Archive for June, 2007
The Beautiful Logic of Brownian Motion
The French legislative elections: round one. What is really happening in France? [Paris Lights'] Nidra Poller knows and gives you the score.
by Nidra Poller, PJM Paris Editor
The Glenn and Helen Show: Bill Frist on Fighting Global Hunger and Supporting Fred Thompson
Bill Frist isn't Senate Majority Leader any more, and he says he gets more respect when he goes by "Doctor" than when he goes by "Senator." But he hasn't given up on changing the world, and he's working -- with Tom Daschle -- on a bipartisan program called One Vote '08, aimed at helping the people that Paul Collier calls %%AMAZON=0195311450 the bottom billion.%% Since he's from Tennessee, Glenn Reynolds and Helen Smith also had to ask him what he thinks about the Fred Thompson campaign, and he sounded pretty positive. Click "More..." to listen or download.
Our Degenerating Media [Part 1]
[Illustrations by Oleg Atbashian]
In the days when capitalism ran wild, depravity in the media stayed harnessed; today when capitalism is harnessed, depravity in the media runs wild. There's a reason for that.
by Oleg Atbashian
Part 1 of 3. Read Part 2 and Part 3.
“When it comes to parenting, mothers are God. They created you”
Really? I thought God did, my mistake. Anyway, that is the take of an author in this MSNBC article entitled, a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19092063/”"‘Momblocked’ mothers feel edged out by dads”/a (Thanks to reader David who sent me the link):br /br /blockquoteMoms who feel edged out should take heart, says Philip Lerman, author of a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738211001?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0738211001″em Dadditude: How a Real Man Became a Real Dad./em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0738211001″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /br /br /“When it comes to parenting, mothers are God. They created you,” Lerman says. “You don’t go to God and say, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ Mothers have this incredible, undeniable bond with the child. Fathers are always just trying to catch up.” /blockquotebr /br /The article points out that many women feel upset now that they are working on careers and their husbands are getting more confident with caring for the kids, and the kids (gasp!) sometimes prefer dad. And other horrible problems are occurring–Dads are not being as PC as some moms would like:br /br /blockquoteBesides momblocking, McClure-Metz says her family also has had to come to terms with different parenting styles when Dad is in charge in their Los Angeles home.br /br /“What I’ve noticed with my husband and other stay-at-home dads is that they like to fly by the seat of their pants,” she says. “Consulting a book to them seems like asking for directions. Consequently, they use some interesting, un-PC parenting tactics. I’ve caught my husband saying things like, ‘If you don’t put that back you’ll never have another cookie in your life,’ or, ‘Do you want a birthday party? Because if you don’t stop doing that, I’m going to cancel your birthday party.’” br /br /She also found herself wondering about the more aggressive activities her husband seems to promote. Take the wrestling moves.br /br /“My husband likes to pretend to pile drive our daughter. He acts like he’s going to go right on her but he goes to the side and they think it’s the funniest thing in the world,” McClure-Metz says. “Our daughter now loves to wrestle. I never counted on that.” /blockquotebr /br /A girl who wrestles–what is the world coming to? Maybe it’s time to stop telling moms that they are “God” to their children and are just human beings like everyone else–including Dad. Just remember a href=”http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1194.html”the wise words of Kahlil Gibran:/a br /br /blockquoteYour children are not your children.br /br /They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.br /br /They come through you but not from you,br /br /And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you./blockquotebr /br /strongUpdate:/strong This thread is closed–thanks to all who participated.
The Iranian Democrats in Iraq
A Kurdish shepherd in Iran tends his flock
Abdullah Mohtadi dreams of toppling the mullahs of Tehran and replace their dictatorial rule with an Iranian federal democracy. And he doesn't necessarily want to stop there.
Richard Miniter, PJM's Washington editor, paid a visit to his hideaway in Iraq.
Week 21 in progress… Fred Thompson, Bill Richardson remain on top for week 20… Become a precinct by clicking HERE and getting a WIDGET.
Over 120,000 votes have been cast in the weekly PAJAMAS MEDIA PRESIDENTIAL STRAW POLL. The nineteenth week has officially begun.
See the Film PBS Suppressed
From Islam vs. Islamists: former Nation of Islam member surveys suburban Chicago site where he had once planned to build a huge Islamic complex funded by fundamentalist Wahhabis in Mecca using Saudi Arabian money channeled through the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
Islam vs. Islamists, the controversial documentary reviewed here, which PBS has thus far refused to air after commissioning it for its “America at the Crossroads” series, will be shown free this Thursday June 14, at 7:30PM at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills CA. Q & A session afterwards with Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, one of the moderates portrayed in the film, director Martyn Burke and co-executive producer Frank Gaffney. For reservations contact (949) 753 0860 or acherry@cap-camp.com.
Sarkozy Party Sweeps French Elections
Return of the France we knew? Photo cred. Elliot Erwitt
If it wasn't bad enough for the French Socialist Party in their presidential election, the French electorate really gave them the boot this time in their legislative elections - UMP (conservatives) 46.4%, PS (socialists) 35.6%. Pajamas Media Paris editor Nidra Poller has been up all night following the returns. This is her first report. More later.
Boys are Smelly!
While looking for some interesting reading material, I came across this book, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158685819X?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=158685819X”emThe Big Book of Girl Stuff,/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=158685819X” width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / a kind of corollary to the a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586853333?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=1586853333″ emThe Big Book of Boy Stuff/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=1586853333″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / by the same author. Looking over the review from the Library Journal and the subsequent comments about the girl book, I couldn’t help but note the upbeat and insouciant tone to this book versus the snippy and accusatory tone of the reviews and comments for the boy book. br /br /For example, for the girl book, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Girl-Stuff/dp/158685819X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/102-8084700-9641738″School Library Journal cheerfully states:/a “This funny follow-up to The Big Book of Boy Stuff (Gibbs Smith, 2004) is chock-full of hints and guidance. From the silly (“Why boys smell so bad”) to the slightly serious (“Lies, Mean Girls, and Jerks”), it will have readers thumbing through the volume again and again….The volume has amusing illustrations and a reversible cover for sneaky in-school reading. While the information presented can be found in other books, the author’s sense of humor and lighthearted approach make this one accessible to a wide range of readers.” br /br /Snappy captions and condecending comments (even from the men!) are found in the comments to the girl’s book such as “No Boys Allowed!” or … “the true literary measure of a fully realized man/child is this; can he write about, for, and with girls.” Really? The only way for a man to prove his worth as a writer is to write for and about girls? Huh? What kind of a real man says stuff like this? br /br /Compare this with the reluctant and downright annoyed reviews and comments to the boy books: one commenter states, “I flipped through it and figured out pretty quick it was sexist…” and a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586853333/ref=pd_cp_b_2/102-8084700-9641738?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DERpf_rd_s=center-41pf_rd_r=0405FJ2HAKMZMA9VW4DVpf_rd_t=201pf_rd_p=252362401pf_rd_i=158685819X”from the School Library Journal /aon emThe Big Book of Boy Stuff:/em br /br /blockquoteThis is a very uneven book, with some sections highly creative, informative, and fun and others almost insulting to youngsters (in one paragraph on how to make noises the author states, “being able to make a farting or bombing sound is very important to your career as a boy”). King begins by chastising those readers who might be looking for political correctness and warns that this title will be gross at times but suggests that he is offering what boys really want. The author points out that boys should really know how to use the kitchen and provides first-date advice. Unfortunately, his tone is so casual that the good suggestions he presents are likely to be lost in the silliness and the “boys will be boys” approach. The long list of reading recommendations gives no indication of age appropriateness./blockquote br /br /So the “good advice” for boys has mainly to do with how to handle girls on dates and how to use a kitchen. Apparently, this reviewer’s view of good advice for boys is how to turn them into girls! br /br /a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061243582?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0061243582″emThe Dangerous Book for Boys/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0061243582″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / a href=”http://www.amazon.com/feminists-need-bash-this-book/forum/Fx3W0FFJ3GQSCJP/Tx1QBUU3OG7094Z/1/ref=cm_cd_dp_tft_tp/102-8084700-9641738?%5Fencoding=UTF8cdAnchor=0061243582asin=0061243582store=books”even has a whole forum /adedicated to why feminists need to bash the book just because it is written for boys. So as long as a book is for girls only that is fine but a book for boys is somehow sexist. br /br /When women and girls (and “feminist” men) say “no boys allowed” and laugh that boys are smelly, it’s all just a joke, but when the tables are turned, suddenly it’s sexism. But maybe turnabout is the next best thing to fair play. I thought feminism was about fairness, but maybe turnabout’s the best we can do.br /br /Update: a href=”http://www.blog.speculist.com/archives/001329.html”Stephen Gordon at the Speculist /ahas more on emThe Dangerous Book for Boys./em
Are You Ready For the Summer?
Israelis may spend their vacation at the beach or at war. Nobody knows for certain. Except maybe Hamas, Hezbollah, and their bosses in Iran.
By Allison Kaplan Sommer, PJM Tel Aviv Editor
The Corn & Miniter Show — #13
It’s oysters with politics time again as David Corn and Richard Miniter do the post-game wrap up on this week’s Democratic and Republican debates. For the Dems, it’s Hillary way out in front with her first “presidential moment,” and Obama lagging a bit behind in search of a new “boldness.” For the Republicans, our commentators focus on the “intelligent aggressiveness of Mitt Romney.” Then you have the good news for the Cheneys. Or is it? And what week in Washington could be complete without another go-around on the Scooter Libby sentencing?
Click above and watch, or if you prefer there’s an audio-only MP3 for your player.
Surf’s Not Up for the Mullahs
The California State Assembly is evidently fed up with Ahmadinejad & Company. They overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would, if it also passes the State Senate and gets the Governor's signature, require the state's huge pension funds to divest all holdings in Iranian companies. Ardeshir Arian has been following this historic legislation for PJM.
What–210 Whole Days in Jail just for Murder?
I justa href=”http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7900412.html” saw on the news that/a Mary Winkler, who was accused of killing her husband, Matthew, was given a sentence by the judge of only 210 days, 60 of which can be spent in a mental facility:br /br /blockquoteSelmer, Tennessee (WVLT) Knoxville native Mary Winkler will go to jail in connection with the killing of her minister husband.br /br /A judge sentenced Winkler to three years of split confinement in connection with the shotgun slaying of her husband in March of 2006.br /br /Of that, she’s been ordered to serve 210 days in jail.br /br /Up to 60 days can be served in a mental health care facility.br /br /The judge ruled she will get credit for time served, and Winkler will begin serving her sentence immediately.br /br /She was taken into custody at the conclusion of the hearing.br /br /The judge denied Winkler’s defense attorney’s request that she be granted judicial diversion on her conviction of voluntary manslaughterbr /br /Attorney Leslie Ballin told the judge during testimony today that, “If (Mary’s) not divertable, who is?”/blockquotebr /br /Uhh, how about someone who didn’t kill her husband in cold blood? Unbelievably, in the news story I watched–her old Knoxville neighbors were being interviewed and all shown were “supportive” of Mary–one woman even wanted her let out on probation and a man stated that he didn’t question the legal system in such cases. Well, I sure do. There is a a href=”http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7900412.html”poll over at Volunteer TV/a asking readers if 210 days is an appropriate length of time for Ms. Winkler to spend in jail–and for reader thoughts–go over and let them know what you think, I sure will.br /br /strongUpdate:/strong Trudy W. Schuett a href=”http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1181389583.shtml”has some thoughts /aon the Winkler case over at Dean’s World. br /br /I also have a question for any of my readers out there who are lawyers or criminologists. Since Mary Winkler’s charge was lessened to voluntary manslaughter, does this get registered in the homicide statistics as a female on male homicide or is it dropped from the stats altogether?
Inside Baghdad Baseball
PJM's Baghdad Editor Omar Fadhil reports in on how the Baghdad heat - in all the senses of the word -- is making Iraqi politics and politicians even crazier than normal.
Outsourcing: The Solution
Bugged by so many good American jobs being sent overseas? Burt Prelutsky knows who should be outsourced. (No, it's not your mother-in-law. But close...)
by Burt Prelutsky
Another UN Official Guilty!
Is it the Mafia or the United Nations? With yet another UN official – Sanjaya Bahel – found guilty, it’s beginning to look as if there’s no difference. Where to find out about this latest atrocity to the American taxpayer? Claudia Rosett’s PajamasXpress blog! (But didn’t you know that?)
Syria’s Secret Surrogate
"How do we know that the Fatah al-Islam uprising in the Palestinian camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon, which killed well over 100 people and led the Lebanese army to shell the camp, was a Syrian operation?"
By Barry Rubin
Your Right to Leer
a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/02/AR2007060201163.html”img src=”http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/06/02/PH2007060201164.jpg” align=right border=0/aWhen I look at my husband with affection, am I leering? br /br /I guess not since I’m a woman and can do no wrong except for being a right-leaning libertarian. However, if you’re a man, particularly a emRepublican/em man, who looks at his wife with affection, you are now accused of “leering”–especially if you are Fred Thompson. For those of you not familiar with the story from the other day, MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough a href=”http://newsbusters.org/node/13206″made a crude comment /aabout Thompson’s wife “working the pole.” br /br /I then a href=”http://cernigsnewshog.blogspot.com/2007/06/is-america-ready-for-trophy-wife-as.html”read this /apost by someone named “Libby” at The Newshogger’s Blog, saying: br /br /blockquoteBut what really struck me about this piece was the photo. If you didn’t know, you would think it was a father and daughter, well except for the slightly lecherous look in his eyes. It’s clear he’s proud of his beautiful young wife, who is actually four years younger than his real daughter….br /br /Even assuming they fell crazy in love and just had to be together, it’s somewhat jarring to see them together in the photo. She looks so young, you expect that she signs her name with a little smiley face instead of a dot on the “i” at the end. In studying that shot, I couldn’t help but think if Fred has been dating her only a few years eariler it would have been considered a sex offense [see update]./blockquote br /br /Now Libby updates her post to mention that she misread Ms. Thompson’s age, thinking she was in her 20′s when she was actually forty but I say, so what? This is yet another example of a woman who deep down believes that men have no right to leer at women, lest it be considered a sex offense. And she is not alone, there are many other women who feel that unless one is Bill Clinton or the object of emtheir/em own lecherous desires (of course, for these women, their own desire is called empowerment–not lechery!), a regular joe has no right to look at a woman–not even in pictures–with desire in his heart. In their eagar quest to control men’s sexual rights, some “feminist” women (and other prudish ones too!) go to extremes to shame, expose or intimidate men who let their lust for women dare come to the surface. br /br /In an extreme example, one of my commenters (thanks!) a href=”http://porndetective.wordpress.com/”linked to this website /acalled Porn Detective whose mission is to catch men reading porn and reprimand them. If this site is real, isn’t this intimidation and stalking to take pictures of men going into porn stores and posting them on the internet? How would women feel if a site called Abortion Detectives elected to take pictures of women going into abortion clinics and post them on a website? I bet the site would be shut down pretty fast. br /br /My point here is that men have a right to sexual expression just as women do and leering or even an interest in porn is not a crime–but if some women have their way, it soon may be. So, I say to you men out there who believe in your right to sexual freedom, stand up for your right to leer–or it may soon be a thing of the past.br /br /Update: Ann Althouse weighs a href=”http://althouse.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-men-leer-at-their-own-wives.html”with some keen observations:/a “But back to Fred Thompson. He’s leering at his own wife. Does that make it okay? Well, there are lots of things you can do with your wife that people don’t want to see in public. But what are people seeing with Fred Thompson? He doesn’t stare at her breasts, does he? More likely, you’re staring at her breasts, and then you’re looking at him — egad! he’s older! — and you’re projecting your own feelings on to his face — including, perhaps, the feeling that you don’t want him to be President. You can still insult him. Go ahead! Just know what you’re doing.”
Islands in the Info-Stream
Listening to America, France, and Jihad: "These items plucked from breaking news, streaming information, scattered clippings, and smatterings of public opinion, look like fish of all sizes and colors swimming around an aquarium in a seemingly random pattern...trying to figure out if they are in a safe well lighted room, or a sewer, or going down the drain." by Nidra Poller, PJM Paris Editor
Social Security, a Benign Ponzi Scheme?
Immigration? A surging birth rate?
Social Security will do fine no matter how, thank you very much.
by Max Sawicky
Whither Europe?
In the run-up to The Collapse of Europe Conference coming to Malibu's Pepperdine University on June 10, Pajamas Media asked one of the participants -- Claire Berlinski, author of Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis is America's, Too -- whether things had improved in the old continent since the publication of her book. [Details and reservations for the conference available at the link.]
by Claire Berlinski
VodkaPundit: Liveblogging the Republican Debate
"It's five in the afternoon, and I've already got half-a-martini in me" Stay tuned to Pajamas Media as Stephen Green of Vodkapundit drinks his way through this evening's Republican face-off in New Hampshire.
Sanity Squad: Unsung Casualties in Lebanon
Violent clashes between the Lebanese government and al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in Palestinian refugee camps have left many civilians dead in Lebanon. But the mainstream media has been relatively silent about this fierce Arab/Arab violence compared to the fuss made whenever Israel or the West is involved. The Squad discusses why this is so, what's behind the battles, and whether Vladimir Putin means what he says when he threatens to point his nuclear weapons at Europe.
“Everything from Farce to Horror”
PajamasXpress blogger Claudia Rosett has been away and returned to “everything from farce to horror, including – and this is just for starters – the 32-page UN whitewash/audit of the UN Development Program and other UN agencies in North Korea.” Hard to know where to start, but she takes a hard look at “Operation Tarnished Eagle,” a conspiracy of Laotians “living in the U.S. while allegedly trying to assemble an arsenal meant to bring down the regime in Laos.” Read it all @ The Rosett Report.
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