tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2973854072548626542011-11-13T00:02:38.143-05:00madras and politicsPeter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-58295548105657314162007-08-09T08:16:00.000-04:002007-08-09T08:36:47.438-04:00

I didn't like The Bourne Ultimatum, other than a fight scene between the Matt Damon character and some assassin who just isn't quite good enough at his job to stay alive. Stephen Hunter, my favorite film critic, didn't like it either. He explains the plot like this:Jason Bourne, who two movies ago awoke with no memory while floating face-down in the sea but with a great number of alarming,

kpnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-34707184544904387142007-08-09T08:08:00.000-04:002007-08-09T08:09:30.394-04:00

kpnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-80295444591126042242007-08-07T08:22:00.000-04:002007-08-07T08:25:11.920-04:00

John Derbyshire posts an email about the Dream of Ron Paul. The more I learn about the other Republican candidates, the more I find myself coming around to Paul's side.

kpnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-60108948242040847942007-08-06T00:10:00.000-04:002007-08-06T00:12:48.174-04:00

If Stalin had designed an automobile, it would be the Nissan Fuga sedan.

kpnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-27840634890309897012007-08-03T07:28:00.000-04:002007-08-03T04:38:55.769-04:00

... until he was president before he started alienating other countries. From the Times of India:Pakistan accused Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama of "sheer ignorance" on Thursday for threatening to launch US military strikes against Al-Qaida on Pakistani soil.Obama warned on Wednesday that if he is elected president, he would order US forces to hit extremist targets on Pakistan's

kpnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-16863935262274672762007-07-31T07:44:00.001-04:002007-07-31T08:53:35.770-04:00

Just for the hell of it, compare the websites for the Central Intelligence Agency, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and the French Directorate of External Security. Notice that they all have diagonal corners all over the place; what's up with that? Also, the differences in general appearance - the abundance or scarcity of graphics, for example - of each website suggests to me something

kpnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-26651128062590306322007-07-27T14:41:00.000-04:002007-07-27T14:52:10.393-04:00

The circa 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. 189 countries have signed it, including 5 nuclear powers - the US, UK, France, China, and Russia. All the signatories agree to not spread nuclear technology to non-nuclear states and states that haven't signed the NPT. So, hypothetically, a nuclear state such as the US can't provide nuclear

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-15168292354927851832007-07-27T05:53:00.000-04:002007-07-27T04:09:15.467-04:00

Although I pretend otherwise, I'm a naturally suspicious person, casually questioning people's motives, assuming the very worst. In my real life I actively try giving people the benefit of the doubt precisely because I don't want that suspicion to turn into outright paranoia. I also try not to buy into wacky conspiracy theories: the grassy knoll, 9/11-related, et al. Sometimes bad things just

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-52840600713286305912007-07-26T19:31:00.001-04:002007-07-26T19:34:53.943-04:00

This is all so silly. If terrorists want to bring a WMD into the US, why not just sail it in themselves, on a small civilian boat, into a tiny unpatrolled harbor?

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-5676399283942922112007-07-26T19:27:00.001-04:002007-07-26T19:28:40.197-04:00

More evidence that the mediocre succeed in life - or at least in government.

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-39777753612618301052007-07-26T19:19:00.000-04:002007-07-26T19:24:29.944-04:00

Which stage of Communism is accompanied by Louis Vuitton? Or is this proof that the West won?

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-14159325725697186832007-07-25T00:57:00.000-04:002007-07-25T02:01:45.896-04:00

I wish my computer setup looked like this. I guess giant computer monitors don't emit carbons into the atmosphere.link via Steve Sailer

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-24442595379165468582007-07-19T15:12:00.000-04:002007-07-19T15:15:53.067-04:00

This is why we need controls for who comes into our country. One of the real concerns is not that a terrorist might bring a weapon with him into the US, it's that he will simply come here and then use the nuclear or other wmd-type material that's already here against us.Our border security is atrocious, but so is our security at lots of other places vulnerable to attack.

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-55841971741055496402007-07-18T08:46:00.001-04:002007-07-18T09:11:24.848-04:00

An equally good question might be, "Senator Edwards, why do you think it is proper for you to cite your own sectarian religious background when discussing a national public policy matter?"[Link]

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-29800446581359432732007-07-18T08:25:00.000-04:002007-07-18T10:30:49.132-04:00

Al Gore is just one, aristocrat-like man and therefore can do whatever he wants, such as fly around in private jets and eat endangered species. These activities are obviously only a problem if everyone else does them too. He knows this, in his brilliance, and that's why he lectures us about things like the threat of global warming, sometimes via massive, energy-consuming concerts.

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-69069968301022261672007-07-18T08:18:00.000-04:002007-07-18T08:21:53.589-04:00

A 20,000 percent increase in the federal tax on cigars is all the more reason for me to continue smoking illegal cigars that aren't taxed anyway.

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-64134413865193831912007-07-17T23:37:00.001-04:002007-07-17T23:38:02.504-04:00

Here's funny commentary about a lame-o unclassified national intelligence estimate.

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-69588220825202575212007-07-16T14:34:00.000-04:002007-07-18T09:02:40.112-04:00

North Korea is allowing IAEA inspectors into their country to verify Yongbyon's shutdown, in return for whatever we are this time offering NK in return for their this time shutting down their nuclear program. And then next time we will offer something else in return for the next time NK starts up and then stops its nuclear program. It's a long-term cyclical approach to the US appeasing North

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-26411562120195316412007-07-13T12:58:00.000-04:002007-07-13T13:16:40.472-04:00

Winston Churchill: who's that?[via The Corner]

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-18341826216923068552007-07-13T12:21:00.000-04:002007-07-13T13:21:06.316-04:00

There's a story in today's Le Figaro about Belgian comics character Tintin being censored in England. Here's my translation of part of the story from French into English:From now on, in order to read "Tintin in the Congo" on the other side of the Channel [that's in England], a person must be at least 18 years old.... The reason: it's a decision of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) ... [

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-28009090750581820072007-07-13T00:45:00.000-04:002007-07-13T12:56:13.994-04:00

Sadly, I'm not surprised by this video clip.I know many people who were once against nation-building, once against Bush's immigration policies, and so on, and now that they have started working in the Bush White House, they have radically changed their minds. It's not merely the case that they have decided to publicly support the President because they feel it their duty. In fact, it's as though

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-82635326442533549372007-07-12T06:36:00.000-04:002007-07-12T06:59:45.194-04:00

Martin Kramer has been named Middle East advisor to Rudy Giuliani. Kramer's got some MAs and a PhD in ME Studies and is affiliated with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which is populated with both George HW Bush guys and some neocon sorts like Richard Perle (and a bunch of liberals, too). Here's what Kramer had to say on his weblog in Oct 2002 about the prospect for democracy in

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-84876253505314034132007-07-12T05:31:00.000-04:002007-07-12T05:26:30.465-04:00

That's what Walid Phares over at Counterterrorism Blog is calling the new flurry of public and media interest in terrorist attacks against America. He writes,I am not being sarcastic here but there is something strange about how we proceed in analyzing the Jihadi war against democracies and America, and how we break news to the public. On the one hand, the overwhelming majority of the academic

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-23077641623899085182007-07-11T07:02:00.000-04:002007-07-11T07:31:52.691-04:00

What is this gut-feeling business?U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago on Tuesday that the nation faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer.... he indicated his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaida statements, and intelligence he did not disclose.Uh huh. Seasonal. Heightened in the summer

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-65305733640554854112007-07-11T06:50:00.000-04:002007-07-11T07:29:07.320-04:00

Don Surber writes,The Hill will report on Tuesday that the Senate will allow the Pentagon to give security clearances to felons, drug addicts and the mentally incompetent.What's happening here is the DoD is calling Congress's bluff. As far as I'm aware, every member of Congress has a compartmented security clearance, and we know that place is itself filled with felons, drug addicts and the

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-86344874379473831252007-07-11T00:52:00.000-04:002007-07-11T03:16:48.823-04:00

Professor Bainbridge - I found him via Andrew Sullivan - is looking at an examination of whether the Vietnam war was "winnable". He also compares that war to Iraq.[Professor Bainbridge]This reminds me that a few weeks ago at one of these big-time peace conferences here in the District, old Robert Strange McNamara stood up during a panel's question period and told everyone what he thinks about

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-59546420606264991362007-07-10T20:32:00.000-04:002007-07-11T07:05:20.806-04:00

No kidding:EXCLUSIVE: NEW INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS AN AL QAEDA CELL MAY BE IN THE UNITED STATES OR ON ITS WAY, SOURCES TELL ABC NEWSWhat kind of "news" is this, anyway? And what sort of "intelligence" that suggests this can be considered new? I had assumed that everyone else assumed there were already terrorist cells in America, currently plotting our destruction. Do National Review and ABC News

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-67303498756376021882007-07-10T16:58:00.000-04:002007-07-11T03:33:50.826-04:00

Somebody noticed that Ron Paul supporters seem to surf the internet during the day, defending Ron Paul on weblogs, so he started writing blog posts just to attract these people and drive up his total number of visitors. The LA Times, taking note of this, also noted that some Ron Paul supporters are good-natured folk. I, believe it or not, was already aware of this; in fact, I happen to personally

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-81271502294162290222007-07-10T16:40:00.000-04:002007-07-10T17:31:16.834-04:00

News like this, the possibility that our "surge" in Iraq might actually be working, is precisely the sort of thing that might conceivably change my opinion about the war. But, thus far I'm still against the war, because I think a few successes here or there won't matter a hill a beans in this crazy, mixed-up world.I've opposed the war from the beginning, not on moral grounds, but on practical

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-72157796892809248702007-07-10T11:49:00.000-04:002007-07-11T14:05:00.857-04:00

I've been getting a great deal of questions about the essential sights and tastes when visiting Italy as of late. After going through my usual run down ( Giolitti in Rome, Cibreo and Antico Noe in Florence) I have been sending everybody here, to EATDRINKSLEEPWELL.Traveller has "the boot" wired as well comprehensive reviews and recommendations for a few spots stateside. He's always updating

Enzo AGCnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-21195814151401907782007-07-10T11:01:00.000-04:002007-07-10T11:32:09.876-04:00

My old friend Cicero came to mind as I was reading over Charlie's post about Colin Powell this morning. The Roman orator once stated that "Ability without honor is useless." Cicero died, honor and virtue intact, for defending the republic. I cannot say as much for Powell's honor and credibility. If he had indeed been against this war he should have done the honorable thing and resigned. I

Enzo AGCnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-73164828461810478132007-07-09T19:49:00.001-04:002007-07-09T20:01:30.738-04:00

Via Andrew Sullivan, an Intellectual Conservative asks many questions of the Iraq Warriors;Does victory mean toppling Saddam? Done. Does victory mean ensuring Iraq doesn’t have weapons of mass destruction? Done. Does it mean a stable and Western style democracy in Iraq? Good luck with that. Does it just mean a stable but perhaps not democratic Iraq? Good luck with that as well. Does it mean

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-87479325863598497052007-07-09T19:06:00.000-04:002007-07-09T19:38:48.017-04:00

Colin Powell says that he spent more than 2 hours, in the run-up to the Iraq war, trying to talk Bush out of it. Good for him, but it obviously didn't do much good. The reason that he was chosen to make the administration's case for war in front of the UN, way back in 2003, was precisely because there was wide speculation that he was against it. A war like this one just doesn't coincide with a

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-12598705131225417362007-07-09T14:33:00.000-04:002008-12-09T20:24:24.329-05:00

I found these wonderful examples of international thrift and style over at The Sartorialist. Its because of gentlemen like this that I am proud of my first name. The tailoring is impeccable and guess what? It was his father's suit before him. Check the collar detail and go grab a pen and paper. Broken in clothing should be earned, not purchased, even if it takes more than one generation.I

Enzo AGCnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-20322953233804367972007-07-09T06:20:00.001-04:002007-07-09T06:22:51.220-04:00

According to the CIA World Factbook,[O]ver two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-27124206502143671022007-07-09T05:18:00.000-04:002007-07-09T18:28:41.072-04:00

I just discovered this clip of the French version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" via somebody or other. The question in the clip is, "What revolves around the Earth?" The answer, of course is "La Lune" (yet, when asked by this idiot contestant, more than half the audience thinks it is The Sun! - I hope they were trying some sabotage) ... watch as we learn that les French are not so much

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-57200773705742306252007-07-05T06:34:00.000-04:002007-07-05T07:35:30.396-04:00

Erik at No Pasaran points to a front page interview in Le Monde about the movie, The Good Shepherd (which is called Raisons d'Etat in France). The interview's with lefty Larry Johnson (whose creds are that he worked for State and CIA for a while, runs the "No Quarter" blog, and would probably agree with the statement, "George W Bush is the worst president ever," although to my knowledge he's

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-35424888600907119052007-07-04T23:57:00.000-04:002007-07-05T00:04:46.323-04:00

Via the Corner, we learn this from The Independent: Britain's border controls were condemned as "non-existent" today after it was claimed that the suspected murderer of a policewoman fled the country by disguising himself as a veiled Muslim woman. Police reportedly believe that Mustaf Jamma, a prime suspect in the fatal shooting

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-73756804460668933772007-07-04T23:53:00.000-04:002007-07-05T00:10:21.541-04:00

The TVs in the West Wing that I've seen (with the exceptions of the quad-tvs, and the ones in Tony Snow's office) are tuned to the Fox News Channel. Meanwhile, across town at Foggy Bottom, the internal TV doohickie system at the State Department shows CNN International.The State Department was, as far as I recall, the only IC agency that contributed to the Iraq War NIE that emphatically stated

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-81904066351994001112007-07-03T16:47:00.000-04:002007-07-03T19:11:14.190-04:00

The other day, I was in the Baja Fresh at Dupont Circle. I saw a Peter Beinart -looking fellow walk by jabbering about the Republican base, but I figured it must not have been 'em because the New Republic's offices are practically on the other side of town. (Why would someone travel forever to get Baja Fresh in the middle of the day?) But now I've just realized that Beinart is at the Council on

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-80935025698687136002007-07-02T20:59:00.000-04:002007-07-03T00:44:29.184-04:00

Andrew Sullivan says of a Pew survey's results,Flag-flyers are more likely to be better educated; white; Republican; and northeastern or midwestern rather than southern or western.That's me! Also from Sullivan on the survey:And there's been a ten percent drop in Republican patriotism in the last four years.Fleeting patriotism isn't much of a patriotism at all, if you ask me (regardless of how

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-38625219449473382972007-07-02T14:38:00.000-04:002007-07-03T04:01:34.515-04:00

The Capitolist - message board for Congressional staffers who probably think "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" is sappy and therefore unbearable to watch. They feign being jaded by "the system" because they had miserable childhoods.Wonkette - DC gossip and remarks that aren't as snide as they ought to be.NRO - Neocons and John Derbyshire.Cunning Realist - A cunning Realist (I gather in the foreign

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297385407254862654.post-84749642134069632262007-07-02T13:53:00.000-04:002007-07-02T13:57:40.604-04:00

The other weekend, I'd gone up to NYC. One night I'm sitting at Dorrian's (not wearing a blue blazer) and my friend, his girlfriend, and my girlfriend all suggest I start a blog.This is that blog.It may come as a shock to you people who know me that I have opinions -- but I do. If you are one of those people (who know me) keep your shock to yourselves. If you figure out who I am don't ruin my fun

Peter Charles L'Enfantnoreply@blogger.com0