bits of pot roast: A few of you have complained about my linking to Thomas Friedmans columns in the past. I guess you find him too conservative. Well, guess what? Im about to link to him again I like him more than most op-ed columnists. Hes pragmatic and he seems to understand the complexities of the situation. Todays column is kind of a high-level overview as to why people have come to hate America. Its worth a read Oh, and if you dont like Thomas Friedman, you can complain to him in person. He lists his email address (at least one of his email addresses) in todays column. Its thfrie@nytimes.com.
a generous helping of shaved ham: Im not quite sure what to make of this web page, but I think I like it. Unless Im way off base, I think its critical of the pervasiveness of American corporate brand culture and the cult of American celebrity. At least thats what I think it says. Here’s an excerpt:
Some Christians will not celebrate Halloween, recognizing in it a Pagan Festival. Yet on Christmas the child receives a baseball cap, shirt, shorts, under shorts, and athletic shoes, each emblazoned with a mystic symbol. Fearing demons, we sacrifice our children to brands.
a roasting pan full of pork drippings: The New York Times has a story today on free speech and the Internet. It follows the case of two people embroiled in a court battle. One of them, a former Miss Vermont, is a woman who now runs a non-profit enterprise dedicated to abstinence among girls and the building of drug-free Christian character. The other is a self-declared cad who has literally written the book on tricking women into bed. It seems as though, on his web site, hes gone to some lengths to point out the hypocrisy of Miss Vermont by relating, among other things, the uninhibited sexual acts she engaged in with him. Well, the court found yesterday in favor of the woman and had the man remove all references to her from his site. In doing so, the court essentially refused to see her as a public figure (in spite of her paid status as a professional role model) and thus fair game for such stories, even if they did happen to be true. Some see it as a setback for free speech. I just found the story of interest because both people involved came across as such pathetic, detestable assholes Heres her website. Heres his website. And heres the New York Times article…
a fist-full of thinly shaved bear heart: Salam Pax, the Baghdad blogger, turns out to also have been an interpreter for a New York Times writer in Iraq. Here’s the story of the American writer and how he learned that his assistant was the globally famous Mr. Pax. (For the back story on Salam Pax, just click here.)
