DNC says minorities' firing was a mistake

Let me get this straight -- no one in the DNC is mad that there was a layoff, just that the people laid-off were ethnic minority members? I don't know about you, but that sounds like bigotry in reverse. No one in this article is arguing that there was anything wrong with the firings, just that they thought it was wrong to fire someone who was a minority.

Disgusting.
- posted by Phelps @ 5/30/2003 12:29:00 PM

 

Jordan Says Abbas Must 'Wage a War' on Hamas

Abu Mazen should listen to Jordan -- they had a PLO problem once. They don't anymore. (For further reading look up Black September.)

"It's very important to give the new prime minister the support that he requires in order to fight terrorism. He needs to wage a war within against Hamas and against Jihad al-Islami (Islamic Jihad)," said Jordanian ambassador Karim Kawar.

Kawar, speaking at the Israel Policy Forum, said Abbas could succeed against the militants only if Israel enhances his credibility by making gestures to the Palestinians.

This one is a no brainer, really. Israel has never been very reluctant to make concessions. Look at Sadat and Egypt -- if you agree to the basic principles, Israel will work with you. In the end, there really can't be a better ally in the Middle East for a secular government. Egypt has done well with peace with Israel. They got back the land that they wanted (Gaza tends to be more trouble than it is worth) and they have gotten tons of aid from America for it.

The Jordanian ambassador said a "power struggle" between the authority and the militants was inevitable and Palestinians must recognize Abbas as sole leader.

In other words, remember Black September.
- posted by Phelps @ 5/30/2003 12:20:00 PM

 

Study: Laziness Makes for Dangerous Fat

I only linked this for one reason:

Women gained fat twice as quickly as the men did, Slentz said.

Ha HA!
- posted by Phelps @ 5/30/2003 12:11:00 PM

 

WorldNetDaily: The bipolar nature of Middle-East diplomacy

A very good concise essay on why the so-called Roadmap to Peace in the Middle East is doomed to failure, just like Oslo. It boils down to a few points:

1. There can be no peace between Israelis and Palestinians without the elimination of fanatical anti-Semitism in the Arab world.
2. There can be no peace between Arabs and Israelis without a fundamental re-orientation of the Palestinian people toward acceptance of the Jewish people's historical and spiritual ties to the land.
3. There can be no peace without a Palestinian disavowal of the right of return.
4. There can be no peace in the Middle East without the death of Yasser Arafat.

You don't have to agree that this is the way that it should be; you just need to recognize that this is how it is.
- posted by Phelps @ 5/30/2003 11:10:00 AM

 

Video games boost visual skills

The general principle isn't that arcane; the correlation was noted after Desert Storm in that the pilots who grew up on Defender and Centepede were much better at handling smart weapons than the ones who just had baseball and golf. Now, they are getting hard evidence of how video game training effects the way the mind forms:

Male undergraduates who played driving or shoot-em-up games such as Grand Theft Auto and Medal of Honor several times a week for at least six months beat non-gamers in lab vision tests, found Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier of the University of Rochester in New York state.

Game-players react to fast-moving objects more efficiently, explains Bavelier, and can track up to five objects at a time - 30% more than non-players. "They can process more information more quickly over time," she says.

GTA3 and Vice City are my two favorite games, especially Vice City. I also enjoy MoH, but it didn't hold my attention like the GTA franchise.
- posted by Phelps @ 5/29/2003 11:26:00 PM

 

The Washington Times: 2 trailers deemed biological arms labs

It was only a matter of time. I wish it hadn't taken so long, but this does tend to show how idiotic "you didn't find any evidence" arguments are now.

The CIA yesterday concluded that two truck trailers seized by coalition forces in northern Iraq were designed by Saddam Hussein's regime to produce biological weapons agents.

A six-page agency white paper said an examination of the trailers' equipment showed that "BW [biological weapons] agent production is the only consistent, logical purpose for these vehicles."

The assessment is the clearest indication yet that Baghdad was in violation of U.N. arms resolutions that required it to disclose all aspects of its weapons of mass destruction programs.

- posted by Phelps @ 5/29/2003 11:37:00 AM

 

Walter Williams: Affirmative action grading

A modest proposal by a modern day Swift.
- posted by Phelps @ 5/28/2003 10:40:00 AM

 

Gov. Davis Scared to Death Over Recall Drive

This harkens back to this entry in my blog about the California implosion or this one about the start of the recall. It is starting to look like it is getting a good head of steam. I am absolutely giddy about the idea that California may be shaping up. It is undeniable that as California goes, the country goes.
- posted by Phelps @ 5/28/2003 10:35:00 AM

 

Atlanta Public Schools

A gem from Neal. The caption:

Atlanta Public Schools spend $13,000 a year per student.

- posted by Phelps @ 5/25/2003 11:29:00 PM