micah holmquist's irregular thoughts and links |
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Welcome to the musings and notes of a Cadillac, Michigan based writer named Micah Holmquist, who is bothered by his own sarcasm. Please send him email at micahth@chartermi.net. Holmquist's full archives are listed here.
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Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution) Aljazeera.Net English Blogs that for one reason or another Holmquist would like to read on at least something of a regular basis (always in development) Thivai Abhor |
Monday, June 09, 2003
Links Yesterday's Los Angeles Times had two very interesting articles. "Saddam Hussein's intelligence services set up a network of clandestine cells and small laboratories after 1996 with the goal of someday rebuilding illicit chemical and biological weapons, according to a former senior Iraqi intelligence officer," Bob Drogin writes in yesterday's edition. "The officer, who held the rank of brigadier general, said each closely guarded weapons team had three or four scientists and other experts who were unknown to U.N. inspectors. He said they worked on computers and conducted crude experiments in bunkers and back rooms in safe houses around Baghdad. He insisted they did not produce any illegal arms and that none now exist in Iraq. But he said the teams met regularly and put plans on paper to quickly develop weapons of mass destruction if U.N. sanctions against Iraq were lifted." "As much as liberals abhor the conservative agenda, there is something far more frightening to them now - not that Republicans have an ideological grand plan but that they don't have one. Instead, the GOP plan is policy solely in the service of politics, which should terrify democrats everywhere," Neil Gabler writes in the final paragraph of an opinion pieces in yesterday's paper. Gabler, who is a senior fellow at the Norman Lear Center, makes a persuasive case that this is Team Bush's intention, although it should be noted that similar arguments have been made about Democrats, but I doubt it will come to pass. And if it did, Republicans might regret what happens as such a change could open a space for some party, perhaps the Green Party or the Libertarian Party, to become a true opposition party. *** Warren Vieth has a story in today's Los Angeles Times about the rush to make money reconstructing Iraq. *** Things don't look good in the Congo, Indonesia or North Korea. *** The three main Palestinian militant groups staged an unusual joint attack today on an Israeli Army outpost here, killing four soldiers and registering their clear and violent opposition to the American-led peace initiative. A fifth Israeli soldier was killed in a second attack later today in the West Bank city of Hebron," Ian Fishher writes in a June 8 New York Times story. The groups are Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades. *** I wonder if "G. in baghdad" is legit. *** In a June 5 Chicago Sun-Times story, Bill Zwecker writes: Is the ghost of Sen. Joe McCarthy alive and well in Hollywood? That is certainly on the minds of many outspoken liberals in Tinsel-town these days. The latest conspiracy theory focuses on the just-announced axing by ABC of very vocal anti-Iraq war activist Janeane Garofalo's new sitcom, ''Slice o' Life.'"...I'm doubtful but Garofalo's stance probably didn't help her. What is amazing is how Garofalo, who I like as an actor and comedian, is often painted as a radical when in fact she has very moderate, pro-United Nations views. *** In a June 8 New York Times story, James Risen writes: Two of the highest-ranking leaders of Al Qaeda in American custody have told the C.I.A. in separate interrogations that the terrorist organization did not work jointly with the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein, according to several intelligence officials.The whole story is worth reading. *** In a June 2 History News Network piece, Rick Shenkman reports Japan's history of militarism is, to put it kindly, minimized at the Japanese War Museum in Tokyo. Shane Green of The Age reported similar findings in an August 2, 2002 story. *** Joseph McBride's Searching for John Ford: A Life looks like an interesting book. |