How will I remember this week? How will it sit in the past? I loaded and unloaded a canoe by myself this week. I bottled a hefeweizen. I ate well-roundedly and got a decent amount of sleep. If a nuclear holocaust were to come and I survive like those few in A Boy and His Dog or even Mad Max this is the sort of week I'll miss. If not, I'll have a hard time recalling it.
- Update: Who is this "the left" that the Flea and some like the Babbler speak of, though the latter admits the truth? Cases would be much better made with out reference to boogie men. There is a distasteful and false presumption among those who elect themselves to speak for the equally vacuous "the right" that patriotism, security and common sense (despite all the evidence) is their sole inheritence. Given a recent pole [Ed.: see below] that says 40% of conservatives are against the war in Afghanistan, it is a meaningless broad brush. Name names. Focus the slur on the fringe. Admit the fluidity and undemarkated nature of the problem. Put up.
Break slamming point of correction: And just like that the Flea did in most excellent fashion...
A self-selecting group exhibiting the psychopathologies outlined above and related psychopathologies concerning the free market, crime and punishment and reality-testing deficiencies regarding the weather. The real left, the ones who continue to advance universal values of liberty and equality, do not exhibit these symptoms. Here I am thinking particularly of Christopher Hitchens and those of us who advance under his banner.
I can heartily live with this as long as "the real left" includes those large number who see the same security ultimately in participating in a social welfare system as well as well-resourced police and military. I once came across someone flogging the idea that only persons of the right were in the military. Horse pucks. - Update: Sounds like leasehold improvements to me. Pay up, Royals.
- A good week for baseball. The Sox gave a thumping to Tampa Bay and, due to the badness of scheduling, will play them 15 times from here on in. No wonder there is now the sort of talk that does one no good.
- The Baseball Hall of Fame has a snazzy new website.
- An interesting article in the NYT about the continuing random police checks that have occurred in that city's subways since 9/11.
Terrorism experts said the program’s effectiveness was not so much that it is a tight barrier to keep terrorists out of the subways, but that its fluid nature could keep any attack planners off balance. Trumpeting the program publicly is also a deterrent, they said.
That and John Smeaton - the West's best defences. - Brother Doug considers how to dequill.
- In addition to Smeaton proving that Scots in fact are the toughest wee bastards in the worrrrld, Scots finalized their take over of the UK with the beginning of the government of Gordon Brown who has made a wise decision:
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday he had given orders for government offices to "fly the flag." He said he had abolished a rule which allowed government buildings to raise the British flag, the so-called Union Jack, only 18 days a year. "It was because they listed the number of public events and on no other days would the Union Jack be flown," said Mr. Brown, who has pushed for efforts to promote a British identity for all citizens.
Good for Mr. Brown. I have to admit, I like that in the states more flags are flown and that they seem to represent each person not the government. We do well around Canada Day but, aside from the politics, the bi-colour is frankly just a little less eye catching. I had though the Red Ensign had recently be raised back to official status but can find now reference this morning. Viva Tanganyika, if you know what I mean.
Comments
gary - July 6, 2007 8:42 AM
!!!! Is she sick? Gotch CM!
gary - July 6, 2007 8:43 AM
Ahem: Gotcha
cm - July 6, 2007 8:44 AM
Crap. I've been up since before 6 and was trying to think of something pithy to say. The best I could come up with was "Quiet can be good."
Matthew Fletcher - July 6, 2007 8:48 AM
Re. the Red Ensign: You might be recalling the PM ordering it to be flown over Vimy this past spring for the occasion of the anniversary of the battle there.
Alan - July 6, 2007 8:52 AM
Hi Matt: I knew that but I thought there was also a reinstatement though the quiet amendment of a regulation somewhere. I will have to look a bit more.
gary - July 6, 2007 8:56 AM
NPR had a story the other day about how few American flags are made in the US. China makes a lot of them, and state and local gov'ts are trying to mandate US made flags. Another commentator, who seemed very patriotic, gave an interesting essay on proper care of the US flag. His conclusions were that people who use the flag to make a statement, such as burning, did not bother him because he felt at least they saw the flag as a powerful symbol. Whereas the many flags he saw faded, tattered and neglected bothered him more: the people who put the flag out and forget about it.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I myself am wary of the people who wave the flag around and expect others to do so too.
Alan - July 6, 2007 9:00 AM
I am wary of people who do not fly flags but I really do not care much which ones they fly.
cm - July 6, 2007 9:36 AM
A balcony in the building across from me has a huge flag hanging; the Anarchist always thought the terrorists would hit there first, since it made a nice target. I have no flag, but I do have a maple leaf pinwheel.
gary - July 6, 2007 10:19 AM
Gordo has a Canadian flag tattooed on his behind.
Hans - July 6, 2007 3:14 PM
Yet again, I must say, I still don't know what the purpose of talking about those on "the left" (or "the right", for that matter, but that doesn't seem to happen quite as often)is other than to create boogeymen. It is a too facile device that paints those that don't agree with what you believe as looney. For example, I believe there is strong evidence of climate (although the causes of it are only slightly related to human factors). Yet I think corporate taxes should be reduced to promote economic development rather than using government grants. Am I of "the left"? Is such nomenclature relevant? Can you make an argument on an issue without referring to the beliefs of the right or left? It should be possible and it would strengthen the argument.
Phil - July 6, 2007 3:57 PM
"Given a recent pole that says 40% of conservatives are against the war in Afghanistan, it is a meaningless broad brush."
Why indeed place so much emphasis on what one newly emigrated resident of Poland has to say?
Alan - July 6, 2007 4:11 PM
Are you drunk? That is a SES poll finding. Oops, you are a CNYer...I meant Canadian conservatives...by which you might understand "socialists". You may find it even more interesting is that 2/3s of Canadian conservatives say our participation has made us more vulerable to attack.<p>And watch what you say about Poland, the land of love.
Phil - July 6, 2007 4:42 PM
Do canadian conservatives generally spell an opinion "poll" like it was a person's nationality? I guess the joke is spent if I have to explain it. Or is this one of these "and they call an elevator a lift" situations?
I think that Canadian participation in Afghanistan is being wasted since the U.S. can hardly be bothered to think about the place having gone into Iraq at the behest of the blood-thirsty neo-cons and our ADD President.
Also, since terrorist attacks are often planned for the media splash they will have, guard the Calgary Stampede and the Stanley Cup finals and you guys should be ok.
No need to tell me that Poland is the land of love, since my wife and her family emigrated from there in 1984 as political refugees.
Alan - July 6, 2007 5:03 PM
Ooops. Pure spelling error. I will leave it up as testimony to my duncery, thought the entire blog is sort of that.<p>Where'd they move from? We were in Kolobrzeg west of Gdasnk in Pomerania. Lovely place.
Alan - July 6, 2007 5:06 PM
My favorite Polish thing.
Phil - July 6, 2007 6:03 PM
Brzczesce (spelling?) a small village some 10 minutes from Auschwitz. It's in Silesia, between the larger towns of Katowice and Bielsko-Biala.
My wife rhapsodizes over the zapykanka (spelling again?), she said she got hers in the train stations on the way to or from school, but the tomato sauce was ditched. A fresh roll with mushrooms sauteed in butter and heavily seasoned with pepper.
cm - July 6, 2007 7:03 PM
That sounds delicious.
Alan - July 6, 2007 10:10 PM
In Szczecin the mushrooms were wild and there were also leeks on it. Grilled under a tasting over with bubbly cheese. The best.
Jay Currie - July 7, 2007 6:00 AM
One could, of course, refer to "Jack Layton supporters" or "people who think Al Gore is telling the truth" or "guy who think Bushco used cutting charges on 9/11", or "the person who thinks Judy Rebick is hot" or "the several souls who consider Harold Pinter a better political commentator than poet" but I think I'll stick to the imprecise, rather impressionistic, "the left" and then apologize to the three or four Rabble contributors who think defeating the Taliban is a good idea and that radical Islam may turn out to be a, well, threat.
Much the same sort of overbroad characterization is embodied in "the right". And here the error is particularly pronounced as it lumps libertarian types such as myself in with socons, neocons, paleocons, hate promoters and Holocaust denialists and members of the CPC or Blogging Tories.
Nuance is one of those subtle things often lost in the overarching desire to make a point.
Alan - July 7, 2007 6:56 AM
That is a good admission, and therefore the first step, but I think the problem with that is the transposition of blog and other parts of the chatting classes with the population. Rabble and the Blogging Tories no more represent the great numbers who vote NDP or CPC than a Young Liberals university club represents the historic average Canadian and their historic support for the Grits. What you have is over exposure to the group that spans loyalists to fanatics. That is a small part of the national psyche and also is far too near both complete platform acceptance and other forms of bootlickery.
Gorthos - July 7, 2007 9:02 AM
I revel in my new-found idle upper middle class political apathy when it comes to speaking of "the left" or "the right"..
I shall forthwith us such broad stoking descriptions of Jay's when discussing anyone from either of the two groups as it were.
And I'm sorry Alan, I like the look of flags, but I think that in truth flying one, any, is akin to saying "I'm better than you" to at least someone who sees it, and Mom says that's not nice.. Though I do like a black cotton slightly sea wind tattered skull and crosbones...
Alan - July 7, 2007 9:26 AM
You carry a lot of other baggage if that is what flying any flag. My mother says that's weird.
Ben (The Tiger) - July 7, 2007 11:02 AM
I'm firmly a British Indian Ocean Territory man, flagwise.
Though I do have this puppy on my bedroom wall.
Alan - July 7, 2007 11:30 AM
BIOT rocks.
Gorthos - July 7, 2007 11:57 AM
That being said, my new car will soon be the proud mini-bumper-billboard of both a Manchester United crest and a small Rep or Ireland flag sticker, because both are in fact representations of my belief that they are better than others. Mom will say nothing because my Mom only denegrates the actions of others, not her bestest and only son ;)
Jay Currie - July 7, 2007 4:07 PM
Ben, that flag is, perhaps, the only flag in the world which can trigger an epileptic seizure...
gary - July 7, 2007 7:42 PM
Oh, I dunno Maryland's is out there http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~brando/webimages/maryland_flag.gif
and Ohio's too
http://www.theodora.com/flags/state_flags/ohio.jpg
speaking of seizures.
Gorthos - July 8, 2007 7:48 AM
Ahhh.. I decide to waste some of the few remaining vacation minutes on the topic of flags and find the following astutue little site:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/philosophy/Staff/JoshParsons/flags/ratings.html
Once cannot but agree with the authors description of the northern Mariana Island's flag.. "Appears to have been constructed from clip art. Truly awful."
Jay Currie - July 8, 2007 8:43 PM
Thank you Gorthos, I admired many of the author's pithy remarks but this one stuck out:
"Do not attempt to disprove the four-colour theorem on your flag! (This goes for you, too, Mauritius)."
LOL