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.
Archives
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 |
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Thoughts and links Speaking of college football, Nebraska beat MSU in the Alamo Bowl, 17-3. The Spartans fell behind by 14 in the second quarter and the offense never got going. Playing in his final college game, Jeff Smoker threw three interceptions. Still the team hung in there and was in the game till near the end of the fourth quarter. So Michigan State finishes the season at 8-5. Not bad but hardly miraculous. This year they generally beat the teams that had less talent than them and lost to the teams with more. That isn't bad and in fact is a good thing in light of years of regularly losing to teams they should have beat. Nonetheless recruiting will determine if Team John L. Smith is able to pick things up a notch or not. *** I forgot to not this earlier but Smith was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Still I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Nick Saban hadn't left four years ago. *** *** "While the Bush campaign maintains a low profile on the national campaign stage — content for now to watch the Democrats beat on one another — it is aggressively working the expansive hustings of Republican-friendly talk radio, priming the grass roots faithful for battle next year," Jim Rutenberg writes in a New York Times story dated December 29. Hey George, give me an interview. I promise not to try to physically harm you in the on-the-record portion. *** Hopefully we can, as a nation, get through the untimely death of Earl Hindman. This past Easter I remember one of my aunts making some "joke" and then explaining, "Like on Home Improvement." I really wanted to respond, "So it is people like you who watch that annoying show. I hold you in contempt." Speaking of that, during a Christmas gathering with extended family this year the topic of tobacco came up and made the "Do you have any tobacco?" joke from Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995). It was only after making the comment that I realized that nobody else had any idea what I was talking about. I probably am too opinionated. *** *** Micro Bomb Detector: 24/7 Real-Time Dirty Bomb Protection *** an ally in the fight for freedom *** "Kurdish members of Iraq's governing council are insisting the country's transitional law include wide-ranging sovereignty rights for the northern Kurdish areas - including control of their natural resources and veto powers over Iraqi military movements in the region," Peter Spiegel and David Pilling write in a Financial Times story dated December 28. "The Kurdish demands are throwing up another hurdle to completing the statute by the proposed deadline of February 28 even though they appear highly unlikely to be adopted in full." *** It is so nice to not have to fear Libya. More. *** Mike Davis on his "world history of revolutionary terrorism from 1878 to 1932" project. *** "What's a Spider Hole?" by Andy Bowers of Slate. Also from Slate is Brendan I. Koerner's "Which Movie Critics Really Matter?" The title isn't the best since it is more about which awards by groups of critics exist. Personally I have strong doubts about any awards for artistic merit that are determined by more than two people, much less those that involved hundreds or thousands. A single person's review can be informed while the opinion can be considered in light of previous evaluations from the critic. In big awards the former can not be done while the latter loses all meaning, especially the meaning that is so often given to such awards. *** Robert Fisk's December 26 report is worth reading. *** freedom in the land of the free freedom in a land freed by those from the land of the free *** *** *** Ivan Eland on Bush and Saddam: ...it would be unfair to compare the magnitude of Saddam’s bellicosity and human rights violations with those of President Bush. After all, Saddam Hussein went to war with two countries -- Iran and Kuwait -- without provocation; so far, President Bush has needlessly invaded only one nation -- Iraq -- without first being attacked or genuinely threatened. In addition, Saddam killed thousands of his own people (some with chemicals sold to him with the approval of the U.S. and other Western governments); President Bush only had his law enforcement agencies intimidate and interrogate thousands of innocent Arabs and Moslems based solely on their ethnicity or religion and detain and mistreat thousands of similar immigrants indefinitely without charges or access to a lawyer. Saddam used censored media to justify or hide such heinous human rights violations; President Bush merely relies on a White House spin machine and a cowed and compliant post-September 11 American press corps to positively pitch his violations of America’s founding principles -- adequate due process and equal protection under the law. In war, we become a little more like our enemies. *** *** Bushdamn those Iraqis! Bushdamn them to hell! *** UPDATE: words to link to words to link to words to link to words to link to words to link to words to link to words to link to words to link to *** David Corn of The Nation on the capture of Saddam. *** Adorno on Chaplin. 2:42 p.m. 12/31/03 UPDATE #2: Hitch on Saddam *** words to link to words to link to *** Brendan O'Neill on the caputre of Saddam. *** I always hate it when celebs think what they say about President George C.W. Bush matters. *** Will the season of fear ever come to an end? 3:20 p.m. 12/31/03 |