Because we can never get enough thread. Pet and kid pics, and what games you’re playing and books you’re reading and what new kitchen appliance that costs more than a mortgage payment you have are all great subjects of discussion.
Open Thread
This post is in: Open Threads
Villago Delenda Est
Banner ad that greeted me to the open thread:
“FIRE FROM THE HEARTLAND”…a Citizen’s United production featuring an all star cast!
*Coulter
*Loesch
*Bachmann
*Malkin
*S.E. Cupp
*Schlafly
Don’t recognize Loesch or S.E. Cupp. Should I? Are they vile Bitch of Buchenwald wannabes like the Coulter skank?
Amir Khalid
@Villago Delenda Est:
Is Fire In The Heartland an action movie, or is it something to do with indigestion?
Cat Lady
I’m still chuckling to myself about this story about Tom the Turkey on TAL. It’s totally worth a listen. “He died like he lived” – as a gangster, in a hail of bullets.
Brachiator
Dana Loesch and SE Cupp are both young women (both 32 or 33) who are arch conservative media personalities. Loesch gives a lot of big love to the Tea Party People.
Elsewhere, I went to see “My Week With Marilyn” this weekend. Tremendously well acted minor key film. Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier was quite good, and Michelle Williams as Marilyn was often astounding.
eemom
oh boy. This mess will end well.
The reaction from the pigs on the right is utterly, predictably disgusting.
schrodinger's cat
Did you guys read the article dissing the postal service in NYT this morning?
Mustang Bobby
I just paid $22 for eight Gillette Mach 3 razor cartridges at Publix. I think Santa and ZZ Top are on to something.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins are playing Oakland here in Miami. The good news is that it will be the only game on CBS here, so I won’t have to remember to re-set the timer on the TiVo to catch “The Good Wife.”
It’s the little things, folks.
sb
I sympathize and I LOL.
RossInDetroit
I just finished reading <strong>Understanding Einstein’s theories of relativity: man’s new perspective on the cosmos by Stan Gibilisco.
This will be my last book on Relativity for a while. I’m thinking some graphic novels with people in Spandex and explosions would be nice.
JGabriel
@Villago Delenda Est:
Don’t know Loesch, but yeah, Cupp is sort of that type — marginally better looking than Coulter, and not quite as bloodthirsty, but in the same general ballpark.
.
dmsilev
Today’s goal: Do absolutely nothing.
Yesterday was a 12 hour day, dealing with 500+ visitors and 40-50 volunteers and all the crises that one might expect and some I didn’t expect. For instance, I didn’t think I needed to tell the tour guides “Stay with your group; don’t abandon them in the building subbasement.”. Apparently I was wrong…
carpeduum
Breathless Cole post on the downed drone in Iran in 3…2…1.
Expect him to babble on about how this incident is yet more proof that all wars must end now forever and ever. Connecting dots regarding foreign policy in the most childishly simplistic of ways.
Stillwater
You know, sooner, I count on Balloon Juice to keep me informed of major international snafus and fubars. So why hasn’t anyone here told me about the Iranians shooting down a US drone? Or the Pakistani’s shutting down our supply lines permanently because they’re so pissed off?
Can you help a brother out here? What the hell is going on over there right now?
dmsilev
@JGabriel:
So only stage 3 vampirism, rather than Coulter’s full-fledged stage 4?
schrodinger's cat
@dmsilev: How was the ice cream?
Egg Berry
1 minute in, and the announcers are already using the term Tebowmania.
kdaug
Skyrim. Archmage completed, nearing end of Thieves’ Guild storyline.
Yutsano
@Mustang Bobby: Buy a new razor. I bet you a beer it’s cheaper than the replacement cartridges every. single. time.
Benjamin Franklin
The Status Quo meet the definition of politics as described by Hunter S. Thompson, as ‘Controlling your environment”
Yes the Gubmint hates Leaks because of this. You know who else hates it:
The Me-dia..
When Wikileaks published docs on corruption in Africa, the Press was aghast at this sort of trouble-making. They don’t like anyone violating their turf.
They were; first of all, embarrassed at their failure to uncover inconvenient facts; and outraged at the waves rocking their rowboat as members of the Status Quo.
http://consortiumnews.com/2011/12/04/robin-hood-of-the-information-age/
“For this Assange blames not just governments, but also the profession of journalism. In his opinion journalism has become “corrupted” by editors and reporters who value the prestige of being associated with important centers of power more than the uncensored practice of their craft. Such ambition does not allow the profession to hold those in power to account, he said.”
cathyx
@Mustang Bobby: Let us know how Michael J Fox does. I think he’s in this episode. It’s amazing how well he seems to be doing. They must have some new breakthrough drugs for ALS.
Schlemizel
The paper told me today that Kris Humphreys has hired a huge team of high power trial attorneys to go after the Kardasian Klan for fraud. As much as I hate reality TV in general and those people in particular this could actually be fun.
I have to buy a humidifier today. Winter has set in and the normal tricks are not working for my irradiated throat. Still no saliva (sorry for the detail) so I wake up about once an hour now with my tongue firmly glued to the roof of my mouth & throat of stone. On the upside, I actually was able to sort of taste some of the food at dinner – first time in 2 months!
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: Oh, that’s not good. (abandoned by tour guide in subbasement) You made me laugh, though, with your post.
dmsilev
@schrodinger’s cat: Tasty. And we made “adult ice cream” (add-ins like Kahlua or Bailey’s) for dessert in the after-event recovery dinner. Mmmm, Kahlua ice cream.
Yutsano
@cathyx: They might (and I hope they do for the sake of Stephen Hawking) but Michael J has Parkinson’s disease.
carpeduum
@Schlemizel: wtf??
JGabriel
@cathyx:
Maybe, but I think Fox is rich enough that he can afford the best care in the world. That alone (or combined with an optimistic attitude) could explain his success in living with ALS.
It’s amazing how much difference money can make when you’re sick in this country.
.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: No, not good at all. I basically grabbed the first grad student I could find, designated them a tour guide, and gave them a copy of the itinerary sheet.
This afternoon, I aim to do nothing useful, and will probably just play video games or something.
Scott
@schrodinger’s cat:
For anyone who needs a link to the dreck: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sunday-review/the-junking-of-the-postal-service.html
Who the hell is Elizabeth Rosenthal, and what’s her family connection to UPS or Fed-Ex?
Walker
Still slogging through Heroes of Might and Magic VI. Holy crap, ths is old school. Campaign maps are 6 hours at a minimum, but are often determined by your build style in the first two game weeks. I have been playing this current campaign map on and off for a week. And I have no idea how you would play this game if you weren’t a Heroes veteran and did not know about any the tricks and trades of the series (Town Portal to maintain supply lines, extra Heroes hired for their resources, etc.)
With that said, it would be a really nice title in the series if not for the damn UPlay nonsense (always on, game saves in the cloud, limited to 10 game saves).
Jerzy Russian
@Egg Berry:
I like the Broncos, but I don’t actually watch the games or listen to them on the radio, so the Tebowmania does not bother me much. I wish, however, he could learn to throw a forward pass and have some expectation that a fellow team member will catch it. Elway started off slow, but he could throw coming out of college. Since I was expecting another 4-12 season, I won’t mind if they could somehow grab that last AFC playoff spot and go on to get crushed.
cathyx
@Yutsano: Yes, I’m bopping myself on the head right now.
@JGabriel: No matter how much money you have, if there is no new drug invented, then you will still suffer.
schrodinger's cat
@Scott: In my neck of the woods the Post Office delivers for UPS. Nearest post office is 1 mile away but nearest UPS or Fedex office is about 5 miles away. Not everyone lives in NYC.
WaterGirl
@Schlemizel: My mom had the problem with no saliva and no taste after radiation treatment. It may not sound like a big deal, but I learned then that it really, really is.
So sorry you are going through that, and really happy for you that you can finally taste something again. That must have been a very happy surprise!
gbear
My most recent splurge was a new set of flannel sheets from LLBean. I had a 10% off coupon and got a $10 gift card free so I figured now was the time. I was hoping they’d arrive on saturday but no such luck.
I remember when LLBean had actual fishermen wearing their clothes in the catalogs rather than a bunch of yuppie models. Sheets are the only thing I buy from them anymore.
Linda Featheringill
@Schlemizel:
Bon appetit!
Hope you progressively feel better and better. [[hug]]
Corner Stone
TJ Yates is going to get Andre Johnson blown up today.
schrodinger's cat
@gbear: I had the same offer, I bought a messenger bag for myself. The clothes they make last forever, but are not exactly the height of fashion, their fit needs some improvement but their money back guarantee can’t be beat.
MarioGeorgeNitrini111
OJ Simpson–Occupy Los Angeles–and More…..
I filed a lawsuit in downtown Los Angeles on November 9th, 2011
Case # BC473185 related to The OJ Simpson Case and Saga, Occupy L.A.
and More……
On November 17th, 2011, there were media reports here in Los Angeles and on TV,
on the radio, and on the Internet that there was going to be a hearing for a
Temporary Restraining Order that was to be heard the next day regarding
Occupy L.A. Here are a few links:
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_19364469
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/occupy-la-restraining-order-police-263276
http://kabc.com/Article.asp?id=2336931&spid=39963
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/occupy-la-to-seek-restraining-order-against-police-
And there were Many, Many More Reports regarding this situation.
As I watched on TV that evening I wondered to myself>>>Hmmmmm….
Then, the next day the reports were that the “ACTIVIST” and Occupy L.A. DIDN’T SHOW UP.
And then I really wondered, What the Heck??????? Here are a few links of MANY:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8436945
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Occupy-LA-Activist-Fails-To-Show-Up-
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57327962/latest-developments-in-the-occupy-protests/
It was ALL-OVER the Internet and in the media that the “ACTIVIST” didn’t show-up.
THEN, I find out a few days later that it was “ME” that didn’t show-up>>>WTH????????
And the ONLY news outlet that reported that it was me that didn’t show-up was the
Hispanic newspaper here in los Angeles la Opinion. How in the world can La Opinion be
the only news outlet to report that it was “ME” thatt didn’t show-up.
Could it “Possiby” be that it had to do with my personal involvement in The OJ Simpson Case
and Saga and a “WHOLE LOT MORE”????????? I would think so.
Here is the link and it is in Spanish:
http://www.impre.com/laopinion/noticias/2011/11/19/orden-de-restriccion-contra-de-283073-1.html
I translated the article from Google and here it is in English:
“A man of Reseda, identified like Mario G. Nitrini, asked for 9 of November the past a restriction
order so that the Department of Police of Los Angeles (LAPD) does not evacuate the camping of Occupy in City the Hall without previous warning of 30 days.Nevertheless, the legal committee of said IT to Occupy that the measurement was taken by external people to the movement, without the consent of the general assembly.
“One was an unilateral action”, commented Pam Noles, spokeswoman of Occupy.
The Office of the judge advocate general of the City took care of citatorio yesterday that it emitted Department 86 of the Court Superior of the County of Los Angeles to give capacity to the promoted request, but the part plaintiff, Mario G. Nitrini, did not appear.
In order to know what the request treated, lawyer Carol Sobel, like legal advisor of Occupy, appeared to the hearing,
which could not be carried out.
“Still we do not know in question”, said to Sobel yesterday in the morning when finishing the term for the hearing.
The Court informed that it would be summoned to new date for case BC473185.
The demand is against the city of Los Angeles and others, including the solicitor of the USA, Eric Holder, to officials of the LAPD and the Department of Justice, and specific as a case of organized delinquency or “racketeering”.
Mario G. Nitrini, to that could not be located, is considered a regular critical of the LAPD.
The Office of the judge advocate general of the City would be being against at your service solicitd because, according to it indicated spokesman Jenaro Bátiz, do not exist arguments valid that to impose a restriction to him to the city.
On the other hand, Bátiz informed that only yesterday positions against two demonstrators stopped in one of the
two marches of Thursday by resistance to the arrest appeared.
The defendant are Adam Diaz, of 31 years, and one woman whom its name identified like Jane Doe did not give,
of 21 years; who could face a year in prison and a fine of 1.000 dollars.”
WELL, there is ONE HUGE PROBLEM WITH THIS. I “DID NOT” file for this hearing. Someone
(a man by the name of Chris “CR” Legal Sr.) said that they were me (False Impersonation) and was in an
Illegal and Criminal Conspiracy with other Occupy Los Angeles people to ride the curtails of my
lawsuit Case # BC473185, UNREAL AND UNBELIEVABLE………An Attorney by the name
of Peter Thottam also contacted me regarding this matter.
On November 28th, 2011 I decided to find out for sure what was going on in this matter. I went to the
Superior Courthouse Downtown and while I am standing in line waiting to get in, this Chris “CR” Legal Sr. leaves
a voice mail message informing me that there is an Ex-Parte hearing the next day regarding Occupy LA and
what was my availability, and more…….WTH??????? After leaving the courthouse and Department 86
I went back to the Occupy LA Campsite and I spoke with several Occupy Los Angeles So-Called-Leaders
and for sure they “DUMMIED-UP” and knew nothing….. Yea Right……..
That did it for me. I went to The City Attorney’s office across the street from The Los Angeles City Hall
and I wanted to find out what the heck was going on. I finally got to speak with 2 ladies. I met with
Assistant City Attorney Valerie Flores and Deputy City Attorney Juliann Anderson and they told me that this
Chris “CR” Legal Sr. had come in to the City Attorney’s office a few weeks ago saying he was me
giving them a whole bunch of paperwork and that they were informed that they were notified about the
Tempory Restraining Order hearing on November 18th, 2011. AND this Chris “CR” Legal Sr. is
AFRICAN AMERICAN>>>>saying he was Me Mario Nitrini >>>>>>UNREAL……GOOD GRIEF.
This Chris “CR” Legal Sr. from what he told me, was in the legal Committee of Occupy Los Angeles.
And Ms. Anderson then tells me that this Chris “CR” Legal Sr. Guy came in and informed the City Attorney’s office
that there was going to be this Ex-Parte hearing and again saying he was me.
No one can make this stuff up.
I’d really had it then. Ms. Anderson wanted me to sign a declaration and I said I would and I
wanted to file a Criminal Complaint against Chris “CR” Legal Sr. and other conspirators. I went across
the street and filed a criminal complaint with officer K. Study Badge # 25521. Then I took the the complaint
back to Ms. Anderson, signed the declaration and gave her a copy of the Police Complaint.
The next day LAPD Detective Brosnan ( Phone # 213-972-1228) calls me for more information regarding this.
I have phone calls in for a return call from LAPD Detective Brosnan and L.A. Deputy City Attorney
Ms. Juliann Anderson (Phone # 213-978-8124.) and I am hoping that they will follow-up with me.
During the day on November 28th, 2011 I had a brief chance meeting with Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
We both agreed on a truce with me and The LAPD and others, based on a Legally depending situation……
It was a positive meeting.
At this time, I am in a Neutral state (LEGALLY DEPENDING) regarding this statement I made:
“Me, Mario George Nitrini 111 being the Plaintiff,
filed a BIG-TIME lawsuit the other day, Case # BC473185, suing The City of Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Police Department, and MORE………pertaining to My personal involvement in The O.J. Simpson Case and Saga, the movement I am involved in—–Occupy Los Angeles— and MORE………
In one of my statements, I state that Los Angeles Police Department:
“Chief Charlie Beck knows knows plaintiff has knowledge of Chief Becks criminal corruption dealing with the real killers(s) of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, being members of his police force. See exhibits C and “D” attached hereto and incorporated herein. Additionally, plaintiff request judicial notice of The OJ Simpson Case and Saga.”
Ex-LAPD Police Department Detective Mark Fuhrman is THE KILLER of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. In my opinion he had help murdering these two people.
NOW, I ( Mario Nitrini ) filed several of my Legal Documents pertaining to my personal Involvement in The O.J. Simpson Case and Saga and entered them in this Lawsuit as Exhibits B and C with other exhibits from A to F2. Please NO ONE try and illegally cover-up or “FORGET” to enter ALL of my lawsuit in the record.
In whatever legal form, these people will be called to give a deposition:
Cheryl Shuman – Denise Brown – Mark Fuhrman – Bill Pavelic – Gloria Allred – Diane Dimond – Harvey Levin – Dr. Felix Yip – LAPD Captain Jeri Weinstein – Paul Barresi –Marcia Clark – LAPD Detective Bob Parsons – Stephanie Medina – Eric Garcetti – Dana Garcetti – LAPD Commander Michael Morairty – William Bratton ex-Police Chief of the LAPD – Councilman Bernard Parks – LAPD Segeant Kim – Jeffrey Eglash former inspector General of the los Angeles Police Commision
–Ronald Y. Ito ( aka Ron Ito) Retired–LAPD RHD Detective who was involved
in The OJ Simpson Case and Saga and that I gave information to
which NOW I Know would have led to OJ Simpson’s innocence.
I want to see Detective Ito LIE his way out of this one. HE CAN’T……
Kim Goldman Hahn –Tom Lange -LAPD SGT. Guiterrez—LAPD Officer J.H. Hart
Gil Garcetti.
GIL GARCETTI is a Criminal and Illegal, Corrupt, No-Good Person. He and his staff of criminal
hoodlums made several agreements with me both IN-WRITING and VERBALLY.
They broke several of them, did not honor others, and have tried to sabotage me and take me out any way they could.
Legally Gil Garcetti and his staff (Present and Past) will honor the agreement’s that were made with me…….
Lisa Bloom –
Richard C. Wemmer Retired –LAPD Captain Commanding Officer West
Los Angeles Community Police Station. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck
Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley
United States Attorney Andre Birotte and Former Inspector General
for The Los Angeles Police Commission
ALL 3 of you knew I had my Civil Right’s Violated several times and
ALL 3 of you Illegally and Criminally
covered that fact up. WHY? I legally want some answers. And most likely there will be more people called to give a depostion,
AND it could lead to Criminal Prosecution for some of these people and MORE…………
Let’s see ALL of YOU people LIE and ILLEGALLY Cover-up your way out of this one.”
Just so EVERYONE knows, I have saved certain telephone messages amd Audio Tapes and have safely put away LOT’S of
Legal Documents in several places. There will be NO MORE COVER-UP involving me, Mario George Nitrini 111 ANYMORE……..
MarioGeorgeNitrini111
mariogeorgenitrini111
_______________
The OJ Simpson Case
The Anthony Pellicano Federal Indictment Case
The Biggie Smalls Federal Lawsuit Case
The Michael Jackson Cases and Saga
The Robert Blake Case
Amir Khalid
@eemom:
Ambassador Gutman is correct about this. However embarrassing to the US, it’s a fact (vouched for by me, so you know it’s got to be true) that both kinds of antisemitism — the old-fashioned kind also common among other gentiles, and that provoked by the Palestine-Israel conflict — exist side-by-side in the Muslim world, and very often in the same Muslim individual.
There’s a feeling among Muslims that the modern Israel exists because the West put it there, on land taken from its (mostly) Muslim residents. The Palestinians want that land back. Israel is seen as the (Christian) West’s pet in this conflict.
Maybe it was undiplomatic of Gutman to mention it. (He certainly didn’t endorse it, and of course neither do I.) Maybe it could be more aptly called enmity towards Israel. But it’s there.
Yutsano
@JGabriel:
He’s also a Canuckistani citizen. If things get too pricey he can just head home and get treatment there.
cokane
DOWN WITH PISSBURG
WaterGirl
No pet or kid pics yet, maybe this will get things started.
Here’s a photo of my dog Bailey with my kitty soulmate Quiver, on Quiver’s last day. I lost Quiver 2 years ago and my sweet Bailey just 3 months ago.
Here’s a photo of my new puppy Tucker. He has literally doubled in weight/size since I got him 5 weeks ago. Is that typical?
Insomniac
Hoping y’all can/will help me out. Haven’t had a TV/cable for many years and am now planning on jumping back in. At least to TV/movie watching, but not cable so much. Here’s the TV and blu-ray player I want to get. Also wondering if I need a Roku with those two options; and if so, which one? The $50 has no Ethernet port and I’d prefer one so perhaps the Roku 2 XS? Thoughts? TIA.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@JGabriel: Except, as previously noted by I think Yutsano, Fox has Parkinson’s, not ALS.
And the rich can manage better with illness. I can afford tx for my MS only by doing a clinical trial comparing an approved interferon head to head with and experimental monoclonal antibody, as I don’t have the 2K per month to do the current meds. I’ll know in January if I’m in.
Tehanu
@Brachiator:
That’s next on my must-see list, especially Ken Branagh playing Olivier (that ham! — he’s not even in the top 30 of my list of great English actors). We saw “The Artist” which was quite fun and I have been recommending it to people, even though I seem to be the only person who didn’t think it was the most wonderful film I ever saw. I mean, I’d give it an “A” but not an “A+++” — but I did think that Jean Dujardin, the leading man, was wonderful. Sort of a cross between Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and William Powell, with a dash of Astaire and a pinch of Fredric March. And I’d love to see his James Bond parody some time.
schrodinger's cat
@dmsilev: Sounds delicious. Next time try a granita with gin and key limes.
Walker
@gbear:
Their sheets aren’t any good. They cannot hold their color past 6 months. I have largely given up on L. L. Bean. The canvas shirts — my main purchase — have gone down in quality. The last straw was a belt I bought where the buckle snapped after a week of use.
They are essentially Eddie Bauer these days but poorer quality.
handsmile
On books, I’m so glad you asked.
I have just begun reading The Bear: History of a Fallen King, certainly one of the most delightful new non-fiction works I’ve encountered this year. Written by Michel Pastoureau, director of studies at the Sorbonne, it is a cultural history of the bear in Western Europe.
Examining the period from prehistory (Chauvet Cave) to the Renaissance, Pastoureau considers how this once venerated creature, central to cults and mythologies from Russia to Britain, was deposed by the advent of Christianity to be eventually replaced in the symbolic bestiary by the lion and eagle. The book’s opening sentence: “Was Charlemagne the greatest enemy to the bear that Europe ever knew?”
How can you not love this kind of stuff!? I recommend it enthusiastically to all fans of that noble beast grotesquely maligned by Stephen Colbert as a “godless killing machine.”
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674047822
As there are no interesting football matches (and by that I mean soccer) this afternoon, I’m planning to visit the Morgan Library to view its exhibition of Islamic manuscript paintings. As disenchanted as I’ve become with life in this urban hellhole, there are its compensations.
Insomniac
Oops, sorry. Here are the links
TV here: http://amzn.to/sOhFDE
Blu-ray here: http://amzn.to/sas4zf
TY
eemom
@Amir Khalid:
Nothing is ever simple, including bigotry, and what you and Gutman are saying is certainly worthy of discussion — among civilized people who are capable of comprehending nuance, even in an emotionally-laden context like this one.
But how many such people are there, 6?
And how many vulturous scum like Kristol and Gingrich who are positively orgasmic over this unfortunate “opportunity” to exploit tragedy once again?
I feel sorry for the poor bastard, because I know he meant well — but I shudder to think what’s going to happen to him in the coming days.
Raven
@WaterGirl: I am so glad to see this picture of Tucker! The size gain is just who he is and he’s not overweight so you may have a moose on your hands!
JGabriel
@dmsilev: Yep. Pretty much.
JGabriel
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
D’oh! I knew that. Forgive me, I’m ill and not quite up to par today.
.
gbear
@schrodinger’s cat: Yes, their clothes do last forever. I’m doing laundry today and just realized that most of the shirts I’m washing are Bean shirts that I bought years ago.
Amanda in the South Bay
@handsmile:
Bleh, that seems like such an obscure, specialized topic that I just can’t garner any interest. I normally enjoy delving into rather serious history books, but I don’t care for the increasing specialization of the field, with historians writing books about obscure topics that they try to hype as having a much greater influence upon history than they actually had.
Brachiator
@JGabriel
RE: Maybe, but I think Fox is rich enough that he can afford the best care in the world. That alone (or combined with an optimistic attitude) could explain his success
As others have noted, Fox has Parkinson’s. But I still don’t get your point. Degenerative illnesses can be devastating, and the course of some ailments, for example, ALS, are relentless and lead to the same result, no matter how much money you have.
Ngillard
FYI: Micheal J. Fox doesn’t have ALS. He has Parkinson’s disease.
schrodinger's cat
@WaterGirl: Tucker is adorable!
but Yogi has a fierce
schrodinger's cat
@gbear: I have leather hiking shoes from Bean that I bought in 1997 and they are still going strong!
WaterGirl
@Raven: HE was 10.5 pounds at just under 3 months, 17.9 pounds at 4 months, and 21.5 pounds just 2 weeks later.
My vet says you can double their weight at 4 months to know what they will weigh when they are full grown, which would make him under 40 pounds. But he gained about half a pound a day for about a week or 10 days, so he is really growing like crazy, so I am wondering if he won’t be bigger.
I was going for a 35 or 40 pound dog, but he will be what he will be! It’s been 13 years since I’ve been around puppy so I can’t remember if that kind of growth is typical or not.
On a different subject… I just upgraded to Lion, and I find that I must make a lot of fidgety motions with my hands when I am reading web pages, because I am frequently resizing pages without intending to. Otherwise, I am a huge fan of Lion. How about you?
WaterGirl
@schrodinger’s cat: Is that your kitty? What a great photo! And I love the name Yogi.
“
Raven
@WaterGirl:
He looks like such a joy! I remember a buddy across the street got a furry black pup and was told it would be huge and he turned out only be about 40. He was bummed at first but it ended up not mattering to either of them.
I’ve had Lion long enough that I am used to it, I think you will too.
Jon Gallagher
Good books read and being read:
Ready Player One: If you lived the 80’s or have ever watched TVLand, or played a coin operated video game, do yourself a favor and reserve a weekend for this.
Wise Men’s Fear: Late to this because I didn’t have the time to get sucked in, then I had to re-read The Name of the Wind. I was worried about the sophomore jinx. Shouldn’t have been.
And for your viewing pleasure: Patrick Rothfuss (above book) and Amber Benson (Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) read a sex scene from her not bad series about the daughter of Death himself: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/04/amber-benson-and-patrick-rothfuss-read-serpents-storm-nsfw (Oh so very NSFW)
MikeJ
@Benjamin Franklin:
Their last album was really, really rocking for a bunch of guys who are all about 93 years old.
I didn’t read the rest of your drivel because the weird Capitalization kept Putting me Off.
schrodinger's cat
@WaterGirl: Yes he is my kitteh, thanks Water Girl, Yogi and I appreciate it. BTW Anne Laurie had featured him on the front page of BJ, last Thursday. Here is the link
MikeJ
@Jon Gallagher: Ready Player One was great, even though V xarj gur frpbaq xrl jnf va gur Mbex ubhfr nf fbba nf V ernq gur uvag. [rot13’d for spoiler protection.]
But yes, I had spent many hours in that location.
Jon Gallagher
@MikeJ: Woah, rot13 and everything. You weren’t just there for the 80’s, you lived the 80’s. Bet you know what an acoustic coupler and 300 baud look like.
PurpleGirl
@Brachiator: Degenerative illnesses
can beare devastating,…They are relentless in destroying your ability to move or engage in any physical activity — even eating. Stephen Hawking is thought to have ALS but the English usually refer to it as Degenerative Motor Neuron Disease because it hasn’t following the usual course of ALS. (And if he lived in the US he’d be dead by now because he wouldn’t be able to afford health care… In England he has the care he needs and what the doctors can develop for his needs.)
SIA
Sooner, I’ve now lost two comments. Have you seen them? :-(
Trying to reply to Schlemizel with some links. Also, too, FYWP.
Amir Khalid
A question for the cat people here: I know that you shouldn’t really expect a cat to come when you call it. But is it normal for a kitteh to expect you to come when called? Or is that just my Bianca?
Athenae
Pets? My new ferret Matilda, who came to us half-starved by some dumbfuck who dropped her off to Chicago Animal Control (honestly, I’d take my chances with the raccoons in the park before I’d end up there, were I a small animal) apparently too stupid to figure out there’s an entire Internet to help you learn what to feed her.
After a serious stomach virus scare and two weeks of intensive nursing, she’s now ALMOST a normal baby ferret, running and jumping and playing with the others. She eats just about her own weight every day and has some meat on her bones and sleeps all the time.
http://s1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/Athenae25/?action=view¤t=IMG_20111201_095731.jpg
A.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@WaterGirl: Tucker is a doll baby. Probably going to be a BIG doll baby when all is said and done.
Yutsano
@Amir Khalid:
Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.
handsmile
@schrodinger’s cat: , @gbear: , @Walker:
A modest defense of L.L. Bean: While agreeing for the most part that both the quality and style of its products has declined woefully in recent years, I find their denim jeans to be comfortable and durable (and perhaps appealing mainly to those for whom jeans are pants and not a fashion accessory.)
Also, their waterproof “Bean Boots” remain the gold standard, at least in the opinion of my feet.
khead
@schrodinger’s cat:
Lovely “kids” you have there. Who won the Scrabble game? :)
gbear
@Amir Khalid: I have a kitty that expects me to come when she calls. Half the time when I do go find her, she starts walking away still meowing for me to follow her.
schrodinger's cat
@Yutsano:
Dogs have owners. Cats have
staffminions.Fixed for accuracy.
Linnaeus
@Amanda in the South Bay:
It’s a double-edged sword. I do think that some monographs are overly narrow, but one of the problems with doing “big history” is that, very often, so much gets smoothed over or simply left out of the narrative.
schrodinger's cat
@handsmile: I love LL Bean products, sturdy and durable, just not the height of fashion, but that was never their selling point anyway. Do you have their wicked good slippers?
Their fit for women’s clothes runs from frumpy to matronly. I usually have to go down one size for a proper fit.
Linnaeus
Regarding L.L. Bean, I have to say that I’m much more familiar with Lands’ End. Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing, since it’s based in Wisconsin.
Athenae
Land’s End has gotten insanely super-cute in the last year or so. Half my wardrobe is from there now and while I’m not a fashion plate I’ve never been accused of frump. Plus the shit lasts forever.
A.
MikeJ
I think the beginning of the downward slide for LL Bean was when they started opening stores outside of Maine. Not outlet stores, but honest to gopod retail stores. Tyson’s Corner is the only one (other than Freeport) I’ve been to, but that’s too many.
gogol's wife
@Amir Khalid:
Absolutely normal. Standard operating procedure.
chopper
@dmsilev:
ugh. today’s goals: make pancakes. do 12 hours of work in 4 hours. curse the dog for whining and waking me up at 6 am. take kid to playground after her nap. let wife sleep.
schrodinger's cat
@khead: Yogi of course, by occupying the game! Here is another photo of the scrabble kitteh
Raven
I like the J Crew outlet in Lynchburg.
Linnaeus
@Athenae:
I have a lot of stuff from Lands’ End myself, and I’ve gotten a lot of use out of all of it.
4jkb4ia
@eemom:
What that sounds like is no more than what Bernard Lewis said.
Villago Delenda Est
So, Gutman’s failure to parrot the hate speech of asswipes like Kristol and Gingrich means he’s a bad person.
Gutman’s comments are nuanced and detailed, and are an attempt to understand a phenomenon so as to find a way to deal with it.
To confront an enemy, you need to understand the enemy. Yourself as well. This is Sun-Tzu 101. A class that reactionary fuckwits obviously skipped out on.
Kristol and Gingrich, on the other hand, have a Heydrich-like way of approaching any perceived imperfection. Destruction.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
Why am I seeing the Jesus Ponies at the Humpty Dome on Fox?
schrodinger's cat
@Linnaeus: Probably, I used to live in Maine and L. L. Bean is like a religion there.@Athenae: No experience with Land’s End. I saw some of their stuff at Sears and was not overly impressed. I am petite and it is always a challenge finding clothes that are neither teenagery nor grandma like. In any brand. period.
Linnaeus
@schrodinger’s cat:
I don’t like the selection of Lands’ End items that Sears sells. I always order from the catalog or online. But that can be a challenge, of course, if proper sizing is an issue.
MikeJ
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Was that in English?
SiubhanDuinne
@handsmile:
That sounds fascinating. I love books like that (Cod, Salt, Tulipmania, Longitude, etc.) thanks for the recommendation.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Villago Delenda Est: Sun-Tzu 101 is entirely too nuanced for that crowd. In fact, nuance is un-American in their view, I’m sure. They are kind of exemplars of this:
-DFW
Garbo
@Athenae: Oh, A! She’s filling out nicely. What does Miss Claire think of not being the only Diva Warrior in the house?
quannlace
Check the expiration date on that gift card. I got one last year, and found out, too late, that it had to be used by February 15th! A little chintzy if you ask me.
Dr. Squid
Looks like throwback day in Tampa, meaning an orange pirate and 0-26 creamsicle unis. Against Carolina, who have had the same unis since the beginning.
Looks like they’re living down to 0-26.
RedKitten
@Athenae: You’re not wrong there. I managed to snag a Land’s End cashmere sweater at a consignment store about 7 years ago, and the thing still looks like new. If I had the cash, I’d only ever buy that kind of sweater again — they’re wonderful.
Amir Khalid
@Villago Delenda Est:
I know the American right sees things in a very us-versus-them way, and sees Palestine as the enemy of America’s Most Important Ally Israel. But that attitude would not be conducive to a good outcome for either Israel or Palestine, still less for the Middle East as a whole. And it’s kept the whole issue an open, festering wound for these 60 and more years.
Villago Delenda Est
@Amir Khalid:
The problem is the suggestion that Muslim hatred of Israel is NOT just like traditional antisemitism in Europe. The two phenomenon have totally different roots, and the current Muslim attitude isn’t based on notions that “the Jews” control the financial system, or that they kill babies to make matzoh, or that they killed Jesus. The proximate causes of Muslim hatred are much more recent, and much more concrete, and to acknowledge that means that you are implicitly criticizing Zionism specifically, and Judaism in general.
Which, of course, we cannot have. If you dare to look at it in an even handed way, Zionism has blemishes.
Blemishes are unsightly. They also conflict with the narrative, in part based on Western Christian guilt that they looked the other way when the Nazis were putting Jews on trains for “resettlement”.
The term “Judeao-Christian” was invented in the wake of the Holocaust as a means of making amends to a group that was barely tolerated throughout much of Western Christendom well into the 20th Century, to most definitely include the United States of America.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@MikeJ:
Translation: Why is the Broncos at Vikes game on Fox?
I think I figured it out: It’s because the Lions/Saints game got poached by NBC, and Pats/Colts devolved (for lack of a better word) to CBS, so, I guess, Fox got to poach a CBS game.
I don’t think very clearly when I wake up after ~6 hours of sleep for the fifth
nightday in a row.Brachiator
While listening to the Leo Laporte tech show on the radio, I was surprised to hear that San Francico radio station KGO is junking its talk radio format and going all news. About the only person they have retained is morning guy Ronn Owens, wh apparently has a gazillion dollar contract which would have to be paid even if he were let go.
This is a big deal, and not just for the Bay area. KGO has a clear and powerful signal, and can be heard at night in Southern California and as far to the east as in parts of Colorado.
In looking for details about this story, I found a tidbit noting that, again in San Francisco, public radio station KQED is number one in the prime demographic, adults, age 25 to 54 (probably English speaking). I never knew that a public radio station could dominate the market.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Amir Khalid: Sums it up nicely. Thanks so much.
Benjamin Franklin
@MikeJ:
I don’t know who or what you are referring to, but I can smell the piss.
Depends are disposable, you know..
Yutsano
@Amir Khalid: The real problem with Israel is it goes back to ancient wounds from actors who for the most part no longer exist coupled with a huge amount of all or nothing attitude. Eretz Israel honestly thinks it can have a swath of territory going all the way to Baghdad. Syria would love nothing more than their old eponymous empire back. The Palestinians want every trace of Europe (read: Israel) gone so they can have their ancient glory back. The world changed. Nothing will ever go back to the way it was. Not to mention Israel DID build a rather modern sociallist European modern state out of what they got. They just act paranoid along the way there.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Yutsano:
I’m trying to figure out when they had an ancient glory to which they can return. But for the sites of religious importance, Palestine had been- since the end of the Crusades, until the end of WWI- a sleepy backwater inside of larger Turkish empires.
Yutsano
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
The caliphate. You didn’t quite reach back far enough. Remember they did eventually expel Europe from Jerusalem during the Crusades.
Soonergrunt
@SIA: I released some comments earlier, and have now released a crazy person’s comment–something about a cover up involving OWS-Los Angeles, OJ Simpson, Biggie Smalls, and the LA District Attorney’s office.
You know what they say–it’s not the crime, it’s the cover up.
PurpleGirl
@RedKitten: Good to hear from you… I went over to your link and, oh man, is Sam getting big and handsome.
Yutsano
@Soonergrunt: Please to be directing us to said comment? The curiosity, it burns us.
Amir Khalid
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Glorious or not, Ottoman Empire backwater or not, it was their country; and Western powers gave it away from under their feet to a bunch of European immigrants, in order to atone for the Holocaust. That’s a damn big grievance, and in my book a justified one.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Yutsano:
Yeah, but even at that point, Palestine was just a backwater. Sure, there was the Golden Age of Islam…But Palestine itself was largely Christian at the time.
Okay, now that I jumped into this, I’ve got to leave- watching the Packers at the dad’s. Later…
Brachiator
@Amir Khalid:
Re: Glorious or not, Ottoman Empire backwater or not, it was their country; and Western powers gave it away from under their feet to a bunch of European immigrants, in order to atone for the Holocaust. That’s a damn big grievance, and in my book a justified one.
A good point. It is unfortunate, then, that the people in the region (Muslim and Christian and others) could not be generous and give the land to Israel.
Also, to look at the Israelis as Europen immigrants, or as Israel as an outpost of Europe is an odd distortion.
And as always, people want to ignore the other big post war British role in the partition of India. As far as I can see, if you want to get hard core, you must acknowledge that Muslims did not have a single valid historical claim to the land that became the two parts of Pakistan. The Muslims were foreign invaders, interlopers. And yet, the leaders of India recognized the urgency and the historical necessity of the Muslim claim of a separate national identity.
Instead of crushing Pakistan or pushing the Muslims into the sea, India accepted the partition. More, India later fought to help secure the independence of Bangladesh. Oh yeah, and the US backed Pakistan in this shameful little civil war.
Given this background, the perpetual hostility to Israel looks small minded.
Corner Stone
@Soonergrunt:
Post up some righteous IP info so we can properly inspect their counter tops as needed.
Soonergrunt
@Yutsano: This thread, number 38
Corner Stone
I kind of like the all red unis AZ is sporting.
Soonergrunt
@Corner Stone: If you ever say anything that actually moves a discussion thread and isn’t the blog equivalent of shitting on the living room floor and flashing an “ain’t I something” grin, I’ll hook you up.
Jerzy Russian
I’ll be damned. Oakland lost, and the Broncos won. Please excuse me, as I need to be alone for a bit.
Corner Stone
@Soonergrunt: Obviously you enjoy that kind of thing. How long did it take you again?
fasteddie9318
@Brachiator:
Huh? The Indus region had been more or less Muslim extending back to the eighth century. Even if somehow one were to argue that they were still “foreign invaders, interlopers” some 1200 years later, that would make the rightful owners of the region the Buddhists who were driven out and/or killed by the Hindu “invaders, interlopers” shortly before the Muslims arrived. How does this work as an analogy to Israel/Palestine, exactly?
FlipYrWhig
Freakin’ Tebow won AGAIN. Must have sold his soul to the devil.
Suffern ACE
@Brachiator: Perhaps, since the regular slaughter of Jews was both a religious and secular affair of the Europeans of both the Western and Eastern varieties, those Europeans could have generously given the Jews a homeland carved out of one of their many states and learned to treat the Jews a little better. Perhaps one of those unnecessary states like Macedonia or Westphalia. I’m certain the countries surrounding those countries would have been more than willing to swallow up the displaced natives and there woudn’t have been a need for these perpetual wars.
fasteddie9318
The Bengal region, for the sake of completeness and because I can’t edit on my iPad for some reason, was partly Muslim back to the 13th century and under Muslim control by the 17th, and before that was at best contested between Hindus and Buddhists.
Amir Khalid
The Jews who were systematically robbed, enslaved, and decimated in the Shoah were Europeans. Whatever compensation was possible should have come to them from the powers that were at fault — i.e. the remnants of the Third Reich and its allies, not from some random third party. To say that Palestinian Christians and Muslims should give up their land, on any terms, so that Western powers could make it up to those Europeans for a Western power’s genocide is to me a strange expectation of generosity. Were the Palestinians at fault for the Shoah, that they should be the ones to give up their land because of it?
I don’t mean to disparage the kinship between today’s Jews and the ancient Israelites in any way. But after their ancestors had been gone from the ancient Israel for many centuries, it’s a stretch to suggest that the Jews of modern Europe form a modern nation Israel continuous with that ancient one. A nation, as a body of people, is not permanent in that way. Those European Jews had become part of various European countries in that time. I don’t see how they could come in from Europe and put up a claim to that land over the people who’d been living there in the intervening centuries.
Brachiator
@fasteddie9318
Hindu civilization in India goes back five thousand years. To talk about Muslims arriving in the eighth century as comparable is quite funny. You might as well try to say that the region is European because of the brief incursion of Alexander the Great.
And although some of the Mughal rulers were enlightened, others were bigots who tore down Hindu temples and imposed extra taxes on their Hindu subjects.
@Suffern ACE
Obviously, Jews have a historical connection to Israel. Isn’t this even acknowledged in the Christian Bible and in the Koran? This odd habit of some Balloon Juicers to delink Jews from Israel reminds me of those maps in some Muslim countries which omit Israel as a country.
Oh yeah. I will pay good money to anyone who can provide me with an elegant tool to edit Balloon Juice posts on an iPad.
Batocchio
Pick and touchdown by Matthews!
(We need a dedicated Football open thread, methinks.)
fasteddie9318
@Brachiator:
Uncontested control of a region for 1200 years makes a just slightly more compelling case for a “single valid historical claim” to a region than a brief incursion, I should think. But I didn’t realize we were going by this “roots of civilization” standard, which effectively means that native peoples who converted to Islam at some point a millenium or so ago lose their claim on their own land because they switched religions. In that case, Islam should get back to Arabia where it belongs, and us white Christian folks need to clear on out of the Americas because we haven’t been here nearly as long as the Muslims have been in the Indus, and they’ve obviously got no claim to the region. In fact, let’s undo every military conquest from the dawning of recorded civilization (which, uh-oh, kind of puts the Jews in a pickle), and also too we need to forcibly convert any populations of apostates back to their earliest ancestral religion or else they’ll really screw things up.
Seriously? Twelve centuries of continuous control and ownership doesn’t mean anything because there was an earlier civilization there at one time, and this is the argument you’re making in the context of defending Israel?
Suffern ACE
@fasteddie9318: The sense is that we should be denying the Muslims the right to be anywhere. The descendents of Franks and Goths and Huns should not be displaced as they earned their places by right of conquest (and subsequent conversion to a suitable religion), but those Muslims are interlopers wherever they go.
fasteddie9318
@Suffern ACE: Yes, that does seem to be it. The funny thing is that they’re interlopers even when we’re talking about populations with claims on their land going back to ancient times who happened to covert to Islam somewhere along the way. As though coverting to the unacceptable religion invalidates their entire history pre-conversion, though if they’d gone Christian instead everything would obviously be cool. What would have happened to the Jews, I wonder, if the Palestinians had converted en masse to Christianity in 1945 or so?
Mnemosyne
@Yutsano:
Not that anyone cares anymore, but Michael J. Fox is Canuckistani no more — he became an American citizen in 2000.
Also, too, one of the reasons he’s never quite left your teevee is probably so he can maintain his SAG (Screen Actors Guild) health benefits, which are pretty generous. There are some pre-existing conditions that it’s basically impossible to get private insurance for no matter how much money you have, and Parkinsons is one of them.
burnspbesq
It must really suck to be a Jet-hater right about now. They looked so bad for 52 minutes, and then boom!
Mnemosyne
@Amir Khalid:
Michael Chabon has an interesting alternate universe novel called The Yiddish Policemen’s Union where Israel collapsed in 1948 and everyone was “temporarily” moved to Alaska, USA.
It won’t happen for another 20 or 30 years, but Chabon will eventually win the Nobel prize for literature.
To be slightly more on topic, I think part of the problem is that a lot of the old anti-Semitic propaganda has spread across a lot of the Middle East, so you have (for example) newspapers in Egypt claiming that Jews will kidnap Muslim children and use them for human sacrifice (also known as the blood libel). So the old, discredited claims are being mixed in with the valid claims, which doesn’t do anyone any good.
schrodinger's cat
@fasteddie9318: The partition of India was a horrific incident in the subcontinent’s history millions were displaced and millions died, both Hindu and Muslim. The human tragedy was enormous, and the event still casts a long shadow over what happens in the subcontinent especially Pakistan. Pakistan’s support of Taliban was to build “strategic depth”, whatever that is, against India. Also, the Muslims in British India were spread out all over the subcontinent not just the parts that became Pakistan. India-Pakistan issue is as much a tangle as the Israel-Palestine issue, just that it hasn’t been on the US radar until much recently.
Chalk this one up as another one of killer apps of the glorious British Empire, that Niall Ferguson likes to boast about.
eemom
@Brachiator:
This is an important point. First of all, Jews were never actually gone from the area, whether you call it Israel or Palestine. As I understand it, and not being a scholar of the region by any means, the sad irony is that Jews, Muslims and Christians had co-existed there peacefully for the most part prior to 1948.
Also, it’s just absurd to dismiss that “historic connection” which goes back well over three millenia, and suggest that a Jewish homeland should have been carved out of Germany instead. Absurd, patronizing and offensive.
eemom
@Mnemosyne:
yes — isn’t that a cool book?
Alas, much as I like Michael Chabon, I can never quite get past the fact that he’s married to that dipshit Ayelet Waldman.
FlipYrWhig
@eemom: @Mnemosyne: That reminds me, I should read _Yiddish Policemen_ over the Solstice. I liked _Kavalier_ and _Wonder Boys_.
eemom
@FlipYrWhig:
You should indeed — it is excellent vacation reading. I read it a couple of summers ago at the Outer Banks.
FlipYrWhig
@eemom: I should go to the Outer Banks too. All my local friends do…
eemom
@FlipYrWhig:
totally! Have you never been there? It’s the best damn beach on the East Coast…..especially if you bypass the northern beaches (Nags Head, Duck, et al) and head down to Hatteras Island, where there are NO big hotels, and NO icky strip malls….but miles and miles of wide beach and dunes….houses of all kinds available for rent, oceanfront, soundfront, and in between…..pleasant restaurants. I adore the place.
fasteddie9318
@schrodinger’s cat: Yes, the partition had terrible consequences, just like most other arbitrary colonial map drawing has had terrible consequences. What does that have to do with the question of who has a rightful claim on the Indus region? Secularists opposed any partition on religious grounds and Hindu nationalists opposed partition because Hindus would have been in the national majority anyway, but nobody disputed that the Panjab was majority Muslim, and most of the violence since the partition has centered on a dispute over Kashmir, not over the right of Pakistan to exist or to be a majority Muslim nation.
FlipYrWhig
@eemom: Never been… I’m not a beach person (perhaps due to steadfastly refusing to embrace Jersey Shore culture after moving to NJ at age 8). But it’d be worth going to the Banks, probably, based on what everyone says.
fasteddie9318
@eemom:
Things really started to break down after WWI and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Under the Ottomans, in the later period when religious minorities were given greater rights in the push for a secular notion of Ottoman citizenship, I’m not sure there’s much in the way of a historical record of how things really were in Palestine between the religious groups.
4jkb4ia
Corner Stone! You’re alive! I am ashamed to record it, but I may actually have been worried about you!
4jkb4ia
“The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years” by Greil Marcus
Reviewed by Camille Paglia
This cannot stand, man! This is an abomination!
Ron
Why is there no NFL or Steelers thread? waah.
Ben Cisco (mobile)
The rematch is on – Roll Tide!
Brachiator
@fasteddie9318
RE: Uncontested control of a region for 1200 years makes a just slightly more compelling case for a “single valid historical claim” to a region than a brief incursion, I should think.
Stop making shit up. Muslims in India did not have “uncontested control” of the region. And my larger point is that the two Pakistan’s did not arise because of nostalgic geographical connections to the land, but because many Muslims in India developed an independent sense of national identity and, for some, a sense of Islamic Exceptionalism that made it impossible to see themselves as being equal citizens with Hindus.
Your notion of large numbers of “native people” in India who converted to Islam is both bogus and irrelevant. You also would have a problem with the Parsees, who are descended from an earlier Persian migration (hence their name), and who are dwindling in number specifically because they will not intermarry or accept converts.
My main point is that in some ways, modern Israel and Pakistan arose through acts of political will, notwithstanding historical claims to land, and yet many Ballon Juicers only have a bug up their butts over Israel.
And then we have Cyprus, where Turkish and Greek nationalism were largely manufactured by the British, but that’s another story for another day.
As an aside, I have no patience with those who talk about the Palestinians supposedly not having a sense of an independent national identity until Israel became established.
And on my worst days, I have no problem with the idea that “you white Christians” should clear out of the Americas.
schrodinger's cat
The problems Pakistan faces have its roots at what happened during Partition. You cannot understand what is going on in Pakistan right now if you are unaware of the history of the Partition.
Muslims in India were not just confined to what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh, but they were all over India. India even now has the second largest population of Muslims in the world. The Indus region that you refer to, what is now Sindh had many Hindus, they were displaced after the partition and Punjab was partitioned too. Before the British, Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs,till the middle of the 19th century, who are not Muslim the last time I checked. The NWFP or the North West Frontier Province, which was Pashtun or Pathan majority also did not want to become a part of Pakistan.
The different regions of Pakistan had nothing in common except their religion and it was not enough to keep Bangladesh from breaking away. As for the NWFP, it is still a pretty lawless area, where the Pakistani does exert not much control.
schrodinger's cat
@fasteddie9318: In case I was not clear, Pakistan was a completely arbitrary and an artificial construct as it was constructed in 1947 and could not even last 30 years under the weight of its inherent contradictions.
PaulW
I didn’t finish my NaNoWriMo efforts this year as I had hoped… one of my cats had cancer, it got worse last month and so I had to take her to the vet for one last trip. Kinda bummed me out for that week (Thanksgiving week) so that was that.
I am hoping to get something else typed up in a hurry for ebook availability for the holidays (a follow-up to this story for Nook)… meanwhile if anyone wants library-themed gifts for co-workers or friends I have a Cafe Press shop for that.
PaulW
@Ben Cisco (mobile):
Tide lost. Get over it.
It should have been LSU vs. Oklahoma St.
fasteddie9318
@Brachiator:
It’s like being in an episode of the fucking Twlight Zone, where somebody who seriously insists that “Muslims did not have a single valid historical claim to the land that became the two parts of Pakistan” asserts that you’re the one making shit up. That’s fucking surreal. The two Pakistans arose because Muslim nationalists AND Hindu nationalists had problems co-habitating with each other (the violence around the partition went both ways), but Hindu nationalists had the comfort of knowing that Hindus would still be the majority in a Greater India by a significant margin so they were happy to keep the country whole. The British didn’t carve out the Sind/Punjab and Bengal for the Muslims just because; they did it because those two regions were majority Muslim and had been for quite a while. And by the way, we’re talking about the parts of south Asia that became Pakistan, not “India,” so stop redefining the fucking terms. All this in defense of some point or another about Israel’s right to exist that I’d most likely agree with if we weren’t rewriting other people’s history to get there.
Again, we’re talking about Pakistan, not “India,” right? Can we at least agree on that? What the fuck are the Pashtun if not a native population that converted?
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yes, Pakistan was completely arbitrary and artificial as it was constructed in the aftermath of colonial control, and it only shares this fate with India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and any of a countless number of other former colonies around the world. The Partition was horribly mismanaged and south Asia has been and will continue to be a problem for the rest of the world. What does any of this have to do with the distorting of Muslim history in the Indus region in order to make a point about Israel?
Paul in KY
@JGabriel: I think he has Parkinsons, not ALS.
I think you’d rather have Parkinsons than ALS.
Paul in KY
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): FOX has NFC, CBS has AFC. When an NFC team goes to an AFC opponent, they get to show it. Same for CBS when an AFC team plays at an NFC club.
Edit: See your point, CBS should have had the Broncos/Minn game.
schrodinger's cat
@fasteddie9318:
Do you have the population break-ups before and after Partition?
Also, stop drawing false equivalence between the Hindu Nationalists (Hindu Mahasabha etc) who were politically a non entity during the time of the Partition to the Muslim League. The leading political entity in India was the Indian National Congress, which was secular. Jinnah was a member of the Congress before he formed the Muslim League in the 30’s. Pakistan was his idea by and large.
India as a political entity has been much more stable than Pakistan because there is more to the idea of India than being majority Hindu. Also not all Muslims were happy to be a part of Pakistan, the North West Frontier Province is a good example of that.
I did not do that.
Paul in KY
@Suffern ACE: I would have loved for Israel to have been created out of East Prussia. Boy, that would have been a good one!
Paul in KY
@Amir Khalid: The Zionists most definitely wanted the homeland to be in Middle East. They did not want a European Israel (IMO).
schrodinger's cat
Also, Indus Valley civilization (Mohenjo Daro and Harrapa) was neither Hindu nor Muslim, it predates both these religions. The Harrapan language has been postulated to be proto Dravidian. So I don’t see how you can make the claims you are making.