I suppose that before the "War on Terror," which is coming to look like the "War on Middle Eastern Dissent" specifically, the US had been most interested in fighting the "War Against Communism."
So really, would there be anything scarier than "Communist Muslims?"
Well, if you find government tolerance of a misunderstood minority scary, or the protection of egalitarian educational policies unnerving, then no. This is as scary as it could get.
You big babies.
30 October 2004
27 October 2004
October is the cruelest month...
In Japan anyway.
Just so you know:
This month, typhoons number 9 and 10 hit Japan, dumping the equivalent of half a year's worth of rain in two weeks. Hardest hit were the southern and western parts of Japan. Number 10, which was the deadliest in 60 years, did nothing to Tokyo except give it a much-needed shower.
Last week a cluster of earthquakes hit the Niigata area in northern Japan. The deadliest since the Great Kobe quake of 1992, 31 people were counted dead, several hundred injured and many thousands more are now homeless. The train lines are buckled and the highways are crushed. As residents struggle to find protection from the bitterly cold nights, municipal shelters are filled beyond capacity. Many people who have taken to sleeping in their cars have become prime candidates for "economy-class syndrome," in which immobility and lack of space lead to muscle cramps, high blood pressure, blood clots and possibly death. Tokyo did nothing besides pre-empt the laughably named "Golden Hour" programming block of miserable, Friday night TV.
Because of the unusually high amounts of rain that fell this summer, the nuts and berries that make up the bulk of the average black bear diet have been unavailable. Leading bears to forage for food in human towns. And as people have tried to confront the bears, a number of attacks have occurred. But in general, the bears have only been attacking the weak and the stupid who live in mountainous, rural regions.
So to sum up: The country bumpkins are taking it on the chin, but we hip, sophisticated city-dwellers are doing just fine.
For now.
Just so you know:
This month, typhoons number 9 and 10 hit Japan, dumping the equivalent of half a year's worth of rain in two weeks. Hardest hit were the southern and western parts of Japan. Number 10, which was the deadliest in 60 years, did nothing to Tokyo except give it a much-needed shower.
Last week a cluster of earthquakes hit the Niigata area in northern Japan. The deadliest since the Great Kobe quake of 1992, 31 people were counted dead, several hundred injured and many thousands more are now homeless. The train lines are buckled and the highways are crushed. As residents struggle to find protection from the bitterly cold nights, municipal shelters are filled beyond capacity. Many people who have taken to sleeping in their cars have become prime candidates for "economy-class syndrome," in which immobility and lack of space lead to muscle cramps, high blood pressure, blood clots and possibly death. Tokyo did nothing besides pre-empt the laughably named "Golden Hour" programming block of miserable, Friday night TV.
Because of the unusually high amounts of rain that fell this summer, the nuts and berries that make up the bulk of the average black bear diet have been unavailable. Leading bears to forage for food in human towns. And as people have tried to confront the bears, a number of attacks have occurred. But in general, the bears have only been attacking the weak and the stupid who live in mountainous, rural regions.
So to sum up: The country bumpkins are taking it on the chin, but we hip, sophisticated city-dwellers are doing just fine.
For now.
24 October 2004
Swine!
Thompson was right about the Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton elections. Has he got the line again?
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