.
Story here.
Here is the dubious statement:
Police have said Dirie's death was an isolated incident and unconnected with the upcoming Democratic convention.
Boy does this statement not pass the smell test. Someone(s) is blowing it out the wrong orifice.
1. It is way too early even for an intense investigation to make such a determination. The FBI, even with its immense resouces, cannot in a matter of days definitively rule out conspiracy and possible connections to the Democratic Convention
2. By the accounts previously published, Dirie did not have the money either to buy a pound of sodium cyanide, or stay at a luxury hotel. Where did he get the money?
3. Is it pure happenstance that the man found dead, with cyanide, in the city hosting the Democratic Party convention, was Muslim?
4. Why would this man from Somalia, residing in Canada, go to Denver rather that some other city, perhaps Detroit? What was the attraction of Denver in August?
5. If suicide was intended by Dirie all along, why so much cyanide, in Denver, in August?
(Thanks to the Washington Post for linking to my previous post.)
Story here.
Here is the dubious statement:
Police have said Dirie's death was an isolated incident and unconnected with the upcoming Democratic convention.
Boy does this statement not pass the smell test. Someone(s) is blowing it out the wrong orifice.
1. It is way too early even for an intense investigation to make such a determination. The FBI, even with its immense resouces, cannot in a matter of days definitively rule out conspiracy and possible connections to the Democratic Convention
2. By the accounts previously published, Dirie did not have the money either to buy a pound of sodium cyanide, or stay at a luxury hotel. Where did he get the money?
3. Is it pure happenstance that the man found dead, with cyanide, in the city hosting the Democratic Party convention, was Muslim?
4. Why would this man from Somalia, residing in Canada, go to Denver rather that some other city, perhaps Detroit? What was the attraction of Denver in August?
5. If suicide was intended by Dirie all along, why so much cyanide, in Denver, in August?
(Thanks to the Washington Post for linking to my previous post.)
20/08: It's Gotta Be Tim Kaine
Why will Barack Obama offer the veep to Virginia governor, Tim Kaine?
Because it is the smartest play, and Team Obama always makes the smartest play.
Right now, Republicans all over the globe are praying earnestly that Candidate Obama will choose Joe Biden as his running mate. Why? Biden is a gaffe-prone bloviator and a thirty-year Washington insider.
But it gets even worse than that.
If Obama chooses Biden, we will read the move as an admission that he is deficient in foreign policy.
Why is Biden suddenly viable? Because the Democratic Party wise men, in a minor panic, seem suddenly mindful that a late-breaking realization among the American voting public that we live in a dangerous world might make the experienced Republican warrior infinitely more attractive.
What to do?
Put Joe Biden on the ticket.
Wrong Move! Why?
1. Americans do not care about foreign policy, actually. No one is talking about Russia and Georgia. Bringing attention to specific international challenges does not help Obama--rather, it damages him. He needs to keep it simple on foreign affairs. "Bush is bad. Bush gets us into bad wars. McCain is even worse."
2. No one outside of political junkies have ever heard of Joe Biden. Even if a veep could help you on foreign policy, Joe BIden is not Colin Powell (from ten years ago) or Sam Nunn (from fifteen years ago) or Henry Jackson (from thirty years ago). Biden is not an impact player. He is famous inside the Beltway, but a near compete unknown to the vast majority of Americans.
An Aside: Sam Nunn today is not Sam Nunn from fifteen years ago either.
3. Biden has a big mouth and an uncontrollable ego.
If Biden gets the nod, I promise to eat my hat (as I jump for joy). Joe Biden is more likely a "secretary of state in waiting" during this campaign.
Why Tim Kaine?
He is young, dynamic, from outside of Washington, a sitting governor, and he might be able to deliver his home state of Virginia.
Even if Republicans held on to VA, they would need to divert copious amounts of campaign cash to hold VA. Tim Kaine is a Republican strategists nightmare. GOP insiders all over America have their hands clasped together, every head bowed, every eye closed, fervently praying: "please, Lord; not Tim Kaine."
Because it is the smartest play, and Team Obama always makes the smartest play.
Right now, Republicans all over the globe are praying earnestly that Candidate Obama will choose Joe Biden as his running mate. Why? Biden is a gaffe-prone bloviator and a thirty-year Washington insider.
But it gets even worse than that.
If Obama chooses Biden, we will read the move as an admission that he is deficient in foreign policy.
Why is Biden suddenly viable? Because the Democratic Party wise men, in a minor panic, seem suddenly mindful that a late-breaking realization among the American voting public that we live in a dangerous world might make the experienced Republican warrior infinitely more attractive.
What to do?
Put Joe Biden on the ticket.
Wrong Move! Why?
1. Americans do not care about foreign policy, actually. No one is talking about Russia and Georgia. Bringing attention to specific international challenges does not help Obama--rather, it damages him. He needs to keep it simple on foreign affairs. "Bush is bad. Bush gets us into bad wars. McCain is even worse."
2. No one outside of political junkies have ever heard of Joe Biden. Even if a veep could help you on foreign policy, Joe BIden is not Colin Powell (from ten years ago) or Sam Nunn (from fifteen years ago) or Henry Jackson (from thirty years ago). Biden is not an impact player. He is famous inside the Beltway, but a near compete unknown to the vast majority of Americans.
An Aside: Sam Nunn today is not Sam Nunn from fifteen years ago either.
3. Biden has a big mouth and an uncontrollable ego.
If Biden gets the nod, I promise to eat my hat (as I jump for joy). Joe Biden is more likely a "secretary of state in waiting" during this campaign.
Why Tim Kaine?
He is young, dynamic, from outside of Washington, a sitting governor, and he might be able to deliver his home state of Virginia.
Even if Republicans held on to VA, they would need to divert copious amounts of campaign cash to hold VA. Tim Kaine is a Republican strategists nightmare. GOP insiders all over America have their hands clasped together, every head bowed, every eye closed, fervently praying: "please, Lord; not Tim Kaine."
Category: America and the World
Posted by: an okie gardener
But not terrorism, said the FBI, before it possibly could have known.
The Denver Post continues investigating the death of a Somali Muslim from cyanide poisoning. The man was found dead with a pound of cyanide.
A Minnesota-based legal advocacy center for Somalis is assembling a troubling, curious background of a man found dead in a Denver luxury hotel Monday near a pound of deadly cyanide.
"He was psychotic; he was on medication," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, which has talked to dozens of people who knew Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, a 29-year-old Canadian citizen and former Somali refugee.
Dirie's journey to the U.S. and his stay in an expensive hotel does not fit the profile of his humble, somewhat reclusive life, Jamal said Thursday.
"People who knew him are shocked," Jamal said. "He was unemployed; he had no money. Whoever gave him the money for that hotel may have also given him the cyanide.
We need to find that person."
An unemployed person in "an expensive hotel" with enough poison to kill hundreds of people in the city that will host the Democratic Party convention.
And the unemployed person is a Somali Muslim. Alarm bells should be going off loudly.
Infidel Bloggers Alliance has a photo of the hotel.
The Denver Post continues investigating the death of a Somali Muslim from cyanide poisoning. The man was found dead with a pound of cyanide.
A Minnesota-based legal advocacy center for Somalis is assembling a troubling, curious background of a man found dead in a Denver luxury hotel Monday near a pound of deadly cyanide.
"He was psychotic; he was on medication," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, which has talked to dozens of people who knew Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, a 29-year-old Canadian citizen and former Somali refugee.
Dirie's journey to the U.S. and his stay in an expensive hotel does not fit the profile of his humble, somewhat reclusive life, Jamal said Thursday.
"People who knew him are shocked," Jamal said. "He was unemployed; he had no money. Whoever gave him the money for that hotel may have also given him the cyanide.
We need to find that person."
An unemployed person in "an expensive hotel" with enough poison to kill hundreds of people in the city that will host the Democratic Party convention.
And the unemployed person is a Somali Muslim. Alarm bells should be going off loudly.
Infidel Bloggers Alliance has a photo of the hotel.
18/08: Progressive Rock
Category: American Culture
Posted by: an okie gardener
While I am not primarily a rock fan: I lean toward jazz, folk, traditional, and world music, I did and do enjoy what we called in the long-ago 1970s Progressive Rock.
Definitions of 'progressive rock'
WordNet- (1 definition)
(noun)
a style of rock music that emerged in the 1970s: associated with attempts to combine rock with jazz and other forms
Synonyms
art rock
Progressive Rock Encyclopedia.
Much Progressive Rock involved "Concept Albums" that worked with a theme or told a story unusual by rock standards. For example, Billy Thorpe's classic cut "Children of the Sun."
Rick Wakeman recorded some of the great concept albums of the 70s: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), The Myths & Legends of King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table (1975).
Merlin the Magician
The Last Battle
One of my favorites, Todd Rundgren Utopia, part 1 and part 2.
And Rush, which may have the only rock song ever made that explicitly enters the Free Will v Determinism debate.
Free Will
RUSH - Lyrics by Neil Peart "Permanent Waves" Copyright 1980 Mercury/Polygram
There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance,
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.
A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
"The stars aren't aligned -
Or the gods are malign"
Blame is better to give than receive.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear-
I will choose Free Will.
There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them - they weren't born in Lotus-Land.
All preordained-
A prisoner in chains-
A victim of venomous fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can't pray for a place
In Heaven's unearthly estate.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear-
I will choose Free Will.
Each of us-
A cell of awareness-
Imperfect and incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet.
lyrics
Definitions of 'progressive rock'
WordNet- (1 definition)
(noun)
a style of rock music that emerged in the 1970s: associated with attempts to combine rock with jazz and other forms
Synonyms
art rock
Progressive Rock Encyclopedia.
Much Progressive Rock involved "Concept Albums" that worked with a theme or told a story unusual by rock standards. For example, Billy Thorpe's classic cut "Children of the Sun."
Rick Wakeman recorded some of the great concept albums of the 70s: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), The Myths & Legends of King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table (1975).
Merlin the Magician
The Last Battle
One of my favorites, Todd Rundgren Utopia, part 1 and part 2.
And Rush, which may have the only rock song ever made that explicitly enters the Free Will v Determinism debate.
Free Will
RUSH - Lyrics by Neil Peart "Permanent Waves" Copyright 1980 Mercury/Polygram
There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance,
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.
A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
"The stars aren't aligned -
Or the gods are malign"
Blame is better to give than receive.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear-
I will choose Free Will.
There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them - they weren't born in Lotus-Land.
All preordained-
A prisoner in chains-
A victim of venomous fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can't pray for a place
In Heaven's unearthly estate.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear-
I will choose Free Will.
Each of us-
A cell of awareness-
Imperfect and incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet.
lyrics
This morning I had to fast before a blood test. What with one thing and another, most of them because it was the first day of classes at Cameron University, I walked into a WHATABURGER at 11:05 finally to get something to eat. What I really wanted was breakfast, but knew I was past time since the sign behind the counter read Breakfast served till 11 am. Angling for some mercy, I said to the young woman who waited on me, "I guess I've missed breakfast, haven't I." She looked to her right at the clock and told me nicely that it was after 11. Then the other young woman at the counter said to wait a minute, she'd check to see if anything was left. Going to the warming trays she pulled one open and hollered over that there was some sausage and bacon left, and a few biscuits. End result, I had a sausage and egg biscuit, and a bacon and egg biscuit. (One of my blood labs was for cholesterol. I observe these regular draws by treating myself to some animal grease afterwards.) I left the WHATABURGER on Cache Road in Lawton, Oklahoma a full and happy customer.
Twice in the past year I have tried to get breakfast at McDonalds and failed in the attempt. Once, in Lawton, it was a few minutes after 11. No dice. Another time, it was about 10:55 by my cell phone, but the drive-through speaker of the McDonalds on I-44 near Chickashee told me breakfast was over. I did not leave either one a full and happy customer. I would bet money that at least one of these stores had some breakfast items left. But, no effort was made to please me, the customer. In both cases the words and attitude of those who waited on me conveyed apathy.
Customer service. I am sure that both businesses in the highly competative fast-food industry tell their employees to treat the customer well, but, to different results. Why? I don't really know.
Some people get it, that it is my money as a customer that pays their wage. Others don't. Last time I was in Sears to buy a pair of pants the young woman behind the sales counter invested no real attention on our transaction. Her actions and words were minimal. Her body language mumbled "I'm bored." Even though I got the pants I needed, the experience dissatisfied me.
How do businesses create good customer service? I really don't know. But many need to figure it out.
Twice in the past year I have tried to get breakfast at McDonalds and failed in the attempt. Once, in Lawton, it was a few minutes after 11. No dice. Another time, it was about 10:55 by my cell phone, but the drive-through speaker of the McDonalds on I-44 near Chickashee told me breakfast was over. I did not leave either one a full and happy customer. I would bet money that at least one of these stores had some breakfast items left. But, no effort was made to please me, the customer. In both cases the words and attitude of those who waited on me conveyed apathy.
Customer service. I am sure that both businesses in the highly competative fast-food industry tell their employees to treat the customer well, but, to different results. Why? I don't really know.
Some people get it, that it is my money as a customer that pays their wage. Others don't. Last time I was in Sears to buy a pair of pants the young woman behind the sales counter invested no real attention on our transaction. Her actions and words were minimal. Her body language mumbled "I'm bored." Even though I got the pants I needed, the experience dissatisfied me.
How do businesses create good customer service? I really don't know. But many need to figure it out.
