INDCJournal: Quick Links

« Unfortunate Wording | Main | Welcome »

April 04, 2005

Quick Links

Posted by Bill

*** What does the Uniform Code of Military Justice say about destroying classified documents? If only Sandy Berger were in the military ...

*** I think that Christopher Hitchens' sharp mind and acidic tongue are public treasures. That being said, when someone famous dies, I tend to wish he'd just sit in the corner and quietly nurse his scotch:

Look, sometimes, in the euphoria of the moment, eulogy becomes hagiography, and people need to be reminded of reality. Sometimes the dead need ill spoken of them. And perhaps a case might be made that "what no one else will say about John Paul II" needs to be said...and must be said before the body is even cold.
Perhaps. But Christopher Hitchens is no noble Truthteller. Christopher Hitchens is merely a contrarian at the funeral�a necro-heckler.

*** Political progress in Iraq:

The Iraqi national assembly appointed a speaker and two deputy speakers today, taking the first, if symbolic, step in installing a new government.
In last-minute dealmaking on Saturday and this morning, the leaders of the top political parties settled on naming as speaker Hajim al-Hassani, a prominent Sunni Arab and the minister of industry under the interim government. Hussain al-Shahrastani, a nuclear physicist and leading Shiite Arab, and Arif Taifour, a Kurd, were selected to be the two deputies.

The selections were formalized in an hourlong voting session of the assembly. Mr. Hassani's appointment came after several days of fractious negotiations, in which various groups reviewed and rejected candidates for the position. The groups had agreed that a Sunni Arab should take the post, but could not settle on which one.

Posted by Bill at April 4, 2005 07:21 AM | TrackBack (2)

Comments

I guess there is something to be said for having friends in high places, something a poor marine most likely doesn't have.

Although the slap on the wrist I could almost see coming, what I don't get is why he isn't banned from accessing classified documents forever-that one doesn't make sense.

Posted by: Just Me at April 4, 2005 08:38 AM

"Necro-heckler"...

I've GOT to remember that one.

Posted by: superhawk at April 4, 2005 09:20 AM

About Hitchens: Decorum demands that one wait until the funeral before disinterning the remains.

The pope was a good and holy man whose mission was to minister to the souls of his flock, not to their temporal bodies. That he did and did well. Don't knock him for not doing what he wasn't hired to do.

Posted by: erp at April 4, 2005 10:18 AM

But Hitch is right about Tariq Aziz. That was a bizarre lapse, for a man who knew what totalitarianism was

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at April 4, 2005 01:47 PM

Yeah, but it's the body of his obit work. He called Reagan a "slow-witted reptile" or something like that, before he was even in the ground.

Posted by: Bill from INDC at April 4, 2005 02:41 PM

'He called Reagan a "slow-witted reptile" or something like that, before he was even in the ground.'

It is more than a little tacky but you've got to strike while the irons hot to keep your name in the paper.

Posted by: Jack Tanner at April 5, 2005 10:01 AM

Personally, I don't have a problem with what Hitch said. I think there's a difference between someone like a president or a pope than J. Random Guy, and the "don't speak ill of the dead" maxim does not apply in the same way.

If, for example, Saddam Hussein were to die, would we have to wait before discussing his atrocities? Would we have to talk about the nice airport he built? I'm not comparing the pope to SH, but public figures need to be discussed candidly, especially at the time of their deaths. The world needs to remember these people accurately for both the good and the bad that they did.

Posted by: Farmer Joe at April 5, 2005 05:28 PM