Matthew Hogan: January 2007 Archives

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January 21, 2007

Video of Policymakers' Latest Strategizing on Iraq and WOT

Thought hard about revealing this leaked video as it may contain Top Secret material, Best guess it's current high-level officials and American Enterprise Institute strategists wargaming new "surge" directions and their perceptions of the whole war on terror. Haven't confirmed its authenticity but the level of analysis is certainly reflective of those groups. Can anyone help identify the strategists? I think one is Frederick or Robert Kagan from AEI.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:57 PM | Comments (1)
Filed Under: US Politics

January 15, 2007

Boycotting Amazon.com over Carter book review?

The hummus is flying among many Palestinian sympathizers over the apparent posting of a full hostile review at Amazon.com's entry for Jimmy Carter's book, Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid. The review being challenged (Jeffrey Goldberg in Washington Post) does indeed look to me a bit overlong to have included in the normally short and favorable Editorial Reviews section, but the Goldberg review does follow an initial favorable one. I have no strong opinions on this, but a good noisy controversy is at minimum, fun to watch. (The petition opposing the posting of the hostile review, and calling for a boycott is here. I do suggest skepticism about current signature numbers 72 and 73, or thereabouts.)

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 12:20 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Activism

January 09, 2007

Is she speaking Farsi, and accurately?

The video is the place where all us suburban Americans first learned about the Middle East. Near the end, is she actually speaking (Farsi?, not Arabic for sure) and is it rendered accurately? I suspect it is either not her voice or it was dubbed in after reciting it in studio after much practice.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 01:21 PM | Comments (23)
Filed Under: Humor Attempts

January 07, 2007

Advice Needed: Tunisia Visitor

Hypothetically, if you were American, female (attractive, no longer early-20s but stlil very much "got it"), knowledgeable of the general region (devoid of the nastier biases), feminist-oriented, Jewish, secular-progressivish, academic-writer-type, and visiting Tunisia, what would you, our informed reader, recommend as places to visit, phenomena to observe, do's and don'ts? Think short visit, safe, educational and fun. From the touristy to the profound.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 12:52 AM | Comments (3)
Filed Under: MENA Culture

January 04, 2007

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) Are Laughing At Us

I know it's irrational, but whenever I use an ATM, I always feel that the machine takes longer to give me money the lower my bank balance is. On the rare occasions I have high digits in the account, it's like {Amount} {$40} {Enter} {Accept}.{Beep}{instantly we hear: chuga-chuga-chuga-chuga-flllrrrp} {"Please take your cash now"}. But when the balance is like double digits, it goes like this {Amount, $40} {Enter} {Accept} {Beep}........................................................................{advertisement on screen}.........................................{another beep}...............................................................................{Please wait}............................................{chuga-chuga-sudden stop}.......................................{another ad on screen}....................{me: "please work. please work"}.................{chuga-chuga-chuga-chuga-chuga} {no cash yet}..........{chuga-chuga-chugap}...{door opens slowly, creak}.........{pause}..........then the relieving sound of {flllrp}.{"please take your cash (before we pull it back)"}. And then, I swear for a too-fast-to-see microsecond it flashes some jeering remark.

Continue reading "Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) Are Laughing At Us"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:15 PM | Comments (3)
Filed Under: Humor Attempts

January 01, 2007

Pithing on the Profit Motive: Markets and Incentives

The ever-quotable Jim Henley gives a nice pithy explanation of the inherent values of the profit motive. That such common sense advantages and incentves of free market economics need to be restated for intelligent and well-meaning human beings is cause for existential sadness. That I myself cannot express it so well only adds to the despair. In any event, this is why markets do better, not utopian -- just better.

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Posted by Matthew Hogan at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)
Filed Under: Egghead Stuff