Richard Bennett

“We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last 100 years . . . and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in.” — Colin Powell on charges of American imperialism

Hussein Translator on CBS Used Fake Accent?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The man who spoke Saddam Hussein (news – web sites)’s words in English during a CBS interview with Dan Rather late last month was an actor using a fake Arabic accent, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

Rather also asked fake questions, so the circle is complete.

The following advisory for American travelers heading for France has been issued.

It was compiled from information provided by the State Department, the CIA, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the FBI and some very expensive spy satellites that the French don’t know about. It is intended as a guide for American travelers only.

General Overview

France is a medium-sized foreign country situated in the continent of Europe. It is an important member of the world community, though not nearly as important as it thinks. It is bounded by Germany, Spain, Switzerland and some smaller nations of no particular consequence and with not very good shopping.

France is a very old country with many treasures, such as the Louvre and EuroDisney. Among its contributions to western civilization are champagne, Camembert cheese and the guillotine.

Although France likes to think of itself as a modern nation, air conditioning is little used and it is next to impossible to get decent Mexican food. One continuing exasperation for American visitors is that the people willfully persist in speaking French, though many will speak English if shouted at. As in any foreign country, watch your change at all times.
Continue reading “Travel Advisory”

It’s not clear whether there’s going to be another UN Resolution. The Washington Post says Three Countries Vow To Block U.S. on Iraq and the LA Times says compromise language is in the works. Meanwhile, troops continue to build and pilots fly training missions over southern Iraq.

The real war is already underway among the military officers in Iraq, who are figuring out when and how to surrender, if they have any sense. Saddam knows he’s doomed, despite the fact that he probably continues the bluster with the people he talks to; his dance with the inspectors is only delaying the inevitable.

I don’t think there is going to be a war in Iraq after all. Oh, bombs will be dropped, power plants and military installations will be torched, and troops will roll in, but it won’t be a war as much as a cake walk before a surrendering Army. After all the UN drama and the peace marches and the hostile anti-American rhetoric, when the President presses ‘enter’ it will be a huge anti-climax.

Both the pro-liberation and the anti-war sides will claim victory, and the Iraqi people will breath a collective sigh of relief. A war crimes trial for Saddam and his chiefs would be good, just so we can milk some more drama out of this reality show during the May sweeps, however.

It turns out that the “Give Peace a Chance” tee-shirt boy was harassing shoppers at mall, and not just doing a little misguided free expression. See The Smoking Gun for the police report.

While nobody’s mentioned it, the interesting aspect of this story to me is whether tee-shirt can get a fair trial; he’s the head of the commission that disciplines judges, so there’s an inherent conflict of interest on the part of any judge hearing the case. Fair in this case would mean he should be convicted of trespass and made to do time; you don’t harass people with your politics in a private space; that’s what blogs are for.

Now here’s a cool way to promote a blog.