Philosophy
As we see the yearly politicization of September 11th for partisan gain -- especially vicious this year with the desire to change the subject from remembrances of the administration's reaction to Katrina and the up-coming midterms not looking good for the GOP -- there is something worth keeping in mind when one gets accused of having a pre-September 11th mindset and that is the actual pre-September 11th mindset of those who will accuse you of having a pre-September 11th mindset.
On September 11, 2001, Condoleezza Rice, at that time National Security Advisor, was slated to give the Rostov lecture at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced international Studies. The topic of the talk? "The threats and problems of today and the day after, not the world of yesterday" What is the biggest threat we faced on September 11, 2001? According to Condoleezza Rice, it was a nuclear missile launched by north Korea or Iraq. The first and far and away most important item on the foreign policy agenda was hyper-funding that boondoggle which is the missile defense shield.
So, here was the person whose job was to understand where the threats to our national security were coming from and despite explicit warnings, did not see it coming from where it was, in fact, coming from.
When I hear about the piece of historical revisionism that ABC is considering with its hit piece written from and designed to push clear partisan interests and then I think of what could have happened if those whose job it was to keep their eyes on the ball had actually done their jobs, it just makes me want to cry all over again.
- The Meaning Of 9/11
Long-time Playground regulars may recall my thesis that while the term holiday derives from the phrase "holy day," and with each holiday comes an accompanying virtue we claim to be honoring, the way we actually celebrate our holidays is by engaging in...
- It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World... Or The Mad Chatter
Much is being made of whether the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) would still work with a world of nuclear powers like Iran and North Korea. Ron Jacobs at counterpunch, James Robbins at National Review On-line, Slavoj Zizek at In These...
- White House Recruits University Of British Columbia Physics Professor
"UBC physics prof Carl Weiman takes science job in White House" by Stephen Thomson September 23rd, 2010 straight.com Carl Weiman, a Nobel Prize-winning University of B.C. physics professor, is taking a job in the White House. Weiman will become Associate...
- Bucks For Bombs
Cluster Bombs Nothing new about US arms deals but it just appears to defeat an ethical purpose. What a "cash cow". "U.S. arms sales could hit $50 billion next year" by Andrea Shalal-Esa July 20th, 2010 Reuters U.S. arms sales will be little changed...
- Obama's Nuclear Weapons Manifesto
Do you really believe this? "Barack Obama to limit use of US nuclear weapons" Revamped strategy to rule out use of atomic weapons in response to attacks from non-nuclear states by Mark Tran April 6th, 2010 guardian.co.uk Obama described his policy...
Philosophy
Remembering September 10, 2001
As we see the yearly politicization of September 11th for partisan gain -- especially vicious this year with the desire to change the subject from remembrances of the administration's reaction to Katrina and the up-coming midterms not looking good for the GOP -- there is something worth keeping in mind when one gets accused of having a pre-September 11th mindset and that is the actual pre-September 11th mindset of those who will accuse you of having a pre-September 11th mindset.
On September 11, 2001, Condoleezza Rice, at that time National Security Advisor, was slated to give the Rostov lecture at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced international Studies. The topic of the talk? "The threats and problems of today and the day after, not the world of yesterday" What is the biggest threat we faced on September 11, 2001? According to Condoleezza Rice, it was a nuclear missile launched by north Korea or Iraq. The first and far and away most important item on the foreign policy agenda was hyper-funding that boondoggle which is the missile defense shield.
So, here was the person whose job was to understand where the threats to our national security were coming from and despite explicit warnings, did not see it coming from where it was, in fact, coming from.
"As he prepared to leave office last January, Mr. Berger met with his successor, Condoleezza Rice, and gave her a warning. According to both of them, he said that terrorism-and particularly Mr. bin Laden's brand of it-would consume far more of her time than she had ever imagined.''
When I hear about the piece of historical revisionism that ABC is considering with its hit piece written from and designed to push clear partisan interests and then I think of what could have happened if those whose job it was to keep their eyes on the ball had actually done their jobs, it just makes me want to cry all over again.
- The Meaning Of 9/11
Long-time Playground regulars may recall my thesis that while the term holiday derives from the phrase "holy day," and with each holiday comes an accompanying virtue we claim to be honoring, the way we actually celebrate our holidays is by engaging in...
- It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World... Or The Mad Chatter
Much is being made of whether the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) would still work with a world of nuclear powers like Iran and North Korea. Ron Jacobs at counterpunch, James Robbins at National Review On-line, Slavoj Zizek at In These...
- White House Recruits University Of British Columbia Physics Professor
"UBC physics prof Carl Weiman takes science job in White House" by Stephen Thomson September 23rd, 2010 straight.com Carl Weiman, a Nobel Prize-winning University of B.C. physics professor, is taking a job in the White House. Weiman will become Associate...
- Bucks For Bombs
Cluster Bombs Nothing new about US arms deals but it just appears to defeat an ethical purpose. What a "cash cow". "U.S. arms sales could hit $50 billion next year" by Andrea Shalal-Esa July 20th, 2010 Reuters U.S. arms sales will be little changed...
- Obama's Nuclear Weapons Manifesto
Do you really believe this? "Barack Obama to limit use of US nuclear weapons" Revamped strategy to rule out use of atomic weapons in response to attacks from non-nuclear states by Mark Tran April 6th, 2010 guardian.co.uk Obama described his policy...