Bombs away, Bill! Another ambiguous moment for the glorious North
American Republican Empire. (I think this attack's a
mistake - nothing's changed much from my
previous entry
concerning recent American adventures in Arabia.) David Plotz of
Slate
echoes many peoples' confusion with this comment on the new
operation's label:
Speaking of Desert Fox, doesn't anyone in the U.S. Military remember World War II? Since when do we name our missions after Nazi generals?Iraq's best ally Russia has withdrawn their ambassador in protest. According to the Associated Press, the Russian legislature is trying to cease hostilities with a less traditional and rather astonishing diplomatic gesture:
"The State Duma appeals to Ms. Lewinsky to undertake corresponding measures to restrain the emotions of Bill Clinton."The quote's allegedly from legislator Alexander Filatov. <1> If she showed up at the White House now, would they let her in? Another question: Am I paranoid to feel a little uneasy, since I'll be spending like next week in Washington? Osama bin Laden has threatened some terrorist strike in New York and/or the Capital soon - I'd hate to be there when that happened, if it was something NBC. It's going to be such an exciting time to just be in Washington (that's rare). American rescheduled my flights, get this - I have 43 minutes to change planes at DFW. Fortunately I don't have to leave their terminal; still, it's gonna be tight.
Flurry of emails with my niece S concerning gifts.
She likes music by a band called "Cherry Poppin
Daddies" - the music I'm looking for myself is
the new one by the Oranj Symphonette; what I'm
listening to now is early Roxy Music. The mood is rare,
but when it hits they're the very best. Like these
tunes: "Both Ends Burning", "All I Want Is You",
"2 HB", "Grey Lagoons" and "Serenade" - top songs
from their first five records. Other music du jour
is that jolly 3rd movement from Tchaikovsky's
"Pathetique" 6th Symphony.
Read a small book I got from Loompanics with the improbable title of Hilary
Clinton's Pen Pal - the author, Rheinhold Aman, is a former federal
prisoner who wrote this who-to guide for surviving the penitentiary
experience. Very grim and scary, and why the interest? I suppose I've
always had a morbid fascination with prison. This may have its root
with one of my grandfathers, who was a warden
at Leavenworth, or overexposure
to stuff like "Hogan's Heroes" and "Cool Hand Luke". Sometimes
I think at some point I could be thrown inside - reading
stuff like the "Atlantic" article (mentioned just a few day
previously)
makes me realize if present trends continue it's just a
matter of time until we're all either guards or the captive.