Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim
Selections from A Man And His Music

Method Of Modern Love

This vid was inspired by the journalistic work of Josh Marshall at
Talking Points Memo

I haven’t read Daniel Goleman’s new book, Social Intelligence, which is described as ‘revolutionary’ in the field of human relationships, but it is his use of this incident to illustrate his premise that we humans are wired to connect that makes me think it worthy of a post and to grieve the opportunities lost:

During the early days of the second American invasion of Iraq, a group of soldiers set out for a local mosque to contact the town’s chief cleric. Their goal was to ask his help in organizing the distribution of relief supplies. But a mob gathered, fearing the soldiers were coming to arrest their spiritual leader or destroy the mosque, a holy shrine.

Hundreds of devout Muslims surrounded the soldiers, waving their hands in the air and shouting, as they pressed in toward the heavily armed platoon. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Hughes, thought fast.

Picking up a loudspeaker, he told his soldiers to “take a knee,” meaning to kneel on one knee.

Next he ordered them to point their rifles toward the ground.

Then his order was: “Smile.”

At that, the crowd’s mood morphed. A few people were still yelling, but most were now smiling in return. A few patted the soldiers on the back, as Hughes ordered them to walk slowly away, backward’still smiling.

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Iraq’s prime minister has barred the Health Ministry from releasing alarming casualty figures that showed violence in Iraq was killing 100 civilians a day and provided a rare insight into the worsening sectarian conflict, according to an internal U.N. memo obtained Friday.

The memo from top U.N. envoy for Iraq Ashraf Qazi to several senior U.N. officials said Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s office had twice instructed the ministry not to release the numbers to the United Nations and that his office would now be responsible for releasing any such information.

The U.N. mission in Iraq had published the Health Ministry’s numbers in its bimonthly reports about the human rights situation in Iraq. The figures were seen as one of the rare reliable indicators of the civilian suffering in Iraq - and U.N. officials even suspected they have underreported the actual number of civilian deaths.

The figures gained widespread international attention in July, when they showed that some 6,000 Iraqi civilians had died over the previous two months, or about 100 people a day, the victims of assassinations, bombings, kidnappings, and torture. In the next report, released in September, the civilian death figures painted an even grimmer picture, showing civilian deaths had risen to an all-time high of 6,599 for July and August.

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To move into China, America’s biggest and most successful retailer had to learn its business all over again.

here

Months ago I stopped more than a cursory scan of Newsweek. Even its Conventional Wisdom has lost its bite. But the current issue has some good (albeit disappointing) stuff, including this affirmation of the Centrist hold on the Democrat Party. If this is what it takes to capture Dem control of Congress, I can tamp my temper long enough to wrest power from the filthy hands of George W Bush. And then the real work can begin…

The sun is just rising over Chattanooga when Harold Ford Jr. begins to pray. A young African-American congressman from Memphis, Ford is running as the Democratic candidate for Senate in Tennessee. Here, in the shadow of Lookout Mountain, an audience of 300 has come out of the early-morning darkness into the historic Read House hotel to hear Ford praise the Lord and lecture man. Dressed in dark suits and hats fit for a Sunday service, they bow their heads and thank a God who “even now has dipped us in fresh, anointing oil.” They shout Hallelujah as a soprano sings “Amazing Grace.” And they cheer and clap when Ford welcomes them, and the spirit of Jesus, into the room. “I love Jesus, I can’t help it,” the congressman tells the crowd. “We serve such a big God,” he shouts, and a chorus of Amens agrees.

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If I lived in Tennessee and I was all superficial and stuff and let a candidate’s physical appearance persuade my vote, Harold Ford Jr. would have it. Whoa!

JOHN HEILPRIN
Associated Press Writer Sat Oct 21, 8:02 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Deeply controversial issues like abortion and suicide rights have nothing to do with the Constitution, and unelected judges too often choose to find new rights at the expense of the democratic process, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday.
…
Scalia, a leading conservative voice after 20 years on the court, said people naturally get upset with the growing number of cases in which a federal court intrudes on social issues better handled by the political process.

“Take the abortion issue,” he said. “Whichever side wins, in the courts, the other side feels cheated. I mean, you know, there’s something to be said for both sides.”

“The court could have said, ‘No, thank you.’ The court have said, you know, ‘There is nothing in the Constitution on the abortion issue for either side,’” Scalia said. “It could have said the same thing about suicide, it could have said the same thing about … you know, all the social issues the courts are now taking.”

Scalia said courts didn’t use to decide social issues like that.

Article

“Scalia said courts didn’t use to decide social issues like that.” Hmmmm… Could that be because, not too long ago, women didn’t have a whole hell of a lot of rights in which to defend? I think Scalia was referring to the time when spousal abuse / wife beatings were commonplace. Oh for the good ol’ days, eh Scalia?
I agree with Scalia on one thing though. (Conservative) judges (such as Scalia) should not be allowed to decide anything of any importance. I don’t think we need a trip back to the dark ages.
But something tells me that, if/when an abortion case does come before Scalia, I don’t think he’ll be refusing to hear it.

(CNN) — A senior U.S. State Department diplomat told Arab satellite network Al Jazeera that there is a strong possibility history will show the United States displayed “arrogance” and “stupidity” in its handling of the Iraq war.

Alberto Fernandez, director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Near East Affairs, made his comments on Saturday to the Qatar-based network.

“History will decide what role the United States played,” he told Al Jazeera in Arabic, based on CNN translations. “And God willing, we tried to do our best in Iraq.”

“But I think there is a big possibility … for extreme criticism and because undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq,” the diplomat told Al Jazeera.

“I can only assume his remarks must have been mistranslated. Those comments obviously don’t reflect our policy,” a senior Bush administration official said.

Fernandez told CNN that he was “not dissing U.S. policy.”

“I know what the policy is and what the red lines are, and nothing I said hasn’t been said before by senior officials.

“Nothing I said during this interview broke new ground,” the diplomat told CNN.

Fernandez referred to a speech made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in March in Blackburn, England.

“I am quite certain there are going to be dissertations written about the mistakes of the Bush administration,” Rice said.

“I know we’ve made tactical errors, thousands of them, I’m sure,” Rice said. “But when you look back in history, what will be judged” is whether the “right strategic decision” was made.

Link

Considering that (what is it, 80’something-percent?) of US citizens want us out of Iraq, I think Alberto should have been more specific just where to point a finger.