| Thursday,
July 14, 2005 Today we celebrate the liberation of seven
aristocrats: four forgers, two madmen, and a young aristocrat who had
challenged the best swordsman in France to a duel and whose father got the
king to lock him up to prevent his being killed. The forgers vanished. The
madmen were sent to the common madhouse. The final young mad became "Citizen
Liberte" under which name he lost his head in The Terror because apparently
his conversion from aristocracy was incomplete. The garrison of the fortress
prison was composed of retired and disabled soldiers, all of whom had been
appointed because of meritorious service to the nation. They were
slaughtered to a man.
Liberty. Equality. Fraternity.
===============
Rove vs. Wilson
Everyone is concerned about Rove. No one seems to be
looking at the source of the flap.
I see that Joe Wilson, who botched his investigation of attempts to buy
uranium in Niger, having been sent there by his wife, is calling for Rove's
resignation. Since Rove more than one year ago gave all journalists
permission to quote from any interviews they had with him on this subject,
it remains a mystery to me why one reporter is in jail, and another waited
until the last minute to reveal that he had permission from his source to
testify to the Grand Jury. Surely this cannot have been a spin on the part
of the press to give this story legs?
What remains a mystery is why Wilson, who got the assignment from his
wife's recommendation, thought that having gone public to denounce the
Administration by revealing the details of his CIA work in an op-ed article,
ever thought that no one would look into what his wife did for a living. One
wonders: mendacious? Incompetent? Duplicitous? Or some other explanation? I
invite comment. Can he possibly be so naive as to suppose that after writing
an article denouncing the Administration, no one would ask how he got the
assignment in the first place? Or that once it came out that it was on his
wife's recommendation, no one would look into her employment and how she got
the power to recommend this future Democratic Party operative for a CIA
assignment?
As for me, I don't think I much care what Wilson says, and I certainly
wouldn't hire a man who spoke of discovering forgeries in documents that
weren't shown to him until months after his report. I think the CIA could
have taken a name at random from the Pentagon phone book and got at least as
good a report as they got from Wilson. He took a junket to Niger, sat around
drinking tea, talked to people who would come talk to him, investigated
nothing: this according to his own account. Then he talked about his report
in the newspapers, which resulted in scrutiny of his report, which resulted
in discovery of its worthlessness. Interestingly, the original
interpretation of the report was that it confirmed that Iraq was trying to
buy uranium. Wilson now says he concluded the opposite. The Brits to this
day stand by the story Wilson was to "investigate": the Brits to this day
say that Saddam did try to buy uranium in Niger.
There's other evidence, and it's a fair conclusion that Saddam did seek
to buy uranium in Niger. He didn't get any, but he was trying to buy it.
Wilson says his report proves he did not even try; but apparently the
original report did not support that conclusion. At least the Company
thought his report supported the conclusion that Saddam tried to buy uranium
in Niger, and that resulted in their not objecting to Bush's use of that in
his address.
Wilson, meanwhile, says his report supports no such conclusion, and
Saddam never did any such thing. Wilson's op-ed piece denounces forged
documents that Wilson could not have seen before writing his report. So: he
went at his wife's behest; he submitted a report that apparently supported
the contention that Saddam tried to buy uranium; he went public stating that
his report proved that Saddam did not try to buy uranium; he embarrassed the
Washington Post which eventually had to reveal him as a source. We
could go on but why bother?
In my judgment the attention being given to Mr. Wilson, given the track
record of his achievements in his CIA assignment, is a bit odd. Why should I
care what a Kerry staffer recommends about Republican strategists? Is it
unpredictable?
And see next week
=================
There is in last week's Weekly Standard an article,
"What's the Matter with Gitmo?",
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/771uukif.asp
that I recommend to your attention. It is well thought out, and he has
looked at actions and alternatives as well as backgrounds. I don't suppose I
agree with everything he said, but at the moment I don't recall much to
disagree with.
One paragraph: "One conclusion, then: We are
all always rightly concerned about the operational morality of America's
intelligence agencies; we should probably be more concerned about their
competence. It's not at all unlikely that however much military and CIA
officers have had recourse to physical intimidation and pain in their
interrogations, this choice is probably more common more quickly among
officers who don't have the necessary background and linguistic skills to
deconstruct effectively their detainees through mental seduction,
intimidation, and fatigue. "
I could not agree more with that.
=====================
<http://www.newsmax.com>
Hillary Clinton 'Seething' Over Rick Santorum
From NewsMax.com
2008 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was
reportedly "seething" after what the New York Post says was a "frosty"
encounter yesterday with her conservative Senate colleague Rick Santorum.
Clinton paused during a Capitol Hill interview
with Post reporter Ian Bishop "to let out a week's worth of pent-up
frustration," the paper said, over Santorum's new book, "It Takes a Family:
Conservatism and the Common Good." <http://www.newsmaxstore.com/nms/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=1940&af_id=1237>
Santorum penned his tome in response to
Clinton's own best-selling tribute to socialism, "It Takes a Village." [NewsMax
has some of the first copies of Santorum's book -- get it with our FREE
offer -- Go Here Now <http://www.newsmaxstore.com/nms/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=1940&af_id=1237>
.]
But up until now, the former first lady has
held her fire.
"It takes a village, Rick, don't forget that,"
Clinton called out as the two passed in a narrow hallway.
"It takes a family," Santorum shot back through
a veiled smile.
Not content to let the Pennsylvania Republican
have the last word, Clinton responded, "Of course, a family is part of a
village!"
The exchange may be the first of several
debates between the two diamatrically opposed senators, if - as the Post
posits - Santorum tosses his hat into the presidential ring in 2008 and
challenges Mrs. Clinton.
And these are said to be two leading candidates for the Presidency;
each wants to be the most powerful man, uh, person, in the world.
Don't forget, it takes a real Viking to raze a village... Or perhaps an
Islamic Jehadist.
==============================================
An announcement that may interest some:
Subject: Explorers Club Documentary Film Festival 2006
Call for Entries
CALL FOR ENTRIES
The fourth annual Explorers Club Documentary Film
Festival will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2006. The Film Festival
represents a continuation and extension of the Club's longstanding mission,
as we seek to honor filmmakers who share our vision for, and commitment to,
a healthier planet in the twenty-first century. The festival will be a
daylong celebration of the best in films on the subjects of Scientific
Exploration, Field Research, and Wildlife & Conservation.
The competition is open to members of The Explorers
Club as well as the general public, and we invite filmmakers to submit their
works for consideration. Films completed between January 1, 1998, and
October 13, 2005, are eligible for submission.
Deadline for submissions: October 14, 2005.
Download and print the entry form:
http://explorers.org/spec_events/filmfest/filmfest2006/filmfest2006.pdf
Or contact The Explorers Club to request an entry
form. Entry forms must be completed in hardcopy and submitted by mail.
Submit inquiries or completed entry form to:
Sybille Campbell, Festival Director The Explorers Club
46 East 70th Street New York, NY 10021 Tel: 212-628-8383 Fax: 212-628-2048
Email:
filmfestival@explorers.org
Stephanie Chambers Events Coordinator for Sybille
Campbell
The Explorers Club 46 East 70th Street New York, NY
10021 (212) 628-8383 (212) 628-2048 (Fax)
reservations@explorers.org
============================
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