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24 November 2004 
Kevin Sites is the cameraman responsible for taking the video of that soldier shooting an enemy Iraqi in a mosque. His account of the story is interesting, but what jumped out at me is this:
I interviewed... Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Willy Buhl, before the battle for Falluja began. He said something very powerful at the time-something that now seems prophetic. It was this:It's not 100% clear to me exactly what Buhl is trying to say, but if it's that coalition forces should give any benefit of the doubt to the other side, or that it should risk any soldier's life when it's unnecessary (but "gentlemanly" — ugh! is there any context more inappropriate in which to raise the issue of "gentlemanliness" than war?) — if this is what he's trying to say, then I couldn't disagree more. And it's certainly not descending to the other side's level to say so. (This entry is essentially the same as a comment I made on this Shotgun post.)"We're the good guys. We are Americans. We are fighting a gentleman's war here -- because we don't behead people, we don't come down to the same level of the people we're combating. That's a very difficult thing for a young 18-year-old Marine who's been trained to locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and close combat. That's a very difficult thing for a 42-year-old lieutenant colonel with 23 years experience in the service who was trained to do the same thing once upon a time, and who now has a thousand-plus men to lead, guide, coach, mentor -- and ensure we remain the good guys and keep the moral high ground."
Update: Yaron Brook says the US should withdraw from the Geneva Convention:
The accused marine was completely right to kill a terrorist who he suspected was setting up a booby-trap by faking death--a common terrorist technique used in Iraq. For the marine to do otherwise would have been to risk his life and the lives of his fellow marines to preserve a committed murderer. Yet this is exactly what the U.S. government says he should have done, in the name of the 'rules of war' of the Geneva Convention....Yes. Seeing the look on Jimmy Carter's face alone would be enough reason to do this. But it will never happen, of course, because half the pro-war side probably thinks that fighting a "gentleman's war" is a good thing.America must assert its right to defend its citizens--including its soldiers--by any means necessary," said Dr. Brook. "And as a first order of business, we must withdraw from the suicide pact that is the Geneva Convention.
02:11 PM |
From a reader at NRO's Corner:
[Quoting Jonah Goldberg on the meaning of Thanksgiving:] "We are giving thanks for the soil, the land, for the gifts of providence which were bequeathed to us long before we figured out our political system."Scroll up from the link to see some predictable religious-right feedback. ("A reader" is me, btw.)Not according to the Ayn Rand Institute: "This holiday is designed to celebrate, not faith and charity, but thought and production.
"Thanksgiving celebrates man's ability to produce. The cornucopia filled
with exotic flowers and delicious fruits, the savory turkey with
aromatic trimmings, the mouth-watering pies, the colorful
decorations--it's all a testament to the creation of wealth."http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10469&news_iv_ctrl =1021
01:04 PM |
19 November 2004
Rick Salutin: Bush-doll-stomping Parrish is the mature one. "Somebody, or possibly everybody with the possible exception of Carolyn Parrish," he says, "should grow up." Salutin is incredulous (subscriber-only link) that people aren't adult enough to understand that the MP was engaging in self-parody. He should think about this puzzle some more. The more plausible explanation for the supposed confusion people have is that Parrish in self-parody mode on 22 Minutes is indistinguishible from her demeanor as an on-duty parliamentarian.
12:18 PM |
14 November 2004
People who don't need people... Tom Booker on where the British papers are getting the "Americans are dumb" meme from: "I think the Brits are reading Ted Rall, an American columnist who's political leanings are so southpaw that he makes Barbra Streisand look like Ayn Rand."
06:21 PM |
13 November 2004
"Chicanery" is the new "niggardly." Either that or someone has done a masterful job of sending up the PC mentality. (Via Colby Cosh)
11:11 PM |
11 November 2004
On this Remembrance Day, unlike the Canadian media, I'm not wondering why humanity is so warlike, nor pretending that every person who's ever experienced war is now a pacifist, nor marvelling at the "stupidity of war." I'm thinking of the bravery of those who fight when they have to, the freedom I have because they do, and the evil of those who make war necessary.
09:45 AM |
7 November 2004
I was just becoming convinced that the election might not have been a win for the "moral values" crowd (i.e., Christian fundamentalists) after all, when I read this:
``If we want to have a hopeful and decent society, we ought to aim for the ideal, and the ideal is that marriage ought to be, and should be, a union of a man and a woman,'' Bush political aide Karl Rove told ``Fox News Sunday.''Considering that the amendment is not likely to pass, I guess I can still hold out hope that Bush knows this and it's his way of seeming to reward that base while effectively doing nothing. Sounds like a bit of a stretch, though. And in the meantime, we get the wonderful prospect of years of acrimonious debate over whether the highest law of the freest country in the world should exclude gay people from one of the oldest and most enduring institutions of human society.Rove said Bush would ``absolutely'' push the Republican-controlled Congress for a constitutional amendment, which he said was needed to avert the aims of ``activist judges'' who would permit gay marriages.
06:41 PM |
That Lancet "study" purporting to prove that 100 000 civilian deaths can be attributed to the Iraq war was thoroughly debunked almost before it was out. And the previously esteemed journal itself admitted that its motives in the timing of its publication on the eve of the US election were political. But none of this has apparently reached, let alone fazed, the commentariat at CBC Radio.
I've been listening to The Sunday Edition this morning and amid the expressions of anger and depression over the election results (to the musical accompaniment, I kid you not, of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans"), the 100 000 number has been cited twice in two separate segments (once by the insufferable Gwynne Dyer). No one questioned the statistic or even mentioned that others are questioning it. More evidence that reality and truth aren't critical elements of the "uniquely Canadian perspective" of which the taxpayer-funded CBC is supposed to be a purveyor.
11:01 AM |
3 November 2004
My mixed feelings on the election are giving way to sinking feelings. Bill Bennett, via Andrew Sullivan:
Having restored decency to the White House, President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law. His supporters want that, and have given him a mandate in their popular and electoral votes to see to it. Now is the time to begin our long, national cultural renewal ("The Great Relearning," as novelist Tom Wolfe calls it) — no less in legislation than in federal court appointments. It is, after all, the main reason George W. Bush was reelected.Now is when all the people who voted for Bush on foreign policy issues need to do an instant 180 and oppose him forcefully on every attempt to insert the Bible into US law.
03:41 PM |
After getting only five hours of sleep, I have just two brief comments on the election:
- I may be needlessly alarmed, but I'm thinking a Kerry win would have been better than a win for Bush due, as every commentator is saying this morning, to "moral values" issues (an argument bolstered by the fact that all 11 state anti- gay marriage measures passed).
- If I never see another interview with Barack Obama it will be too soon.
08:47 AM |
2 November 2004
Welcome to Toronto. Bob over at the excellent Let It Bleed noticed this charming sentiment defacing the construction hoardings for the new opera house near Queen and York. I ran out at lunch today to snap this picture, half hoping it would have been cleaned up by then. I wish I could tell you this kind of thing shocks me. Alas, having lived in Toronto for over 20 years, it doesn't even surprise me.
10:58 PM |
1 November 2004
Of the four professors I've had at the U of T since enrolling for part-time studies last fall, three have made gratuitous, negative remarks about President Bush. Tonight was one of the milder examples. In order to illustrate how to write a philosophy paper, the professor started out with the thesis statement: "John Kerry would make a better president than George Bush." Lots of mirthful Bush-bashing ensued. If you can't make it out, two justifications that made it to the chalkboard are "George Bush bad" and "George Bush dumb." To protect the guilty, I've pixelated the prof., who, incidentally, is an American.
10:14 PM |