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June 26, 2006

Quick Links

Posted by Bill

*** Despite his strange affinity for Al Gore, Dean's World contributor Aziz P is a pretty smart guy with a presumably healthy survival instinct ... which makes his quite reasonable, brave entrance into the HIV-AIDS causality debate over at DW all the more surprising. In a follow-up post, he observes:

To be honest, I am dumbfounded at the reaction I received from my earlier (and probably ill-advised) foray into the HIV debate. What I thought was an easy pitch to the HIV-skeptic camp devolved into a total farce.

I'd empathize with Aziz, but I'm becoming less and less "dumbfounded," over anything.

*** To wit: my post condemning chest-thumping enthusiasm for retaliatory nuclear genocide of a religious group earns me condemnation for prancing on a moral "high-horse," as well as arguments mischaracterizing my skepticism of the utility of nuclear force in the GWoT as a more general rejection of the utility of "massive force." For those of you keeping score, Bill Quick is still at it, executing a "Sherman's March to the Sea" of stupid.

If nothing else, you have to admire his confidence and eye-pleasing web site design.

*** Who's up for some RINO Sightings?

Me, me, me!

In order to stop speculation in the press which was helping the Axis, in 1943 General Eisenhower gave a press briefing confirming to the reporters in the American press that Sicily was the next target of allied invasion. He explained to them that if they printed it, it would result in the deaths of many American and allied soldiers. Not one reporter said a word, even to their superiors in the newsroom. The invasion of Sicily was a whirlwind success, capturing the island in less than forty days, and many papers were sold reporting the successes.

If a WWII teaser doesn't rope you, I don't know what will.

*** As highlighted in the previous link, Rep. Peter King is calling for criminal charges against the newspapers responsible for exposing the latest top secret program aimed at disrupting and dismantling the financial networks of terrorists:

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee urged the Bush administration on Sunday to seek criminal charges against newspapers that reported on a secret financial-monitoring program used to trace terrorists.
Rep. Peter King cited The New York Times in particular for publishing a story last week that the Treasury Department was working with the CIA to examine messages within a massive international database of money-transfer records.

This course of action was also advocated by Patterico. Allahpundit is skeptical:

I think he's kidding himself. Not on the law, but as a political matter. However disgusting and adversarial the media has become, Americans will blanch at the slippery-slope potential of busting newspapers unless/until it can be shown that terrorists benefited from the information being publicized. We can assume they've benefited, but without concrete proof most people will take the "no harm, no foul" approach.

I'm undecided, though I lean towards Allah's take. As a political matter, whether publishing the story constitutes outright treason or muckraking-as-usual by the Fourth Estate will depend on who gains control of the narrative over the next few days. And given that the media outlets that would sit at the defense table have a disproportionate impact on shaping the narrative, I'm not sure that the Bush Administration will be able to accumulate the necessary political capital to sell the idea. We'll see.

Posted by Bill at June 26, 2006 10:14 AM | TrackBack (1)

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Comments

Re. RINO citings: "In the same vein, in 1941, the United States cracked Purple, a supposedly unbreakable Japanese code. The failure to warn Admiral Kimmel of the Japanese attack in a timely fashion was a failure of communication, not of knowledge"

This is not the case. "Climb Mount Niitaka!" is hardly as obvious as, "Will be at Pearl soonest."

Posted by: Flea at June 26, 2006 12:18 PM

He gets it wrong later in the same paragraph:

"Many in the press suspected US knowledge of Japanese communications, but nothing was printed or confirmed until years later, and the war was won."

The Chicago Tribune published at least two articles from which it might only be concluded the United States had access to Japanese codes.

Posted by: Flea at June 26, 2006 12:20 PM

Agreed on first comment. Coded messages over the diplomatic channel are not as plain as day.

Did not know/can't comment on/second. Though I instinctively suspect your knowledge, given that you're Canuckian.

Posted by: Bill from INDC at June 26, 2006 12:34 PM

There's a brief mention here of one of the Tribune stories in question. Luckily the breach occured before the advent of international access to searchable archives. Apparently the Japanese didn't have spies reading the Tribune, and/or they missed it.

Posted by: dorkafork at June 26, 2006 01:36 PM

My brilliant comment about the Chicago Tribune's Roosevelt Derangement Syndrome has vanished! Commentary has a good discussion of the subject.

Posted by: Flea at June 26, 2006 01:53 PM

There was no comment. (seriously)

Posted by: Bill from INDC at June 26, 2006 01:56 PM

Al Gore is completly out of his mind he should be sent to the mental hospital gore is insane

Posted by: BIRDZILLA at June 26, 2006 03:35 PM

Lichtblau, Risen and Keller should get the Judy Miller treatment and the leakers should get 20 years minimum.

Posted by: Bill Maron at June 26, 2006 06:38 PM

my post condemning chest-thumping enthusiasm for retaliatory nuclear genocide of a religious group earns me condemnation for prancing on a moral "high-horse,"

So, it's true you like to prance around?

Not sure I can be serious about it after that evil comment, but it's hard to call people on what may or may not be rhetorical "chest-thumping enthusiasm."

Which doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile, it just strikes me (maybe its the Flieshman's and vicodan talking) as being a lot like telling the kid by the window that it doesn't diminish their enjoyment of said window if their little brother looks out it too.

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