February 04, 2008
Subverting the Superbowl paradigm!
Posted by Andrew at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2007
Quick thought:
One thing I'd like to see become a journalistic standard, any time anyone is quoted making a statement of fact, that statement is verified and contextualized. For instance: "Candidate B said 'Candidate A is on record as letting babies drown'" becomes "In saying 'Candidate A is on record as letting babies drown', Candidate B highlighted Candidate A's little known act of heroism in saving 8 out of the 10 drowning infants during last year's deadly storm. Pundits are still puzzling over this uncharacteristically charitable..."
Posted by Andrew at 05:59 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2007
China is still a dictatorship fact of the day*
One — and as far as I can tell, only one — journalist in the U.S. identified the killer publicly and quickly as a student from China who had recently been given his visa in Shanghai. [...]What the Chinese media did next was bad in a predictable way. Many web links to outside news of the shooting were blocked to limit subsequent details from reaching China. As reported in this blog from Beijing, parts of CCTV and the other official news outlets downplayed all announcements about the shooting until they could be sure what the “correct” Chinese angle would turn out to be. Meanwhile some other Chinese press web sites reported the news — and the suspicion, emanating from America, that the killer was Chinese.
*sigh *
Full story here
*Because around here we love Stitch in Haste
Posted by Andrew at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2006
In case you missed it
Posted by Andrew at 12:37 PM | Comments (1)
June 15, 2006
Media res.
The other day I had the misfortune of meeting the author ofthis book. The man was a hack...
His hackery was made evident when he would discuss the most recent pair of elections and say “somehow” the public was grossly uninformed. “Somehow” the public thought Al Gore was a liar. “Somehow” the public believed John Kerry was a monster...
I’ll grant that the Democratic campaigns in each case were poorly designed and run. At the same time it is the media’s job to separate fact from fiction. If the public is grossly uninformed—if Americans still believe that we’ve found WMD’s in Iraq, if Americans believe that Al Gore claimed to invent the internet (he didn’t), if American think John Kerry took two different positions on the same bill (he didn’t)—the media is failing to separate fact from talking point. Our democracy suffers as a result..
Of course, the same point can be made in a well crafted cartoon:
Posted by Andrew at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2006
Why the Daily Show is the only news program I watch.
It’s the only real news program on TV...
Py Korry comments on my previous post about the media. He basically says that serious analysis is a ratings killer; people’d rather be watching American Idol. He then points out the success of the Daily Show (and its spin-off Colbert Report) as an example of how “fake” news manages to be both interesting and informative...
For decades, Americans have been told that politics is the enemy, that it holds no meaning in your life. To the extent that Americans believe no one could have stopped 9/11 or kept New Orleans on the map, Americans don’t care about politics. Why should we? If the game is both opaque and dull—and meaningless—you can hardly expect people to stand up and say “that’s not cricket” when a politician does something non-scandalously evil...
The state of our national infrastructure is of the utmost urgency. We have a frantic need to address our finances. Healthcare is a matter of life and death. Since Americans don’t actually believe that these things can be addressed by government, Americans don’t tune in. This is the great strength of the Daily Show—Jon Stewart takes these issues seriously. It is clear that he feels the process is important. The gods granted him the gift of comedy, and so he uses that as his tool—a scalpel to peal away the bullshit and show us what is going on...
To a large extent, the Daily Show is the least fake news program on TV. The strength of the show isn’t Stewart’s humor—the medium isn’t the message. No one else is treating the American public as adults capable of understanding their government. Everyone else treats Washington DC as a giant High School where popularity is more important than grades...
Posted by Andrew at 11:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
In any language
no means no!
Posted by Andrew at 02:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
Friday Random 10
1) Why won't Jesse Helms just Hurry up and Die Mc Hawking
2) Last Nine Inch Nails (Gods, I need to get that group off my Hard Drive
3) So Long Mom Tom Lehrer
4) Arabeque Nicola Conte
5) In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (live) Iron Butterfly
6) I have a dream Martin Luther King Junior (all 16 minutes)
7) I will survive Cake
8) Honey Pie Beatles
9) You’re Missing Bruce Springsteen
10) the Shot heard ‘Round the World Schoolhouse Rock
Posted by Andrew at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 25, 2005
Why video games were invented
KSDK NewsChannel 5 - Where The News Comes First - Surfing Mice
It's been Willmott's goal since childhood to teach water sports to mice."It's something we did as a kid, we had no XBox, no Playstation when we were young, so if I wanted to have fun we had to use our imaginations," says Wilmott.
Does anyone else think it odd that KSDK is "where the news comes first", and yet they’re covering this story?
Via Byzantium Shores
Posted by Andrew at 07:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 03, 2005
Media madness
Yesterday in class, we had to read an article from the New York Times and decide if it was fair and balanced. Gods, what an awful mess...
The article itself was a front-pager dealing with the republican chance from using the word private to personal in the Social Security deform context. It was, indeed, fair and balanced, giving roughly equal time to each side, giving context on the debate, asking Cato to defend themselves on the flip, and letting Cato explain the difference between the two words. See the problem?
When the article came out, we were in the middle of a debate on whether or not to completely change the way Social Security is run. On one side stood truth, justice, and the American way. On the other stood destruction of all we hold dear. Which side was which is an exercise Ill leave for the reader, but isnt it the job of the Media to do more than simply report on the semantics of the debate? I think we should expect the front page of Americas Flagship Newspaper to run at least a few stories about how social security works, its history, what might replace it, etc. The only reason even to read a print-edition paper is that they can take more time on an issue and really explore the ramifications. Almost like a daily magazine. If the best they can do is repeat a few talking points, carefully balancing each partys against the other, Ill not even bother to read it...
Posted by Andrew at 01:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 25, 2005
Go France!
Never thought I'd say that...
Posted by Andrew at 07:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 24, 2005
McSweeney's Lists!
"The Bop Was Put in the Bop-Shoo-Bop-Shoo-Bop by Bristol-Myers Squibb, an International Consortium Dedicated to Improving Public Health Through Access to Medicine and Bop"
5 punning points if you get them all. I certainly didn't...
Posted by Andrew at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 21, 2005
Celebrity rags are as catty as celebrities?
New York Daily News - Business - Paul Colford's Hot Copy: Editor's new job is not OK
Or is it just that Celebrity rags are catty, and thus think the people they cover must be also...
Posted by Andrew at 06:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
Project Censored
Project Censored 2005 - Top 25 Censored Stories
Ive heard about all these stories, but if you missed them, a couple might be worth your notice...
Posted by Andrew at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2004
Interesting concept
10x10 / 100 Words and Pictures that Define the Time / by Jonathan J. Harris
I wonder how useful it will turn out to be? Basically, it performs hourly skims of the RSS feeds of the worlds new organizations, then culls out the most important 100 words. From there, you can click on a picture representing the word, and find out why it is important...
Posted by Andrew at 04:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 31, 2004
Just Ad games
A while back, I point out a game that involves a bike and naked ladies. Dean linked to it as well. No. Stop that. You can click the game in a bit. Ive actually got a somewhat serious point to make.
I remember once reading that AOL considered Seinfeld to be its biggest competitor. This was, of course, back in the days when Seinfeld was on TV. The Web, of course, has become a huge hit since those days (though AOL is hemorrhaging money), and probably does rival most TV shows for eyeballs. This has put advertisers into something of a quandary: How to get people to know your products exist in order to buy them...
If the eyeballs are shifting from TV to the Web (and with DVRs [TIVO], away from TV ads), the natural response is to shift advertising dollars from TV to the Web. But how?
Its easy enough to simply take a 30 second spot and run it next to a website, but who would pay attention to it? I havent seen another company go the Salon rout and put everything behind an "ad wall" (if you want to read a Salon article, youve got to either pay or watch an ad). If the ad is good enough, people will watch it just to marvel at its beauty, a la the Honda Ad from a while back...
But these are simply stop-gaps along the way to a real solution: make users _want_ to experience the ad. A site like interactive. The beauty of this ad for Bennetts motorcycle insurance is that you dont really think of it as an ad: you think of it as a contest of skill, Man vs. Clothing. The name might not sink in immediately, but if you play it enough (and you will...), the name Bennetts will sink in...
Weve always demanded that Advertising be interesting: thats why so many of us watch the Super Bowl, after all. Whats changing is the nature of that interesting. It is no longer enough for the images I see to be flat and flashing on the screen, if a company wants to win my mindshare, theyre going to have to get me involved...
If youll excuse me, Ive got ladies to undress...
Posted by Andrew at 01:58 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 15, 2004
They did what now? And called it news?
Posted by Andrew at 05:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2003
remember me?
But John, I reviewed your book. In fact, you commented on my review. This is discrimination against the Blogger, isn't it? Sure, if I were still a member of the press, I wouldn't be treated like this...
(In case it isn't obvious, I am speaking tongue in cheek here. Sadly, it is my own cheek my tongue is in, but this is an imperfect world. And seriously, it's nice to see Mr. Scalzi's book getting some attention...)
Posted by Andrew at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 18, 2003
Congratulations
My Buddy Mike has his First By-line today. Congratulations Mike!
The story is well written. He has come a long way since both started out writing together a year ago. Dean should be interested; there's a, American Idol for kids
Posted by Andrew at 02:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 16, 2003
Christians
Salon.com Comics | This Modern World
What if we treated all terrorism the same?
Posted by Andrew at 04:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 04, 2003
I just want to point
I just want to point out that while I am currently Downloading the Matrix Reloaded, I am also rushing out the door to pat US$10 to go see it at the theatre. For the 3rd time...
Posted by Andrew at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2003
Well, I am here in
Well, I am here in the KKIQ tapping room, having just recorded a segment on Blogging. It will be aired at 6am 18 may 2003. The host pointed me to this post by Joshua Marshall . All in all, it is pretty damning stuff...
Do I even have to mention how scared I am that federalism seems to be thwarted in this instance? Does this bring to anyone else's mind the fugitive slave act? Gods almighty, homeland security bothers me...
Posted by Andrew at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2003
Here's a good one for
Here's a good one for you, from Poynter, about diversity:
"Was I hired because I'm black?" Embedded in the question is the fear that diversity is what its detractors and, unfortunately, many journalists mindlessly suggest it is: a zero-sum equation in which you are either black or qualified.My answer to her: Yes and no. Why yes? We met at Newsday's minority job fair. My newspaper was looking for more journalists of color, especially black journalists. Her race and our goals brought us together.
Why no? Because I met a lot of people that day who didn't get hired. I met a lot of journalists who weren't ready for a mid-sized newspaper like The Times-Picayune. I met people who couldn't write the way she could, who didn't have her creativity, confidence, or potential.
The whole thing is worth a quick read...
Posted by Andrew at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2003
Editing
I no longer think that I am a lousy writer. I know that I am a much better at pulling words apart and looking at them than I am at setting them down in the first place, but I now believe that I can actually set them down. I do try and keep sharp by writing; ultimately that is what the blog is for...
What I can do, and well, is edit. My spelling sucks and my grasp on grammar is tenuous at best. Fortunately I live in a civilized time and the semi-good folks at Microsoft included a spell checker with my copy of office XP. Like I said, though, I can edit...
That works out well enough; I am used in that capacity on my school's newspaper. We have a team of 6 editors, and the writers keep coming to me for help in making them better at what they do. Some of what I teach them are my personal peeves (don't use second person, ever), some is just good sense, but mostly I try to tease clarity from incomprehension. Mostly I succeed...
What bad writers don't understand is that my job, as an editor, is not to pat a writer's back or check her spelling (I just went over that; Microsoft has that job), my job is to ensure that a reader has the easiest time possible understanding what the hell a writer is trying to say. All other considerations are really secondary...
So, yesterday I spent about an hour fine tuning a writers work. For that hour, I worked with her, figuring out how to make what she wrote mean what she wanted it to mean. She was a real trooper, letting me delete entire words and thoughts that were jabbed into place as if by a mad puzzle builder. In the end she was near tears...
"I wanted to write something good" she said to me, her eyes watering. I was taken aback. She had written something good. Apparently I failed to explain this to her...
I stifled a sigh, manfully holding it inside while I told her that no one ever gets it perfect the first time. Hell! Had she not given me something worthwhile, I would not have spent the time working on it. Eventually I think I got through to her. That's when the class started and my work began...
Posted by Andrew at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2003
Theme song
Who is it that makes the following statement "ok, people, we have a war on. I need 3 reporters in the region. And get me some nice graphics and maps. I want someone manning google at all times. Get Wesley Clark on line 1, And for gods' sake won't someone compose a new theme song"
Posted by Andrew at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2003
California conquest
California conquest
I was reading Gregg Easterbrook's best laid plans, when the following line came up "A nation the size of California captured in three weeks with relatively few dead". A little-though-of fact is that California itself is conquered territory. The entire state once was Mexican (and before that Spanish, and before that...), and only became part of the US as a result of conquest during the Mexican/American war. A little judicious research (the Harper Encyclopedia of Military History is useful for such things) turns up that California was conquered in only 20 days; one less than it took to conquer all of Iraq. President Polk sent a smaller amount of troops into California than Bush sent into Iraq, and given the way military force has multiplied, the actual amount of firepower Polk sent in was miniscule by comparison...
Until I learned this, I thought that perhaps we had done well in Iraq. But given the historical parallels it becomes clear; Bush has failed to do well in Iraq. Polk in 2004!
Posted by Andrew at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2003
Bahgdad bob strikes again!
Dear Iraqi minister of propaganda,
In light of comments reportedly made by you in the NY times, I have a bit of advice.
Declaring victory when you have not actually won is considered bad form. Declaring victory when you have actually lost is ludicrous.
Also, and this is the important part, when you say things like "By the way, that really took place," it tends to destroy your credibility on all the things you do not remind us as actually having taken place.
Your Friend,
Andrew Cory
Ps. The word "friend" above should not be taken to mean anything other than blood enemy. Just so you know.
Posted by Andrew at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2003
A Canuck friend sent this:
A Canuck friend sent this one on. I send it to you...
Posted by Andrew at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2003
Just a quick note:
Just a quick note: From my friend Michael
Posted by Andrew at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2003
Memo to my editor
Memo to the woman who edited my article: It is considered impolite at best to change an interviewees quotes just because you don't like the order in which they were spoken...
Posted by Andrew at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)
An Iraqi-American Speaks
My long-time readers (both of them) know that one of the many hats I wear is student-journalist. Today, I had the opportunity to interview a former Iraqi about his thoughts on the current conflict, and the Baathist Regime...
Here is the text of the article I wrote based on that interview...
Yousip Enuiya had spent four years in the Iraqi military before he escaped the country in 1978. That escape was made possible with the help of two friends, and made necessary by religious persecution and the "tyranny and criminal acts of [Iraqi Dictator] Saddam Hussein."
It wasn't always as bad for Saddam's Iraq as it is now "'73, '74, it was ok. There was a lot of progress." Still, the nation was hardly the same paradise described in the Books of Moses, "of course, they eliminated a lot of opponents". Saddam rose to power with the Baath party, becoming Vice president of Iraq in 1968. "Even then, he was ruling the country. His Uncle, his Uncle's picture was on the wall, but he ran the place." Enuiya was 10 years old
"I never believed in the party, the" he broke off, communicating in Aramaic to his wife. They spoke for a while before coming to an agreement on translation. "The Socialist Arab Baathist party. That is why I could never be a Baathist, you see, I am not an Arab. I am an Assyrian" It may be to Saddam's credit that this was almost immaterial; in 1973, Enuiya was drafted.
"That was my worst time" Enuiya recalls. Even then, Saddam's war machine was being built. With American support, Saddam's military would eventually invade Iran. By the time that happened, Enuiya would be out of the country "I escaped in '78. We went to Athens [Greece], we waited a year, year and a half for our papers. By '80, '81, I was here."
Like many self described "indigenous peoples". Enuiya has a long ethnic memory, speaking of with equal horror of the "750,000 Assyrian Christians, including my grandparents, 1.5 million Armenians and 300,000 Pontic Greek orthodox Christians" killed during the first world war in what is commonly known as the Armenian Genocide, and the more recent Operation Anfal which took place in 1988. "200 Assyrian villages were destroyed by Saddam. Not the man himself, but his orders. Churches 17, 16 hundred years old, he just dynamited them." It is because of this that "We were hopping American Forces would not stop [in 1991] I think that was a mistake on US part."
The First Gulf war was "a disappointment to me. I heard from others in Iraq that they have anger at America, but the anger there cannot compare to the anger with Saddam." His words were confirmed shortly after he spoke them when a news bulletin announced that the city of Basra was rebelling against Saddam's rule. Enuiya has family in that city.
When speaking of the future, there is both hope and fear in his eyes. "We are afraid, the Christians in Iraq are afraid of the fundamentalists. We are hoping the US won't forget us, the Assyrian Christians in Iraq."
Enuiya's vision of an ideal post-war government would recognize that "Iraq is a mosaic". "If the Kurds get their own state we have to get one too, and the Turkoman. A nation is a nation; ethnicity is ethnicity." He thinks the only hope for peace is to see "every ethnic group treated equally".
Even so, he has given no small thought of going back "[...] Even if not permanently. I would like to be part of nation building" Before he will do that, though, Enuiya would like to finish his degree in mechanical engineering. "I will not be satisfied until I get my degree. It is never too late to go back to school."
This current war seems to be taking a silent toll on a strong man. There was tension lining his cragged face as he spoke "We know America will prevail". Enuiya is worried about his family, from whom he has not heard since the war began. "Even though my family is there, if something happened" he paused, trying to hold down the emotion "sometimes you have to pay it. This is the price of freedom".
In closing he spoke words that may have been trite coming from anyone else. "I would like to give my condolences to the families of US and British servicemen. And to Iraqi civilians. We're grateful to US forces and President Bush for helping the Iraqi people"
Posted by Andrew at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
Thoughts durring the war
as this began, I was interviewing a man who has family there. I will post that interview later.
Posted by Andrew at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2003
Live on CNN
Last night, before I crawled into my warm bed, I watched a firefight in real-time on CNN. Such a thing just shouldn't be possible...
One of the things I've noticed about the news coverage (and its true of all of them) there seems to be a chain letter of bulletins. There are 4 stories they tell, and when a new one is added the oldest one gets bumped off. I'm basically watching the news just to get the new bulletin before I go to bed or work...
Posted by Andrew at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2003
CNN Reporter
I just listened to a CNN reporter who sounded _exactly_ like Mike Meyers doing Dr. Evil. I take that back: he sounded exactly like someone doing a good job of doing Mike Meyers doing Dr. Evil. Kinda hard to take him seriously...
Posted by Andrew at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2003
Private Schools
Food for though about private schools. I'd like to read the book for myself, though...
Posted by Andrew at 07:08 PM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2003
Progress
My first thought when reading this headline was "ah! Progress. Now they will stop targeting civilians."...
Posted by Andrew at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2003
More Research
I am also glad that This is being researched...
Posted by Andrew at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2003
Debates
Memo to Mr. Nordlinger:
"So, the Oxford boys defeated the motion, 195 to 151. The question at the Union was, "Is America itself the world's biggest threat to peace?" You must be quite relieved that the proposition failed by 195 to 151 (not such a big margin).
Remember, though: Those voting against the motion did not say that America wasn't a threat to peace. No, they only rejected the notion that America was the biggest threat to peace.
What cretins, these Oxford boys. You could laugh them off but then you recall how they pledged not to fight Hitler."
If the Oxford Union works the same way every other debate society I have ever heard of or been a part of, what was actually rejected here was the notion that "the side of this debate arguing that America itself is the world's biggest threat to peace is a collection of better debaters"...
Look, what happens at a debate is that teams are assigned a position and told to defend them. One of my best debates was over the question "This house believes Superman is better than Batman". The point is not the question itself but the skill of those involved. And a skilled debater can, and will, argue with equal ferocity on both sides...
What I don't understand is how an intelligent, well informed man such as Mr. Nordlinger himself doesn't know this. Perhaps he is merely trying to score cheep political points?
Posted by Andrew at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2003
Bad news
I am, of course, very, very sorry to hear this...
Posted by Andrew at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2003
Sartre was a Bureaucrat. I
Sartre was a Bureaucrat.
I have done a lot of writing in my life. Articles, interviews, editorials, essays, fiction, law, petitions... By far the hardest, most boring, writing I have done is proposal writing. Laws are (though most people don't realize it) logic gates, binary. They either work or they do not, do what you want them to or not. A well crafted law is sparse, short; each word is perfectly placed to create the desired outcome. A good law is also enforceable, but this should be known before I sit down to write it. Professor Lessig chose his title well. This is all digression, really: this weekend has seen me write proposals...
This is really against my nature, writing of proposals. I would much rather just do something than write about the plan for doing something. My school, though it has many fine points, has the unfortunate attribute of being wildly over-bureaucratized. There are only 12 or so administrators, all of whom insist that they hate paperwork, yet, well...
That is, of course, unfair. People want to know what is being done; what their resources are being used for. My second grade teacher used to say "a short pencil beats a long memory", and she was right enough for me to remember it to this day. So, I type. And work. And edit. And grope meaninglessly around for a format to do this thing...
Posted by Andrew at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2003
Production last night was utter
Production last night was utter hell. All the work we had spent 10 hours doing on Thursday was declared irrelevant by one of our advisors when she decided to change the number of pages we were going to have. She did the without the benefit of actually consulting with any of us...
In a saner world, this would explain why I am having utter apathy towards Blogging tonight. But it doesn't. I have things I could write about, but nothing that I really care to write about. I dunno: I saw the best war-protest of my generation destroyed by stilt-walking devils...
Something you may find amusing: I managed to get our headline about one of the local protests to read "thousands gather to protest war; hundreds riot". Not that I am biased or anything. As my advisor put it "I don't care how much sense it makes, you are still biasing the paper." *sigh* That's what happens when you advisor is a lawyer...
Posted by Andrew at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2003
Hey, uh, guys?
Hey, uh, guys?
This:
"WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has voted to allow the regional Bells to stop sharing most of their broadband networks with competitors, but left the decision on sharing most pieces of local telephone service networks to state public service commissions."
Isn't deregulation. It is the end of deregulation. We can now expect prices to go up...
Posted by Andrew at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)
French
Ms. Ivins defends the french. In this defense, she makes the point:
"This is where I think the real difference is. We Americans are famously ahistorical. We can barely be bothered to remember what happened last week, or last month, much less last year.
The French are really stuck on history. (Some might claim this is because the French are better educated than we are. I won't go there.)"
This gets in line with something I was thinking about on the ride home today; there is good reason Americans are ahistorical; it is better if we don't remember things at all...
We remembered Custer, and proceded to commit Genocide. We remembered the Alamo, and Mexico has never recovered. We remembered the Maine, and Spain has never recovered. We remembered Pearl Harbor, and Japan _has_ recovered, but only after we dropped a pair of nukes on them. We remembered the World Trade Center, and al-Quiada has been shattered and the Taliban are becoming a dimly remembered nightmare. We've been remembering the World Trade Center so well that we are about to remake the whole of the Mideast because of it. Can Ms. Ivins really want us to remember the XYZ affair, or the way the French stabbed us in the back durring the negotiations of the 1783 treaty of Paris negotiations?
Posted by Andrew at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)
Newspapers
Ok, this would be either more or less funny if it were not so true. For instance, as repeat readers (both of you) know, I edit my school's paper. We have already written our editorial opinion regarding our troops (it boils down to "please don't die" but more poetic). Yeah, deadlines are a bitch, but if you _don't_ get as much of it in the can as early as possible, there is a possibility that you could miss the deadline. Missing the deadline is very, _very_ bad...
Posted by Andrew at 01:06 AM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2003
Long War
Saw this pop up on my MSN messenger, so I thought it was worth another look. Interesting story, some aspects I hadn't thought of, and I began to understand why they talk of "war jitters" affecting the economy...
The bit that got me was the end:
"I don't know if we're talking about a two-week war or a two-month war," says Howard Zeiden, director of sales and marketing for the Washington ABC affiliate, WJLA Channel 7. "But I don't think people could afford to stop advertising for too long. They still have to be in business."
Yep, a war that lasts a whole 2 months! Boy, what a long time...
My grandfather would be rolling over in his grave, were he not still clinging tenaciously to life...
Posted by Andrew at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2003
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens (here) points out the glaring conflict of interests between my own position on Iraq and the Administration's. Whereas I believe that Saddam has committed genocide, and stands, therefore, in forfeit of his life. This administration sees things a bit differently...
The Right Wing-- and this administration should be mistaken for nothing else-- gazes toward the Mid-east and sees nothing but Iraq. They look toward Iraq and staring back at them; sometimes cowering, sometimes glowering; is Saddam Hussein. Whatever their reasons for wanting him gone (I don't believe that the WMD issue is their actual reasons), it has become a pathology. They wish him out of Iraq, alive if necessary, dead if possible, but out of power regardless. The man is a mania with them, and one which (for reasons stated above) I am willing to get out of their way on...
And yet. I want him dead. I want him to have a nice, legal, trial with the best defense attorney in the world (but not in front of a jury of other genocidal madmen), and after the nice legal trial, I want a nice, legal, execution. The administration doesn't seem to want that, they just want him gone. If the price of him being gone is for another architect of genocide to take his place, I have the feeling that the Administration will allow that. Many will disagree with me on the subject; but the Right has a Carteresq liking for dictators. Indeed that's what got us into this mess in the first place...
For now, I will get out of the way of this war. I hope that events prove me wrong...
Posted by Andrew at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2003
Poll Numbers
First off, the poll numbers reported here are unchanged. These numbers aren't "own", statistically, as few as 20 person out of 1000 may have changed their mind. Who cares?
Secondly, in response to the question:
"What group does Bush generally favor?
Favors rich: 56 Favors middle class: 24 Favors poor: 2"
Who are those 2 percent of people? Those have to be people either very stoned or just messing with the pollsters...
Posted by Andrew at 12:06 AM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2003
Different
And now for somthing completly different...
Posted by Andrew at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2003
DVD regions
Someone please explain to me why the DVD region encoding makes sense? If I get an illegal copy, the studio gets no money. If I am willing to pay an arm and a leg for international shipping, the studio doesn't loose money on the deal. Who, exactly, is having their interests served?
As a side note, unrelated, learning to type again sucks. Why did this sound like a smart thing to do?
Posted by Andrew at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2002
I've never done this
I've never done this. Nope, not me. Not in a bajillion years...
Posted by Andrew at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2002
Dear Mr. Goldberg
Mr. Goldberg wrote a column today! Read it here. What follows is a letter I sent to him after reading it.
May I be permitted to start by saying how much I enjoy your column before I disagree with some specifics from your latest column? As I am about to do just that, I certainly hope so...
I really like your column. In turns it is funny, insightful, and rather well written. I quote from it with greater frequency than those around me might like. I also happen to drive on the (shall we say) left side of the road, so you can see where I might object to at least one or two of your statements. Usually they are in good humor, so I laugh. Today's column: "Hypocrophobia", however seriously misrepresents the arguments of at least a few of us...
I will admit upfront that there are more than a few young (in thought if not age) morons who are knee jerk against any war whatsoever, no matter what, without regard to any reason. I do not count myself in their number, and yet I am opposed to a war in Iraq at this time. Part of it has to do with what is in the Amnesty International report...
There are three main reasons to support an invasion: 1) Al-Quaida and Saddam are linked. This has been stated but never proven. If it were proven, I would be rabidly in favor of going in tomorrow; or, given that it is already tomorrow in Iraq, today. 2) Weapons of Mass Destruction. In my mind, there is only one weapon of mass destruction: nukes. On a ton for ton basis, Chemical and Biological weapons don't cause as much damage and death as conventional weapons, so on balance I care less about them than I do regular weapons, and don't rate the term "mass destruction". I have yet to see credible evidence that Iraq has nukes. The Administration continually talks about how horrible it would be if Iraq had nukes (I agree with that), but hasn't even asked us to trust the Admin that there actually are nukes in Iraq. So that is out the window...
That leaves us with reason 3) Saddam is a monster. This is absolutely true. On any list of the most terrible people to have ever lived Saddam merits a place. Saddam's evil makes Milosevic's look run of the mill. Any principled opposition to this war must answer the question "why do you want to leave Saddam in power?" The answer is Aziz Salih Ahmed...
The thing is that Saddam isn't alone in his evil. He heads an entire system where there actually is a job classification of "violator of women's honor". Simply killing him does not end the regime, it doesn't even necessarily change the regime. The only thing accomplished by killing Saddam is the employment of hundreds of painters to change all those Iraqi murals to reflect the face of the new leader. Killing Saddam still leaves the B'athists (however the hell you spell that) in power...
The Bush Administration from day one of the presidential campaign has stated contempt for the "nation building" process. They have had a chance with Afghanistan to prove that they understood the concept, and knew why it might be necessary. In Afghanistan they are failing. Things in Afghanistan are better now than they were under the Taliban, but that is a bit like saying that McDonalds is better than starvation. It may be true, but that is hardly a virtue of McDonalds...
Let us see a deeper commitment to Afghanistan, moor money for the government there, more food for the people, more technical advisors, more of everything, really. If President Bush can prove to me that he knows how to build a nation, then I will support a war in Iraq. Until I see that I can only assume that the changes in Iraq will be cosmetic only. And changing the face of evil while letting the regime stay in power is not worth a single Turkish dollar, let alone a human life.
Posted by Andrew at 01:35 AM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2002
Gore told the Truth
Ok, look, I am a press pass carrying Journalist. And anyone who knows me, or even knows of me, knows that I am an opinionated man. Actually, that might be a bit mild. The one thing, the absolute one thing that I can never do as a Journalist is to take "facts" someone has given me at face value. For instance:
Earlier this year, I interviewed a candidate for the House of Representatives. I rather sympathized with her; I ended up not only voting for her, but also convincing my family to vote for her. During the interview she made two comments that struck me as questionable. Actually, one I knew to be flat out _wrong_, and the other seemed highly suspect. I got home, I did some fact checking. I was right, the candidate was wrong, I wrote the story with her comments and the realities. They weren't major gaffs; one of them at least was due more to correctable ignorance of the topic than anything else, but they did exist and I had the duty to point them out...
Of course, these journalistic errors can run in the opposite direction: When a politician says something that is demonstrably true, and the media decides to report instead on someone calling that politician a liar, and does not ever do basic Junior College fact checking the American Public is being betrayed. Al Gore appears to have been politically wounded, perhaps fatally, of just such a violation of basic media procedure. If I may be permitted to quote (er) liberally from the Daily Howler (3 December 2002):
"In the Late Edition interview, Blitzer asked Gore to explain what set him apart from Bill Bradley, his opponent for the Dem nomination. Somewhat clumsily, Gore offered a list of career accomplishments. One part of his answer drew more attention than any remark by any candidate in the entire 2000 campaign.
" 'During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet,' Gore said. 'I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth, environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.'" (comments made 9 march 1999)
Does this seem like a grand lie? Is this how you remember thinking and feeling about Gore all through the 2000 presidential elections? No. The reason for this is that on 11 March 1999 the Republican National Conference issued a press release headlined: "Republicans pounce on Gore's claim that he created the Internet". The RNC, of course, has the right to say what they want regarding a rival candidate, but the media has the responsibility to jump all over such a story. If the RNC is wrong (as indeed, it seems they were), then the media needs to tell the public. This is a massive failure of the Media, and harms only the American people who ended up with an image of Gore that was rather at odds with who he really was, and is...
How much harm did this do? I can't help but think that if Gore hadn't been accused of lying when he was telling the truth that he would have fared rather better in the election. Ultimately kudos must be given to Bush and the RNC for turning what should have been major strengths for Gore into major weaknesses. And the deepest shame on the American Media for making a terrible botch of their jobfinding facts and reporting them...
Posted by Andrew at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2002
US/Media Relations
US/Media Relations
First, read here, here, and of course, here.
What do you mean, you have no faith in my ability to find good links? Ok, sample graph:
"Thus begins media boot camp. For seven days, 58 journalists from 31 news organizations are training for waror, at least as much of the war as the Pentagon will allow us to see. If the Bush administration actually proceeds with a war against Saddam Hussein, the Defense Department is planning to "embed" journalists with military units before they head into Iraq. So for the first time ever, the military is training reporters en masse for the rigors of life in a combat zone."
I am far too young to remember the Nixon Administration. I've read about it; it's impossible not to have read a lot about everything that even remotely affected (in both meanings of that) the baby boomers. Their biggest failing, the one from which all others stemmed was the believe that the presidency _is_ America. This is why Vietnam became a fiasco, why the Watergate (a singularly ugly hotel) got bugged, and why ultimately Nixon was a monstrous president.
Of course, at the time, we had a press corps with teeth. The media broke the Cambodia story, published the pentagon papers, and found a source willing to name himself after a porno character. Today, bob Woodward is busy writing books about how great the US president is. Today's media is like a Chihuahua with it's larynx removed; all whimper, not even an annoying yap, utterly useless when separated from the pack. And we are sending them in officially attached to the military.
Make no bones about it this makes the media an official propaganda arm of the US government. Sure, Saddam is doing it, but should we be following his example? Sure, the media has over stepped its bounds, but isn't there a danger to only knowing what the government wants us to know? What if we start bombing Kuwait (to further the Vietnam Example), or reinstate the draft, and the media is so busy following the military, so in need of their military sources, that the only word we have on it is when the bill is presented to congress? If the military blunders (which, of course, it will at some point), I want to know why it happened, and what steps are being taken to insure that it won't happen again.
I am glad that the media is getting training on how to survive on the battlefield. I am glad that they are getting training on how to stay out of the way. Having the media attached to a unit like just another piece of equipment ensures that they will be used as such. If that happens we all lose.
Posted by Andrew at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2002
Spam Spam Spam Spam
Perhaps an Easy way to solve this is to create a law that says something like: No more than one E-mail or one S-Mail per week to each citizen...
Posted by Andrew at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2002
Courtney's Complaint
Courtney's Complaint
The title is for all the literary types out there. No, she is nothing like Philip Roth's character (at least, I don't believe so, and don't think that any actual human being could behave that way...), but the title of the book sounds enough like "Courtney" to make it worthwhile for me...
So, a few weeks ago, I wrote an article for my running column about my school's student government. What it basically amounts to is "goodness, this year's student government has no ideas of their own". That was the complaint. It was just about the only complaint possible, but it may well be a big one. One of the reasons I wrote the article in the first place was that I had said an awful lot of nice things about them and was feeling weird about being a member of the press and constantly saying nothing but good things. On a day when I was reading their old agendas looking for column ideas, I had enough. My gods, nothing but 1) meeting norms 2) voting issues 3) conference reports. My money was being spent on their issues. I wrote an article about it. The ASLPC (Associated Students of Las Positas College) Vice President wrote an article in response. I now have the opportunity to respond to her...
I wish to thank Ms. Farris, for bringing such lucidity to this discussion. If she ever wishes to have a career in writing press releases, she would do far worse than to have her last letter in her portfolio. She and I agree on every point.
In my last column I praised the current government as hard-working. I specifically mentioned their work on committees, and if it is true as she states (and I have no reason to believe that she is lying), that there is more student participation in committees than ever before, this is good.
As for Clubs, I am glad to read that Ms. Riddell has "spearheaded the project of organizing and increasing club involvement". As ICC chair, this is her job, and it is one of the most important jobs the student government can undertake. It is rarely done well, but knowing Ms. Riddell as I do, I have every confidence that she will be able to do it.
Ms. Farris also mentions movie nights and the smoking shelter. I am sure they have spent a lot of time and energy working on these projects. Indeed, as I said last time "these are all fine things, and the lines that they have drawn should not be backed away from".
Perhaps I didn't make my point clear last time. The smoking shelters and movie nights are all projects continuing from last year. As for committees, I would say that they are very relevant, but important to day to day student live.
When I asked Congresspersons Ellen Tauscher and Richard Pombo what they had accomplished in office, I was not told about the fact that they sit on committees for transportation and defense, but rather that they had gotten new funding for transit, and were working on infant crib safety. The fact that they sit on committees is an important part of their jobs, and essential for their ability to do those jobs. It is not the job itself.
At this point in the last year, the ASLPC had decided against new voting methods, was working on a contract to bring movie nights, the ICC had set five thousand dollars aside for clubs to attend conferences, and had actually spent some of that money on clubs attending conferences. Additionally, over the summer we had purchased the outdoor furniture for the student center. By the end of the spring 2002 semester, when a group of students had an issue with the clocks in the large dinning room, the ASLPC had it fixed within a week.
At this point this year, according to Ms. Farris, the ASLPC has spent time on committees and continued last year's policies. It also seems that they have done a lot of internal reorganization. All of these things are good. I know they have done them well. What they are not is new and external. I am not asking for bread and circuses, but seeing the ASLPC spearhead an effort to lower the speed bumps in the parking lot, or raising the speed limit on the fly around, or (if they have not been fixed already) having the women's showers fixed, perhaps even a monthly lecture series with various speakers on given topics. These are the sorts of things I mean when I say "new and external". This government has more drive, ability and determination than any I have seen. I would like to see this energy spent moving forward.
Posted by Andrew at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2002
Blame the Press!
So, really, the press is to blame? Does't suprize me, actualy...
Posted by Andrew at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2002
Read the Atlantic
Jason,
I tried to explain why I read the Atlantic. The reason is that Einstine once wrote an article for them about Nuclear war...
The money Quote here is
"I should say parenthetically that it is well that this country has not taken these precautions, for to have done so would make atomic war still more probable, since it would convince the rest of the world that we are resigned to it and are preparing for it. But nothing has been done to avert war, while much has been done to make atomic war more horrible; so there is no excuse for ignoring the danger."
In One paragraph, he makes the case that either Mutualy Assured Destruction should be our aim, or we need a global missle defense. Back in 1947, and in an asside, he makes the basic case that would be with us from then on...
The rest of you may find it interesting as well...
Posted by Andrew at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2002
Penny-Arcade goodness
I should just let this go without comment. But it's true...
*sigh* Too much Penny Arcade. I'll try and post somthing original to me by next time I blog. Promise...
Posted by Andrew at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2002
facinating
Posted by Andrew at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)