Newstalk

I listen to Newstalk 106 a lot – more than I listen to RTE. Apparently, I'm one of the few.

I have to say I'm glad to read that Eamon Dunphy hasn't helped the station. I think he had his moment on TodayFM when he brought some serious competition to RTE for radio news. However, now we have his former show on TodayFM and George Hook on Newstalk using the same format.

My biggest problem with Newstalk is the frequent dive into crudity. This can happen at any time, but seems most prevalent on their sports program, Off the Ball.

I generally like this program. The presenters are young and good. However, they often venture into territory that really is of little interest and they do so in a language that should be out of bounds.

For example, last week they discussed the fact that snooker player Shaun Murphy is a Christian and that Murphy met his wife through a Christian chatroom. They then descended to discussing Murphy's virginity in totally inappropriate language. I was so annoyed I actually hurt myself diving on the radio to turn it off.

The station could be far better, but I'm still glad it's there.

U2 - not blowing 'em away in the Windy City

A few weeks ago the Sunday Independent's magazine had a feature length article about how U2 is still "the greatest rock band in the world". Barry Egan had been dispatched to Anaheim to see for himself after rumors floated back here that the shows on the current tour haven't been getting great reviews.

Today I stumbled on to the Sun-Times's Jim DeRogatis's review of Saturday night's show in Chicago. To say that DeRogatis was less than impressed would be seriously understating it.

[I]t was every bit as phony, bombastic and manipulative as a Britney Spears concert, the Republican National Convention or a televangelist's miracle-working dog and pony show.

As a fan who's seen the group a dozen times and who ranks 1992's Zoo TV tour on the short list of the best concerts I've ever experienced, U2 has never seemed as pointlessly pretentious and preachy.

"Britney Spears" - that's a serious allegation.

DeRogatis is clearly bored with Bono, but he seems equally annoyed with the rest of the band.

The 45-year-old front man's hubristic sins went on and on -- there was a facile routine about how Christianity, Judaism and Islam are all "true" (with Buddhism and other religions conspicuously absent from the list), speeches about how "we" can end poverty in Africa, and boasts about how world leaders take his calls. Still, while he was the most obnoxious presence, it would be wrong to single him out as the only offender.

Guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. gave their silent approval while providing the music that served as background and afterthought for all of this speechifying, and they did so in a rote, autopilot fashion that created a disturbing contrast between the impassioned windbaggery and the passionless rock 'n' roll.

DeRogatis acknowledges that most of the fans seemed happy enough, but today's Sun-Times has a selection of letters from fans who were happy to read his review. The Tribune's Greg Kot was only a little happier with Saturday's show. Kyle Munson in the Des Moines Register was even more up-beat.

I've already said that I like the new album. However, I find it hard to take Bono's theatrical politics. I can imagine the band feels the same way. I know people like Bono or Springsteen feel they have something to say and they don't shy away when they've got the attention of thousands of people, but I think it falls flat.

I really think that it does no good for the causes they espouse. Much better to keep it local (as Springsteen used to do with his "Let's support the local soup kitchen" or whatever) or focus on one narrow, achievable task. Bono sounds too much like a Miss America wannabe seeking "world peace".

Georgians—out of their minds?

I was watching Euronews this evening and I thought there was almost a tone of disbelief during the report on the events in Tbilisi today. President Bush getting cheers from a massive crowd (around 100,000) in a European capital? How can this be?

Lebanon's best friend?

Ireland, according to Rory Miller. Miller runs through the history of Ireland's various missions to Lebanon, which started in 1958.

WWII lessons for Bush

This is the kind of history that really annoys me. The Boston Globe's editorial today on President Bush and the lessons of World War II:

though Bush said some things in the Latvian capital of Riga and in Moscow that needed to be said, he was speaking as a leader who has demonstrated an unfortunate insensitivity to the lessons his predecessors learned from the inferno of World War II.

. . . It is Bush, however, who cast aside the lessons of World War II when he first came to office, rejecting the close cooperation with allies that his father had practiced so deftly while presiding over the Cold War's bloodless denouement and the unification of Germany. It would be a good thing for the United States and its allies if Bush, listening to Putin say yesterday in Red Square that the victory of [over? - JF] Nazism cannot be divided "into ours and someone else's," absorbed the lesson his father's generation learned at great cost about the value of collective security, multilateral cooperation, and strong alliances.

Huh?

Leave aside for the moment that his father's devotion to multilateralism and cooperation with "allies" was responsible for the disastrous first Gulf War.

The lesson of World War II was that weak, leaderless multilateralism offers no security whatsoever. World War II was a result of weakness and the failure of the League of Nations to act. Victory in World War II was the result of resolute action by a "coalition of the willing" – the US, USSR, UK and other Commonwealth nations – and that's about it. The Cold War was much more about alliances and cooperation, but that too would have failed without determined US leadership.

In fact, I think the case is stronger that Bush has over-applied the lessons of World War II. His willingness to act against those who are potentially great enemies, even when that appears fairly unlikely, indicate that he certainly knows the history of 1930s appeasement.

Louis Leithold

The author of one of the best books I 'read' in college has died. Louis Leithold wrote The Calculus, which I used in my freshman year. It was the only math book I kept (usually I sold my books when the new term started) for the full four years.

I remember that it was about three days into my freshman year when I realized how much better Leithold's book was than the one I'd used in high school. I was annoyed at my high school teacher when I realized he could have used Leithold's book instead of the 400 pages of confusion we did use.

(I think it was Leithold's book – the edition we used – that had the oddest book cover I've ever seen. The cover was taken from a painting, which was the work of a Polish man, Roman Opalka. He was painting numbers from 1 to infinity. Every time he changed canvases he made the paint a little lighter so that as the numbers moved towards infinity the canvas moved towards all white.)

Fall of Saigon & VE Day

Interesting that the two anniversaries were so close together. There were many articles in the press comparing today's Iraq with the Vietnam War. I saw fewer making reference to the events of 60 years ago with today's happenings in Iraq, but I'm sure they're out there.

I know why so many people love referring to Vietnam when discussing Iraq, but I don't see how what happened in S.E. Asia in the 1960s & 70s has any relevance today. Vietnam is as relevant to understanding today's war as World War II was to understanding Vietnam.

The military had lessons to learn from Vietnam (and all deployments since) and those lessons are, presumably, being applied as far as practicable in Iraq today. However, the political equation is completely different today.

The only similarity from what I can see is that many people oppose the war. This is not new. World War I, the Spanish-American War, the Indian wars, the Civil War, the Mexican American War, and the War of 1812 ("the most unpopular war that the United States ever waged, not even excepting the Vietnam conflict") all had a large number of detractors in the US.

Is this war the right course of action for the United States? That is the fundamental question. After that, if the answer is 'yes', then what are the right tactics to win the war? If the answer is 'no' then how do we exit Iraq? Talking about Saigon, Hanoi, the Vietcong, Ho Chi Minh, etc. might be comforting for some people in the media and academia, but these discussions provide nothing useful to help answer the key questions regarding Iraq.

Italian baseball

The New York Times with more on baseball in Italy. First noted here about a year ago. Nettuno is clearly the heart of Italian baseball. I love the story about Joe DiMaggio's visit to the town in 1957.

US farms in 19th cent = Chinese manufacturers today

I really enjoy reading David McWilliams. I'm not sure if his analyses are always or even frequently correct, but he certainly gets me thinking.

This might be a gross over-reach, but McWilliams ties together the problems at GM & Ford with those at Waterford Crystal and then says look to China for the causes of their problems. He compares China's influence in manufacturing with the influence of the United States in agriculture during the 19th century. I love this kind of stuff. I'll read this again and keep wondering if he's onto something or just linking a few items together, ignoring others and saying, "Look - here's the future".

Kentucky Derby Day

I don't really have much interest in horse racing, but today all Met and Red Sox fans are rooting against one particular horse – favorite Bellamy Road. Bellamy Road is owned by George Steinbrenner who, for those who don't know, also owns the Evil Empire (a.k.a. the NY Yankees).

In a related, happy story, feast your eyes on this. Sure it might not last, but for now the Yankees are stinking up the joint and I'm lovin it.

UPDATE: Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, won the big race. Steinbrenner's horse was 7th. And, I have no idea why the Giacomo's owner named his horse after Sting's son.

9/11 Commission Report - Chapter 3

The third chapter is much tougher going than the first two. This chapter deals with what each relevant government department did and didn't do before September 11.

This chapter contains a lot of supporting evidence for anyone who thinks that government should be as small as possible. National security is, obviously, the domain of the government. It's what government should do.

Trouble is, big governments do best what they've always done. They don't change quickly. This chapter details how the government's defense and homeland security practices were essentially unchanged throughout the 90s up to September 11.

Little fiefdoms, familiar structures and redundant skills are part of any big organization. They are a bigger problem in governments than in businesses, which are forced to change or die in the competitive marketplace.

Transformations are shunned by governments who prefer currying favor with voters and not disrupting their permanent paid employees. During the 90s the federal government failed to transform its defense operations because the required changes were too painful. Established defense and security practices, highly skilled cold warriors & tacticians, and a bi-polar world-view were all redundant from the moment Boris Yeltsin took office. Yet, a decade after the collapse of the USSR the federal government was still operating essentially in a cold war mode.

This inability to change is the primary reason I don't believe in big government. The intentions might be right, but eventually the demands of those who work in the government (or state-owned companies) or the needs of a few key constituencies will take precedence over serving the needs of those who are ultimately the "customers".

Arm the Gardai?

I was listening to a discussion this evening on whether the Gardai should be armed. This debate is a reaction to the what seems like an epidemic of killings lately.

Now I'm not all that bothered by the notion of armed police officers. Obviously it's pretty much standard in the US. Yet, I'm not convinced that the current gangland killings are due to the fact that the Gardai are not armed. Maybe I'm just missing some of the details, but if the Gardai are not intimidated or unable to do the job properly because they're not armed, what is arming them going to accomplish?

"The Garda Síochána will succeed not by force of arms or numbers, but on their moral authority as servants of the people".

Headlines

There's a headline in today's Irish Examiner that is missing one word and it changes the whole sense of what the article is about. The headline reads, "Supermodel Elle in breast awareness push".

Of course the word "cancer" is missing here. Is this a deliberate ploy to get more men to read this article? How can this have not caught anybody's eye? {I'd love to know if it's the same in print as it is online.}

Conservatives, not neo-conservatives

I really wish the media would give the label neo-conservative a rest. Today's Guardian has an article about the Brazilian government's decision to refuse an American government offer of $40m to help fight AIDS. The Brazilians didn't like some of the conditions attached to the funds. Fine by me. The Brazilians are well within their rights to refuse such aid and, similarly, the American government is acting within its rights by offering the money conditionally.

What bothers me is this sentence from the article:

Most US Aids funding goes directly to organisations working in the field and much will be channelled through faith organisations that back the no-abortion, pro-abstinence and anti-prostitution stance of the US neo-conservatives.

There's nothing "new" about conservatives espousing these positions.

I'm sure there are many so-called neo-conservatives who disagree with this policy.

The things you read on blogs

Carrie, who's from Southern California, complains that it doesn't rain hard enough in Belfast. Too much light mist and not enough hard, steady down-pours. Even the thunder-storms in Belfast are pathetically weak.

You expect people from California to complain about the weather in Ireland, but you don't expect that complaint to be that the rain isn't substantial enough.

Thanks KM

Thanks to a friend in New York I now have a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen in Dublin on the 24th. I'll be there with fellow bloggers Chris and Auds. The ticket arrived in the mail today.

Liverpool vs Chelsea

My totally unscientific research indicates that if you're not a Chelsea fan, you want Liverpool to win tonight. It's not just the underdog thing either. A lot of people seem to really despise Chelsea, especially their manager Jose Mourinho. I'm not really sure why that is, but I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong about this at least in Dublin.

I'm with the crowd on this one, although I won't lose any sleep over it.

This Bud's for you

Finally, after two half-hearted efforts, baseball commissioner Bud Selig has come up with a drugs testing policy proposal that sounds serious. Three strikes and you're out!

1. First offense - 50 games suspension
2. Second offense - 100 games suspension
3. Third offense - lifetime ban.

Selig also proposes more random tests and wants to turn over the testing to the World Anti-doping Agency.

If the players union makes a big effort to water down this policy then they are doing a great disservice to the interests of the union's members.

I like this article by Larry Sloane of the Seattle Times who says, "To fans, Bud Selig remains the most polarizing man in sports — they either loathe him, or they hate him". Too true, but as Sloane says Selig has been forced onto the moral high ground.

Real risk of war with China

So says Michael O'Hanlon writing in yesterday's Financial Times (I hope this link works).

O'Hanlon says "China is serious about being willing to risk war to prevent Taiwan's secession. Second, although many in China as well as Europe cannot quite believe it, the US is just as serious about defending Taiwan". I believe the former, but I'm not quite as certain about the latter. However, I firmly believe that right now Taiwan will wage a war to the death rather than give in to Chinese threats. At the very least, the US would provide a lot of support for Taiwan in any conflict.

O'Hanlon says that for the US not to come to Taiwan's aid would undermine its position with regards to all allies around the world. He could be right, but that wouldn't necessarily mean that a large block of the American public would be keen to fight a major war over Taiwan. The pacifists and isolationists would argue that the US has little real interest in who rules Taiwan. I'm not sure that their arguments wouldn't prevail.

Passport hassles

I fully understand all the security requirements surrounding passport applications, but that doesn't make it any less aggravating when the time comes to renew your passport. I really miss the easy-going embassy process I encountered when I last renewed my passport. I was brought into the embassy, given a cup of coffee and had a nice pleasant chat with a man across a desk. He took my money and my paperwork and twenty minutes later I had a new passport. Very civil.

However, today all the dealings are through thick security glass. There is zero effort made to make you feel comfortable, and after handing over the paperwork and money I won't get my new passport for 2-3 weeks. I could do it all by mail, but I have to get a new passport for my daughter too, so that makes little sense.

The funny thing is, the security arrangements that are the greatest hassle are for children's passports.

In order to get my ten-year-old daughter a new passport (this will be her third) I have to go into the passport office with my daughter and my wife! I don't know why my daughter has to appear, but apparently she does. My wife has to appear because she has to give her consent to my daughter getting another passport. You'd think that having done this twice before would count for something.

I know, I know, I know. This is to try and prevent children being abducted and whisked out of the country without one of the parents knowing. I accept all that. It's still an incredible hassle. My daughter has to take time off school and my wife and I time from our work. The embassy doesn't help either as the only times you can come in for passports are between 8:30 & 11:30 four days a week. No afternoon appointments.