Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 282

Sunday Morning in the Church of Beethoven

For my weekly feature, one the great LvB slow movements, for string quartet no. 7.

Sunday Morning Cat Blogging

Zoe turns three.

Friedman: Occupy Syria

Well, Tom Friedman's plan for invading Iraq and starting a inspiring democracy there worked out so well, why not listen to him on Syria?  In his column today, he notes the Iraq disaster (without admitting he was wrong about it for years) and then takes up Syria, admitting the U.S. needs to step lightly there (after quoting an "Arab friend," though not a taxi driver), before concluding with this:

I believe if you want to end the Syrian civil war and tilt Syria onto a democratic path, you need an international force to occupy the entire country, secure the borders, disarm all the militias and midwife a transition to democracy. It would be staggeringly costly and take a long time, with the outcome still not guaranteed. But without a homegrown Syrian leader who can be a healer, not a divider, for all its communities, my view is that anything short of an external force that rebuilds Syria from the bottom up will fail.

The Piece Beyond 'The Pines'

Striking use of Cryin' Shames' re-make of "Please Stay" in much-underrated The Place Beyond the Pines (which my son worked on).   Here's the somewhat less eerie original by The Drifters around 1964.

While Karzai Takes Our Cash--8 Americans Die

Bloodiest day (for Americans, that is) in Afghanistan this year, as eight die--including two killed by Afghans they were training.  Five killed by IEDs and one via small arms fire. 

Insider attacks rose sharply in 2012, with 64 deaths in 48 attacks, more than in any previous year, Captain Einert said. The military has taken extensive measures to prevent them, and so far this year there have been just four episodes. But with the Taliban’s spring offensive now under way, military officials say they are expecting the militants to increase the use of the tactic.

Marley and Me: Saturday Night Music Picks

Later that year, 1973, I  caught several night of this double-bill at Max's in NYC:  Wailers and Springsteen.  First video below from TV,  below that incredibly raw number from historic Jamaica concert.

The Return of Jayson Blair and Judy Miller

Ten years on, the NYT's public editor Margaret Sullivan looks back on the longterm harm from the Jayson Blair scandal, and then to Judy Miller and Iraq, which she notes many feel was far worse.  She examines steps taken to help prevent another Blair case, while noting that there are no guarantees at all.  And she talks to Howell Raines who was at he helm for both of the scandals and ultimately lost his job.   He's still not fully coming to terms with the Iraq WMD tragedy and his part in it.

Israel Strikes Syria--As 'NYT' Keeps Pushing Chem Weapons

I've written recently about NYTers pushing, on front page and on their site, claims by Israel and others about Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons--somewhat reminiscent of the bad old days of Judy Miller and Michael Gordon hyping  Iraq's WMDs.   In recent day's we've seen experts in the UK and elsewhere throwing cold water on this, or saying it surely can't be proven because at worst very small scale.  Obama has stepped back and the NYT on its editorial page has expressed skepticism.

But now we have an Israeli air strike on missiles headed for Syria.  You'll note the early and repeated reference to the chemical claims in this  NYT story--yes, Michael Gordon has a byline along with another promoter of Israeli chem claims, Jodi Rudoren.  They do mention off and on that missiles could be conventional but keep dropping in references to chem.  Subtle?

UPDATE:   Revised and updated piece now has less focus on chem weapons.

The Mess With Texas

Right, Rick Perry, hand's off business in your state, so we have this reported last night: criminal owner of that fertilizer plant in West had insured his plant for only $1 million for liability.  So that's leaves state taxpayers with possibly $100 million bill.   And as we now know, there are hundreds of other ticking time bombs around the state, and thousands around the USA.

Tyler lawyer Randy C. Roberts, who has filed two negligence suits against West Fertilizer on behalf of victims, said the company’s policy was deeply inadequate. “A million dollars is a pathetic amount for this type of dangerous activity,” Roberts said.
“If you want to drive a truck down the interstate, you’ve got to have $750,000 in coverage, even if you’re just carrying eggs,” Roberts said. “But if you want to put this ammonium nitrate into this town next to that school and that nursing home and those houses, you’re not required to carry insurance.”

Kent State, 43 Years On

Yes, I was in college on this day--and helped lead protests that shut school down.  Here's Neil Young doing his song, live acoustic, a year later.   Ben Harper version here.