Geoff Bodine on pole for Bud Shootout
From the United Press International:
Although Geoffrey Bodine has not had a full-time NASCAR Winston Cup ride for several years, the 1986 Daytona 500 winner will start on the pole Saturday night in the 25th annual Budweiser Shootout.
Friday, February 7, 2003
Amy Contributes This From a Salon Interview with Camile Paglia
As we speak, I have a terrible sense of foreboding, because last weekend a stunning omen occurred in this country. Anyone who thinks symbolically had to be shocked by the explosion of the Columbia shuttle, disintegrating in the air and strewing its parts and
human remains over Texas -- the president's home state! So many times in antiquity, the emperors of Persia or other proud empires went to the oracles to ask for advice about going to war. Roman generals summoned soothsayers to read the entrails before a
battle. If there was ever a sign for a president and his administration to rethink what they're doing, this was it. I mean, no sooner had Bush announced that the war was "weeks, not months" away and gone off for a peaceful weekend at Camp David than this catastrophe occurred in the skies over Texas.
From the point of view of the Muslim streets, surely it looks like the hand of Allah has intervened, as with the attack on the World Trade Center. No one in the Western world would have believed that those mighty towers could fall within an hour and a half --
two of the proudest constructions in American history. And neither would anyone have predicted this eerie coincidence -- that the president's own state would become the burial ground for the Columbia mission.
Including one small town where the debris fell called Palestine, Texas.
Yes, exactly! What weird irony with an Israeli astronaut onboard who had bombed Iraq 20 years ago. To me this dreadful accident is a graphic illustration of the limitations of modern technology -- of the smallest detail that can go wrong and end up thwarting the most fail-safe plan. So I think that history will look back on this as a key moment. Kings throughout history have been shaken by signals like this from beyond: Think twice about what you're doing. If a Roman general tripped on the threshold before a battle, he'd call it off.
I would add that we have become very reliant on our technology to blow our enemies into oblivion. As President Carter learned in the failed attempt to rescue hostages in Iran. The desert is not a friendly place to fight a war, especially if it means fighting a ground war.
As we speak, I have a terrible sense of foreboding, because last weekend a stunning omen occurred in this country. Anyone who thinks symbolically had to be shocked by the explosion of the Columbia shuttle, disintegrating in the air and strewing its parts and
human remains over Texas -- the president's home state! So many times in antiquity, the emperors of Persia or other proud empires went to the oracles to ask for advice about going to war. Roman generals summoned soothsayers to read the entrails before a
battle. If there was ever a sign for a president and his administration to rethink what they're doing, this was it. I mean, no sooner had Bush announced that the war was "weeks, not months" away and gone off for a peaceful weekend at Camp David than this catastrophe occurred in the skies over Texas.
From the point of view of the Muslim streets, surely it looks like the hand of Allah has intervened, as with the attack on the World Trade Center. No one in the Western world would have believed that those mighty towers could fall within an hour and a half --
two of the proudest constructions in American history. And neither would anyone have predicted this eerie coincidence -- that the president's own state would become the burial ground for the Columbia mission.
Including one small town where the debris fell called Palestine, Texas.
Yes, exactly! What weird irony with an Israeli astronaut onboard who had bombed Iraq 20 years ago. To me this dreadful accident is a graphic illustration of the limitations of modern technology -- of the smallest detail that can go wrong and end up thwarting the most fail-safe plan. So I think that history will look back on this as a key moment. Kings throughout history have been shaken by signals like this from beyond: Think twice about what you're doing. If a Roman general tripped on the threshold before a battle, he'd call it off.
I would add that we have become very reliant on our technology to blow our enemies into oblivion. As President Carter learned in the failed attempt to rescue hostages in Iran. The desert is not a friendly place to fight a war, especially if it means fighting a ground war.
Father Tolkien Revisited
A reader sent along the following that he found posted on a newsgroup. It calls into question the veracity of the claims against Father Tolkien.
Öjevind Lång wrote:
"The British police declared they had enough evidence to have him prosecuted. They only refrained from doing so because he suffered from dementia."
The article that this is based on is full of oddities. Read it again carefully.
The only person named as an accuser is Mr. Carrie. I have searched several papers online. None of them name other victims, and none of them seem to have spoken with other victims. And yet the Sunday Mercury reports Mr. Carrie's claims that there must be a hundred victims, and asserts in the second paragraph that these victims numbered in the "dozens". Yet there are no names and the paper doesn't claim to have talked to any of these victims other than Mr. Carrie:
On the other hand, when the police investigated this in 2002, they were investigating only a few possible victims ("in the low single
digits"):
Of course even one victim is heinous, but if one plaintiff alleges a hundred victims with no evidence, it makes me wonder if he is being
honest in his other claims as well.
The most bizarre part of the story is this. Mr. Carrie, now 57 years old, claims that in mid-1994 he had a conversation with the
77-year-old Fr Tolkien. He claims that Fr. Tolkien didn't deny the abuse. Indeed, says Carrie, their conversation was so friendly that
he entertained hopes that he and Fr. Tolkien might co-author a book giving the perspective of the abuser and the abused. On the other
hand, Fr. Tolkien's story to the police that same day was that Mr. Carrie tried to blackmail him.
Blackmail? Well, one thing that is certain is that Fr. Tolkien has lots of money. The reason I bring this up is that on the victim's own
website he actually accuses _two_ sons of J.R.R. Tolkien of abuse. The two brothers have never worked in the same city (according to the victim's own website). But what they _do_ have in common is they are both heirs to one of the largest literary fortunes of the 20th century.
I don't want to jump to conclusions that this is a lie -- the last year certainly has taught us not to do that! But the abuse cases
we've seen in the past year usually involve one priest and several victims. Here we have two abusers -- both very rich -- and one
victim. Plus, according to Mr. Carrie, 99 other unnamed victims.
And here's one more bizarre angle. Supposedly Fr. Tolkien abused this man in 1956, when he was ten. I would think that a victim in this situation wouldn't want to read the novels of his abuser's father. And yet this victim not only has read J.R.R. Tolkien's books, but has used a Middle-earth theme all through his own webpage, with cute little "Gollum" comments, as well as using a Middle-earth theme in his self-published book (which is named Klone'It, a Tolkien anagram with cutesy punctuation).
I certainly hope the authorities investigate these charges. But based on the evidence so far, I am not convinced.
Update-December 2006:
From Mr. Carrie:
Öjevind Lång wrote:
"The British police declared they had enough evidence to have him prosecuted. They only refrained from doing so because he suffered from dementia."
The article that this is based on is full of oddities. Read it again carefully.
The only person named as an accuser is Mr. Carrie. I have searched several papers online. None of them name other victims, and none of them seem to have spoken with other victims. And yet the Sunday Mercury reports Mr. Carrie's claims that there must be a hundred victims, and asserts in the second paragraph that these victims numbered in the "dozens". Yet there are no names and the paper doesn't claim to have talked to any of these victims other than Mr. Carrie:
On the other hand, when the police investigated this in 2002, they were investigating only a few possible victims ("in the low single
digits"):
Of course even one victim is heinous, but if one plaintiff alleges a hundred victims with no evidence, it makes me wonder if he is being
honest in his other claims as well.
The most bizarre part of the story is this. Mr. Carrie, now 57 years old, claims that in mid-1994 he had a conversation with the
77-year-old Fr Tolkien. He claims that Fr. Tolkien didn't deny the abuse. Indeed, says Carrie, their conversation was so friendly that
he entertained hopes that he and Fr. Tolkien might co-author a book giving the perspective of the abuser and the abused. On the other
hand, Fr. Tolkien's story to the police that same day was that Mr. Carrie tried to blackmail him.
Blackmail? Well, one thing that is certain is that Fr. Tolkien has lots of money. The reason I bring this up is that on the victim's own
website he actually accuses _two_ sons of J.R.R. Tolkien of abuse. The two brothers have never worked in the same city (according to the victim's own website). But what they _do_ have in common is they are both heirs to one of the largest literary fortunes of the 20th century.
I don't want to jump to conclusions that this is a lie -- the last year certainly has taught us not to do that! But the abuse cases
we've seen in the past year usually involve one priest and several victims. Here we have two abusers -- both very rich -- and one
victim. Plus, according to Mr. Carrie, 99 other unnamed victims.
And here's one more bizarre angle. Supposedly Fr. Tolkien abused this man in 1956, when he was ten. I would think that a victim in this situation wouldn't want to read the novels of his abuser's father. And yet this victim not only has read J.R.R. Tolkien's books, but has used a Middle-earth theme all through his own webpage, with cute little "Gollum" comments, as well as using a Middle-earth theme in his self-published book (which is named Klone'It, a Tolkien anagram with cutesy punctuation).
I certainly hope the authorities investigate these charges. But based on the evidence so far, I am not convinced.
Update-December 2006:
From Mr. Carrie:
I am determined the story will be known and to that end I have published it free to read on my web site.
I invite you to visit my site, download the now 18 chapters.
Thursday, February 6, 2003
Happy with Ron Zook Now?
Thank him here...
Or maybe you'd rather just that they change his job to chief Gator recruiter and still hire another head coach.
Thank him here...
Or maybe you'd rather just that they change his job to chief Gator recruiter and still hire another head coach.
Latest Theory--Perhaps a Meteor Hit Shuttle
From Ananova:
Nasa says a small meteor or piece of man-made space junk may have struck the Columbia shuttle causing it to crash.
Even a tiny scrap of debris grazing the shuttle could have damaged thermal tiles just enough to start a chain reaction.
The comments by Milt Heflin, the space agency's flight director, cast doubt on the lead theory that a piece of foam insulation damaged the craft during blast off.
"Did we take some hit? That's a possibility. Something was breached," he has told the Los Angeles Times.
From Ananova:
Nasa says a small meteor or piece of man-made space junk may have struck the Columbia shuttle causing it to crash.
Even a tiny scrap of debris grazing the shuttle could have damaged thermal tiles just enough to start a chain reaction.
The comments by Milt Heflin, the space agency's flight director, cast doubt on the lead theory that a piece of foam insulation damaged the craft during blast off.
"Did we take some hit? That's a possibility. Something was breached," he has told the Los Angeles Times.
Wednesday, February 5, 2003
Top Ten Catholics of 2002
Inside the Vatican magazine names Top 10 Catholics for 2002
The Top 3:
Heading the list is Monsignor Luigi Giussani, 80, founder of the Communion and Liberation movement. According to the January issue of the magazine, he "has inspired thousands with a desire to seek Jesus Christ as the 'ultimate meaning' of their lives."
Belorussian Catholic journalist Viktor Taresevich is in the second place, brutally killed in Poland last February by unknown assailants, after having purchased a car together with his brother (also killed) in Germany. He founded the Russian ecumenical news agency Blagovest Info.
According to Inside the Vatican, Taresevich was much appreciated by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants in Russia. At 39, he left his widow, Lyudmila, and three children.
In third place is the new Genoa Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, 69. The magazine mentions the importance of the documents Monsignor Bertone signed over the past seven years as secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Rest:
* Sister Callista Cozzi, Comboni missionary in Sudan
* Antonia Willemsen, secretary-general of Aid to the Church in Need
* Sister Margherita Marchione, 81, leading scholar on the life of Pope Pius XII
* Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân, late president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
* Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, new president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
* Thomas Monaghan, US Catholic millionaire benefactor who founded the Dominos Pizza chain
* Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, personal secretary of John Paul II
Inside the Vatican magazine names Top 10 Catholics for 2002
The Top 3:
Heading the list is Monsignor Luigi Giussani, 80, founder of the Communion and Liberation movement. According to the January issue of the magazine, he "has inspired thousands with a desire to seek Jesus Christ as the 'ultimate meaning' of their lives."
Belorussian Catholic journalist Viktor Taresevich is in the second place, brutally killed in Poland last February by unknown assailants, after having purchased a car together with his brother (also killed) in Germany. He founded the Russian ecumenical news agency Blagovest Info.
According to Inside the Vatican, Taresevich was much appreciated by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants in Russia. At 39, he left his widow, Lyudmila, and three children.
In third place is the new Genoa Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, 69. The magazine mentions the importance of the documents Monsignor Bertone signed over the past seven years as secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Rest:
* Sister Callista Cozzi, Comboni missionary in Sudan
* Antonia Willemsen, secretary-general of Aid to the Church in Need
* Sister Margherita Marchione, 81, leading scholar on the life of Pope Pius XII
* Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân, late president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
* Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, new president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
* Thomas Monaghan, US Catholic millionaire benefactor who founded the Dominos Pizza chain
* Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, personal secretary of John Paul II
In Gator Country it Won't be the Basketball Team They'll be Talking About Today!
Evidently the Gator Basketball team spent a late night celebrating their number one ranking in both polls on Tuesday night because they sure seemed totally out of it last night when Kentucky beat them to a pulp. But its basketball and rankings mean absolutely nothing until the Final Four is history.
But today the Florida Football team is likely to be declared number one in recruiting. Unbelievable but after all this is supposedly what Ron Zook is good at.
Evidently the Gator Basketball team spent a late night celebrating their number one ranking in both polls on Tuesday night because they sure seemed totally out of it last night when Kentucky beat them to a pulp. But its basketball and rankings mean absolutely nothing until the Final Four is history.
But today the Florida Football team is likely to be declared number one in recruiting. Unbelievable but after all this is supposedly what Ron Zook is good at.
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