We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Excerpts from The Impending Collapse of Arab Civilization
I'd like to post the entirety of Col. Lacey's enormously provocative piece, but I don't think I can. The piece is by Lieutenant Colonel James G. Lacey, U.S. Army Reserve, pulbished in the Proceedings of the US Naval Institute, Sept., 2005. His basic thesis is that Islamism is the symptom, but the disease is a civilization at death's door, which counters Bernard Lewis' widely accepted thesis about jihad. At the end of his piece, he offers some solutions, especially an old-fashioned one - "containment." Generous excerpts from this important piece, which deserves to make the rounds, follow (link is at end of continuation page):
"A more accurate understanding of events leads to the conclusion that Arab, not Muslim, civilization is in a state of collapse, and it just happens that most Arabs are Muslims. In this regard, the fall of the Western Roman Empire was a collapse of Western Europe and not a crisis of Christianity. The next question is, how could the world have missed an entire civilization collapsing before its eyes? The simple answer is that no one alive today has ever seen it happen before. Well within living memory we have seen empires collapse and nation-state failure has become a regular occurrence, but no one in the West has witnessed the collapse of a civilization since the Dark Ages. Civilizational collapses take a long time to unfold and are easy to miss in the welter of daily events.
Interestingly, on the Arab League's website there is a paper that details all of the contributions made by Arab civilization. It is a long and impressive list, which unfortunately marks 1406 as the last year a significant contribution was made. That makes next year the 600th anniversary of the beginning of a prolonged stagnation, which began a dive into the abyss with the end of the Ottoman Empire. Final collapse has been staved off only by the cash coming in from a sea of oil and because of a few bright spots of modernity that have resisted the general failure.
Statistics tell an ugly story about the state of Arab civilization. According to the U.N.'s Arab Human Development Report:
There are 18 computers per 1000 citizens compared to a global average of 78.3.
Only 1.6% of the population has Internet access.
Less than one book a year is translated into Arabic per million people, compared to over 1000 per million for developed countries.
Arabs publish only 1.1% of books globally, despite making up over 5% of global population, with religious books dominating the market.
Average R&D expenditures on a per capita basis is one-sixth of Cuba's and less than one-fifteenth of Japan's.
The Arab world is embarking upon the new century burdened by 60 million illiterate adults (the majority are women) and a declining education system, which is failing to properly prepare regional youth for the challenges of a globalized economy. Educational quality is also being eroded by the growing pervasiveness of religion at all levels of the system. In Saudi Arabia over a quarter of all university degrees are in Islamic studies. In many other nations primary education is accomplished through Saudi-financed madrassas, which have filled the void left by government's abdication of its duty to educate the young.
In economic terms we have already commented that the combined weight of the Arab states is less than that of Spain. Strip oil out of Mideast exports and the entire region exports less than Finland. According to the transnational Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), regional economic growth is burdened by declining rates of investment in fixed capital structure, an inability to attract substantial foreign direct investment, and declining productivity — the economic trinity of disaster.
Economic stagnation coupled with rapid population growth is reducing living standards throughout the region, both comparatively and in real terms. In the heady days of the late 1970s oil boom, annual per-capita GDP growth of over 5% fueled high levels of expectations. GDP per-capita grew from $1,845 to $2,300. Today, after adjusting for inflation, it stands at $1,500, reflecting an overall decline in living standards over 30 years. Only sub-Saharan Africa has done worse. If oil wealth is subtracted from the calculations the economic picture for the mass of Arab citizens becomes dire.
Things are indeed bad in the Arab world and will get much worse.
This statement should not be read as mere opinion.
We noted an earlier timeline of Katrina provided by Environmental Economics, but now Rick has gone further. Great work. Read it, but I think his server has been a bit "flooded" with readers. The response to K. wasn't really all that bad, considering the extent of damage and inevitable chaos. Agree: Three cheers for the LA Dept of Wildlife, and the US Military.
Tulane plans to keep tuition revenue that it has already received from its students for the fall. "That allows us to have some source of revenue this fall, while we are closed," he said.
Known as the Fifth Beatle, Sir George surely deserved the term. Producer and advisor on all of the Beatle's records (except for "Let It Be," produced by Phil Spector), he also did all of the orchestration and performed on many of the records. Without doubt, he is the guy who took their raw talent and charisma and shaped it into something big.
When he first heard their demo in 1962, he commented "Awful," - but he liked the fellows when he met them, and enjoyed their humor. One of his early moves was to replace drummer Pete Best with Ringo, a better drummer from a competing Liverpool band.
A grown-up (born 1923), an ex-lieutenant in the British Air Force, a devotee of classical music and an experienced producer who had worked with Peter Ustinov, Peter Sellers, Spike Mulligan and Dudley Moore, it was great luck that he decided to take on the unknown Liverpool and Hamburg bar-band The Beatles. Sir George lent stability and musical sophistication to the band, and he knew his way around a recording studio. Sir George is, sadly, now hard-of-hearing and getting on in years, but Beatles afficionados (and who isn't?) can get a good sense of the Beatles' evolution, and of his role in it, on the 1996 The Beatles Anthology, a fine series to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon while puttering around.
(In their brief, very productive 10-year life, it's hard to decide on a favorite Beatles album, but I would have to say that "Revolver" is their best. Not to disparage any of their other stuff. "Rubber Soul" is up there too, but for pure simple wholesome joyful pop, their first American release, which I still have on vinyl - "Meet The Beatles" - is great clean fun and full of memories for me and everyone else of my generation. It holds up well, too, if you don't need ugliness and evil in your pop music. But I cannot get into favorite Beatles - Hey Jude, Penny Lane, I Wanta Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, and the magical She Said She Said...it's endless. Oh, also Revolution, the B side of the single Hey Jude - the tune that corrected millions of impressionable adolescent minds. If you young pups want to Meet the Beatles, listen to all of their recordings - in chronological order. Satisfaction guaranteed.)
Frank Houston did a good piece on Martin in Salon in 2000, here. A brief intereview with him here, on his composing the score for the movie Yellow Submarine.There is a brief bio of Sir George on Wikipedia. There is a better and more extensive one here - click on Biography of Sir George Martin and it will appear. And more on him at this website. I am sure that a Knighthood is a fine and very cool thing, but Sir George has a far better reward for his work - the delight and gratitude of millions.
Remember the attitudes of the press and the "intelligentsia" during Nixon's admin? Has there been any difference with Ford, Reagan, Bush 1, or Bush 2? Any?
The nation has become smarter, wealthier, and more shrewd and skeptical since the Nixon years, but the hate and the use of lies and propaganda haven't changed one bit - nor the impulse to destroy any Repub. administration. (And, yes, Nixon was an excellent President - but not a conservative by any means -whose cover-up was about as classy as Clinton's.)
It isn't every day that we at Maggie's are honored by a lengthy comment from a Sgt., USMC WW2 and Korea vet. This from Jim Baxter from Choicemaker:
Every September, I recall that is more than half a century since I landed at Nagasaki with the 2nd Marine Division in the original occupation of Japan following World War II. This time every year, I have watched and listened to the light- hearted "peaceniks" and their light-headed symbolism-without-substance of ringing bells, flying pigeons, floating candles, and sonorous chanting and I recall again that "Peace is not a cause - it is an effect."
In July, 1945, my fellow 8th RCT Marines [I was a BARman] and I returned to Saipan following the successful conclusion of the Battle of Okinawa. We were issued new equipment and replacements joined each outfit in preparation for our coming amphibious assault on the home islands of Japan.
B-29 bombing had leveled the major cities of Japan, including Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Yokosuka, and Tokyo.
We were informed we would land three Marine divisions and six Army divisions, perhaps abreast, with large reserves following us in. It was estimated that it would cost half a million casualties to subdue the Japanese homeland.
Read his whole comment on Maggie's, here. And thanks, Jim
However familiar his work is, the man himself has been a mystery. No longer. From Schjeldhal's review of Spurling's multi-volume biography of Henri Matisse, in The New Yorker:
How can intellectual potency be claimed for an artist whose specialty, by his own declared ambition, was easeful visual bliss? It’s a cinch, now that Spurling has cleared away a century’s worth of misapprehensions and canards. Take, for example, the popular notion that Matisse was hedonistic. Hedonists seek pleasure. Matisse served it, as a monk serves God. He was a self-abnegating Northerner who lived only to work, and did so in chronic anguish, recurrent panic, and amid periodic breakdowns.
Read the whole review to learn more about the man who said that art should be like a good armchair.The piece above is Matisse's Seated Dancer - in an armchair. Notice the way he patterned her skin, like upholstery. The website Artcyclopedia has a good Matisse section here, with paintings listed by museums, and links to photos.
Subject: Houston's response to the evacuees of Katrina
Dear everyone:
I thought you might like to know what yesterday was like for me: Andrea White(the mayor's wife and good friend) called me and asked if I'd like to join her to tour the Astrodome, Reliant Center and the George R. Brown.Of course I ran with the opportunity.(Now I know what it's like to be a political dignitary----all guarded doors just miraculously open!!!) What this city has done is absolutely amazing.The Astrodome has over 15,000 people there, Reliant Center about 5K, and the George R. Brown about 4K. There are many other shelters throughout the city and it is estimated that we have about 125K evacuees housed in Houston-Harris county.The volunteers that have shown uphave organized chaos into a semblance of order, whichis nothing but miraculous.There is all the food anyone could eat.Some still hoarding for fear they will loose their food, etc.Over 8K have already been re-located into housing.SBC set up free phones so that people couldtry to connect with families.CPS relocated 50 children with their parents.As of yesterday we still had 3 children in emergency foster care----don't know the count today---but I did see Rusty Joiner at the Astrodome yesterday.The clothing, shoes, etc., are being distributed. Showers are hot and the water plentiful.A laundry is donating their services to get the towels and personal items of evacuees done.All towels were donated, I haven't a clue where they came from.
Did you know that you can plant clematis in the fall? It's a good way to jump-start them. Best source for these climbers who require shaded roots, here. They have detailed planting instructions, too - important for these vines.
Natural gas used to be flared off at the top of oil wells, but it has become economically worthwhile to transport and sell it by means in addition to pipelines.
Thus liquefied natural gas tankers are a growing component of fuel transport. As of 2003, there were only 151 operating, and more being built. Most, but not all, have the distinctive row of bell-shaped containers. Their construction is double the cost of oil tankers due to the costs of refrigeration and insulation, and only eight shipyards in the world are building them. We can expect to see more of them around in the future, but their construction is limited by the numbers of unloading terminals.
There's some good info on the economics of LNG transport here, and a fine gallery of LNG tanker photos here.
Bird Dog is back (Do I hear that distant applause? Or am I hallucinating again?). I am not going to fire The News Junkie, but I would fire Brown, Nagrin and Blanco if I had the power. Baby Landrieu too, for good measure. But the NJ - who I rely on - has a tendency to get caught up in the headlines of the moment and to lose perspective. It must be his youth. He likes the adrenaline rush, the battle of the moment, getting indignant at stupidity and lying, etc. etc., but in two weeks, the hurricane story will be over and the story of life will resume, until the next Big Story. He gets obsessed, and wants to make a difference - but he doesn't. Biggest flood in American history - Big Story. Biblical. Apocalyptic and Dylanesque. But the politics of it are cheap and a shame and a pity and a bore. The only blog I've seen - and no newspapers either (The always- predictable NYT is trying to make a race war out of it) - that deals with it all rationally (eg non-politically) is Env. Economics. Also, a blog I like, Ex-Donkey, who has ignored it thus far, probably modestly and wisely figuring everyone else is doing enough with it.
Let's step back. The American Left, noisy as it is, is small but desperately angry and hateful. They have become opportunistic berserkers and annoying mosquitoes because, having been deprived of power, they have only the power to destroy and snipe and bite. The country has taken back the White House, the Senate, the House, and now the Supreme Court away from them, and they feel like they are down in the flood, not only in the US but everywhere. Being down in the flood can make people crazy. This "Left" includes the MSM and the NYT, for sure, and some fraction - not all - of the Democratic Party. They do go beyond the legacy of "loyal opposition" to the point of "disloyal" and the point of dishonest propaganda, and I do not excuse this. The issue could be anything. They seek to destroy when they cannot win in elections, but, as I recall, there were some who tried the same with Clinton.
It's a very dirty game, and far worse when not played by rules of honor and integrity and respect. Now, it's war. They will lose some and win some, but they will lose in the long run, because their ideas don't make sense in the real world, and because their hatred of time-honored traditions and morals give folks the creeps - most people are not ready to have reality reinvented by self-selected, self-important moralizers. Rather have these things maintained by elected, self-important moralizers! But right now, they are emotion-intoxicated and therefore irrational and dangerous. (And, may I add, Bush is no conservative. Maybe he was once, but now he's just a regular politician, and a below-average one too, without the manipulative instincts and with, let's say, only average ability to think when he talks.)
More importantly, Michelle has lists of places to donate clothing, supplies, etc. by mail. What a great motivation to clean those closets. There is a need for $, but for stuff too - so send both, or just send stuff. We're doing it here today - all the kids, too.
On an early Sunday morning, we like to call this view from the front porch of the hunting and fishing camp "The Church of Azicohos Lake" (Maine). Use your imagination to add the spooky call of the loons, or, for the real thing, click here. Not a bad spot for morning prayer and worship.
Through Labor Day. Best wishes to our readers for a fine holiday weekend.
We will pre-post a few things so the well don't run dry. And we will put the News Junkie on the New Orleans stories, with the promise of a hefty bonus.
Yes, that is Cape Cod, where we are never surprised that sea and wind rule the earth.
Further Comment on New Orleans: Give $, But Please Don't Re-build
This is a heart-breaking human catastrophe, but please, everybody, quit it with the brave-sounding but totally-in-denial "We'll rebuild" talk. Don't do it. There is courage, and there is hubris: challenging the gods of wind and water is hubris. Just ask any sailor, or anyone who lives near the sea. These gods, givers of both good and ill, are patient but relentless, and will have their own way in time.
Our Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts were once taller than the Alps. Wind and water brought them down to gentle hills. So also, obsessive Bush-haters, quit it with the blame. (He is not only not a god, but if you can blame him for bad weather, then you have to credit him for every nice day, too. We have tons of those, but this we will not do.) It is not only clearly disingenuous and dishonestly opportunistic - it also implies, with hubris again, that man has the power to overcome nature. You already read our satire on the subject (written after Katrina luckily bypassed New Orleans, but before the flooding began).
However fine a city it is/was - one of America's favorite and most colorfully and happily decadent places - it's in the wrong place, and has always been an accident waiting to happen. Everyone knew that: it was part of its magic and mythology, a romantically-doomed place, our Atlantis-in-waiting. Blame it on the French settlers, who viewed it as a strategic military spot and a convenient trading place. Living below sea level is for ducks, fish and alligators. If New Orleans is to be rebuilt, this is the chance to do it on higher ground, instead of living at the mercy of nature and the often-misguided Army Corps of Engineers who, when not at war, are always looking for something to do to justify their budget. Let's do it in the practical American way, not in the French way. Cities, these days, have enough problems without the additional dangers of inhabiting a swamp surrounded by the mighty Missippippi River - already (temporarily) reconfigured to mankind's wishes, Lake Ponchartrain, and the Gulf of Mexico, while pretending that we are clever enough, and powerful enough, to outwit Mother Nature... but deep-down knowing that we cannot.
That discussion can wait, however. The nation is pitching in with donations, as we always do - we posted Glenn's list yesterday and he has more today - we like the Salvation Army - always the angels for the truly down-and-out. Catholic Charities, which I worked for during college, is a strong and effective organization too. All we have to offer is money and prayer for folks, especially the poor, whose lives will never be the same.
Among the many predators which interfere with sea turtle reproductive success, Mexicans with the notion that turtle eggs enhance male potency are among the worst.
People hang out on the beaches of Mexico at night with flashlights, and after a female has finished laying, they raid the nest in the sand and sell the eggs at ridiculous prices to sexually-insecure hombres. Sea turtles have enough problems (few of their babies survive to adulthood, fishing nets ensnare and drown them, some are illegally hunted for meat and shell, and shipping and propellers do damage too).
So Mexico has produced an ad. Will it help? Worth a try. I don't think a photo of a turtle would have quite the same impact. Hey, amigos, try Viagra instead. It's cheaper than turtle eggs, and it really does work. Story here.
Katrina photos, here. Meteorologists contend Katrina's damage could have been far worse. And the Christian kooks come out of the woodwork to blame God's vengeance.
Nervy pilot: Air Force One drops to 2900 feet to view hurricane damage, here.
And from around the world (from Opie, back from Alaska):
Where is the compassion?
I have searched high and low but perhaps I haven't read enough newspapers. Can anyone tell Maggie's Farm what the world is saying about America's present tragedy? I remember France among others telling us how we did not give enough aid when the tsunami hit Asia, but where are they now? I suppose the world feels Americans can take care of themselves. And we can, but wouldn't it be nice to have a little compassion for those folks who have lost everything including their lives.
Eureka! Der Spiegel has the outlook:"When a tsunami hit South Asia in December, the world mobilized to help and aid poured in. Now that parts of America are underwater, the US is handling the relief work virtually alone. What is going on? By Jody K. Biehl in Berlin more...
Floods are mythic things. They all refer back to Noah, and they all refer to apocalytic events in general, whether personal or widespread. I received some hypersensitive comments about the Dylanologist's photo post last night, but let me inform you: Dylan's song Down in the Flood is DEAD serious and not a lark. Songs and poetry are more serious than prose. We lowly prose-writers must never forget that.
The hate-Bush Jihad is politicizing the storm all around the wacko blogosphere, and yesterday German politicians joined the chorus of blaming Bush for hurricanes - seriously. And now the well-known expert climatologist RFK Jr. On Monday, we posted our satire, before the flooding began and when everything seemed OK there, which seems a bit insensitive in the current context. At the same time, the politicization of a storm is not only deplorable, it's a lie.
I kind of hate to interject this at this moment, but the Left justifies lying, because they believe they are historically right and morally superior, so the ends justify the means. People like RFK Jr aren't stupid, just unwise - they are clever and corrupted by arrogance. Most ordinary politicians are motivated by pure self-interest - money, perks, acceptance, stature, fame, favors, power, ego-building, and chicks in the Georgetown bars (sorry to state the truth, Chris "Little Tom" Dodd, Teddy and Gig-John...does not apply to my old college buddy Jerry Nadler) - those apply to the familiar smiley-face corrupt sad souls everyone easily sees and understands and accepts as one more dumb part of life in their towns, states and federal reps, and keeps a safe distance from the contamination, to protect their souls. Until they need contracts or favors...
But the Elite Left runs on deeper motives, and are therefore more insidious and dangerous than the average everyday conniving, mercenary political jerks that would use their poor mother or even their dog or kids for manipulative advantage, if they only could. Why? because the Lefty politicos think they have been anointed to save the world - not just their lowly selves and their pointless lives. They want to save you! But you don't want to be saved by them, do you? And one thing politicans know is that if you repeat a lie often enough, it will enter the ethos. Believe me on that, if on nothing else.
Anyway, having completed this highly therapeutic rant, the truth is that hurricanes appear in cycles - and we are in one. Rick Moran has already rightfully blown his top over this.
The best site I have found for New Orleans updates is the Times-Picayune's breaking news log, here. With hundreds, if not thousands, of people still stranded in flooded homes, attics and rooftops across the city, rescue boats were bypassing the dead to reach the living, Mayor C. Ray Nagin said. Nola.com: NewsFlash - Crisis grows as New Orleans looted, flooded . And who knew that Katrina's rains hit Palm Beach and Miami?
Instapundit today lists some good places to donate money. Let's all step up to the plate, and do the right thing, as we did with the tsunami - altho this is nothing compared to that, it's bad enough.
(Photo: Mount Ararat and Mount Ururtu, from the website named)
Re our piece on translating Petrarch posted yesterday, a reader sent in this quote from the Hebrew poet H. Bialek: "Reading poetry in translation is like kissing your mother, through a veil."
Sir George Martin
A Comment on War, Peace, Freedom, and Bombs
Matisse
Something Beautiful for a Sad Time
LNG Tankers
Not a bad spot for morning prayer and worship.
Further Comment on New Orleans: Give $, But Please Don't Re-build
Katrina, and Politics