First Looks category archive

At the Guardian, ex-Marine and veteran of the Great and Glorious Patriotic War for a Lie in Iraq Ross Caputi considers war crimes and war crimes:

The video of US marines urinating on Afghan corpses does not shock me. Though their behavior is disgusting and unacceptable, I find the public’s reaction to this video far more troubling. People are not outraged that there are dead Afghans; they are outraged at the manner in which the dead are treated. This is indicative of our culture’s tolerance for war and war crimes – as long as they are done in a gentlemanly fashion.

Follow the link for his story of some of the things he witnessed and participated in.

At the Denver Post, Alan Breed and Julie Watson research the history of battlefield misconduct, from Achilles’s dragging Paris around Troy through the Middle Ages up to our most recent wars. Two nuggets:

Reserve Marine Lt. Col. Paul Hackett, who teaches the law of war to Marines before they are sent off to Afghanistan, made it clear Friday that he was not condoning the Marines’ actions. But he warned against judging them too harshly, saying: “When you ask young men to go kill people for a living, it takes a whole lot of effort to rein that in.”

(big snip)

But Maynard Sinclair, a Marine veteran of Vietnam and the peacekeeping mission in Beirut, said the outrage shows the public’s naiveté about war.

“I did a hell of a lot worse in Vietnam than urinate on some dead bodies,” he said. “We cut left ears off and wore them around our necks to show we were warriors, and we knew how to get revenge.”

Thoreau summarizes the dissonance.

Despite the rhetoric of those who monger war, there is not now, nor has there ever been any such thing as a “neat surgical strike” in the killing fields.

If you click on only one of the three links, click on Thoreau’s.

Offered without comment:

A Dover (Del.–ed.) woman allegedly found out the hard way that you should never text a police officer when looking to buy some Percocet pills.

That’s what police say 19-year-old Alisha M. West did Wednesday while repeatedly texting messages to a wrong number. The day ended with her arrest.

The FLOSS way:

The control of US military spy drones appears to have shifted from Windows to Linux following an embarrassing malware infection.

Ground control systems at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, which commands the killer unmanned aircraft, became infected with a virus last September. In a statement at the time the Air Force dismissed the electronic nasty as a nuisance and said it posed no threat to the operation of Reaper drones, but the intrusion was nonetheless treated seriously.

Follow the link for details and links to screenshots.

Story found on LQ.

Off to drink liberally.

Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.

When: 6 p., Wednesday, January 11.

Where:
The Public House
1112 Colley Avenue (map)

Details here.

I gave up New Year’s Resolutions years ago, not that I ever took them all too seriously in any case. The resolutions I have found that I keep are the ones I make because the time is right, not because the calendar flips.

I may reconsider after reading Charlie Booker’s list of suggested resolutions at the Guardian. Here’s a sample:

Stop pretending Lady Gaga and Beyoncé are endlessly fascinating.

Look, it’s not that I don’t see their appeal. I just can’t fathom the apparently infinite depth of it. I appreciate they’re both polished entertainers with a neat line in music videos and some very catchy songs, but beyond that – what are you all seeing, precisely? I mean, it’s nice that the openly kooky Lady Gaga inspires her fans not to give in to bullies and the suchlike, but she also inspires them to “put their paws up” and be a bit annoying, which kind of balances it out, really. They’re not Mayan gods.

From the website: Author Elizabeth Dowling Taylor tells the story of Paul Jennings, who served as one of James Madison’s slaves and ultimately purchased his own freedom.

And, I add, that of his wife and children.

A collection of local TV news bloopers.

Via Andrew Sullivan.

It’s a holy day of obligation.

Fall on your knees.

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, 8 p. m. EDT.

I will skip this particular service.

At Science 2 dot O, Kimberly Crandell considers the merits of artificial vs. natural Christmas trees. Among other things, she points out that many artificial trees (brand names are not mentioned) contain lead. So here are a few safety tips for your artificial Christmas trees:

Richard Maas, the director of the Environmental Studies program at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, offers some tips for people who suspect that their artificial tree may contain lead:

• Keep children away from the tree. Do not allow them to touch the tree.
• If you touch the tree, was your hands thoroughly before touching your face or handling food.
• Do not vacuum dust from under the tree, especially with a vacuum that does not have a HEPA filter. Vacuuming could spread lead dust through the air in tiny particles, creating an inhalation danger.

Follow the link for the the rest of the argument.

Afterthought:

Have yourself a merry leaden Christmas tree.

Objection sustained.

It’s unlikely Arturo Ramirez of Sacramento knew one of his Facebook posts written in 2008 would jar legal scholars and inspire a state law that goes into effect Jan. 1.

Ramirez, who served as a foreman on a gang trial, posted updates during the case, including one that reported he found testimony about cell phone bills “so boring.”

(snip)

Come January, everyone will know the consequences. Before trials, California judges will admonish jurors to forgo any online research or chatter on Facebook or Twitter. The penalty for ignoring the instruction will be contempt of court charges, punishable by jail.

Nothing fun ever happened to me at the Denver Airport.

Karen H/T Karen for the link.

Radio Time takes a look at the NTSB’s recommendation to ban cell phones. From the website:

Today, we look at the issue of distracted driving and the problems of enforcement with DAVID TEATER, the National Safety Council’s senior director of Transportation Initiatives. We’ll also discuss the cultural history of drunk driving with BARRON LERNER, a professor of medicine and public health professor at Columbia University who has written a new book on the subject, One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900. And finally, CHRISTIAN GERDES, Director of Stanford University’s Center for Automotive Research, tells Marty about self-driving cars. Is hands-free driving in our near future?

Any one who pays attention knows the pros and cons. Having been nearly killed by a cell phone wielding driver who went straight ahead (at 65 mph) at a spot where the road went left, I sympathize with efforts to limit cell phone usage by drivers.

The reason I’m recommending this is because of the last third, starting at the 35 minute make, in which Mr. Gerdes describes what’s happening and not happening in experiments to automate driving. It is a plain-English description of what’s been accomplished, what appears possible with today’s science, and what appears to be a Jetsonian pipe dream with today’s science.

Follow the link to listen or listen here (MP3).

For another take, check out this episode of the Diane Rehm show. The antics of the anti-cell-phone ban guy are quite amusing. His arguments against a ban seem to boil down to, “Don’t take my toy away from me. Waaaa waaaa waaaa.”

Cheese straws and lemon chess pies are on today’s agenda.

Addendum:

Mr. Sore Throat has put out my pilot light for the day and was I looking forward to those cheese straws! I even grated up a pound of cheese yesterday.