Slacking

Haven't posted in a while. It's not that I don't have ideas. It's just that I feel like I feel like those ideas have to be good for them to be posted. And those ideas should be expressed in a reasonable manner. What's happened this week so infuriates me that it's difficult to be reasonable. Offshore drilling, Obama's cave on FISA, the usual right wing Christian craziness, etc. I guess the thing I find about blogging is that I'm much more hesitant to express my feelings than I would be just commenting on someone else's blog*. Part of it is that is is easier to react than create. But the bigger issue is that things I write in the main post are really mine. And I'm afraid to own something that is really stupid. Not that I haven't written stupid things here, I just don't want to do it knowingly. I also want to avoid issues that are already beaten to death. Offshore drilling is such an issue. If you haven't already read several dozen tirades against the plan, you haven't been reading. So, in the interest of providing something new, here's this and this. The first is about a katoey in Thailand and the second is about animals taking over airport runways in India. Both are from Asia Times, and neither are even remotely surprising. I've decided that I should make an effort to provide weird stories from India and Thailand because, let's face it, the weirdest stories usually come from those two countries . But I don't do this to denigrate either country, I do it to reveal the very real differences in attitude that exist in the world.

*Here's an example of a recent comment on gay issues:

"John, you raise a good point that is probably lost on most people outside of Thailand. I personally don't care much about the marriage issue, but I do support anyone's marriage rights and vote that way. I was born heterosexual and no amount of social pressure would ever change that. But I have no problem having drinks with the katoey in Bangkok- but just drinks, thank you. While I'd agree that sexuality is a continuous spectrum, I'm pretty far to one side. And I'm comfortable with that. And that's precisely why I enjoy the company of anyone who's anywhere on the spectrum. It just doesn't matter to me because I'm comfortable with myself. It's when people are acting in way that is inconsistent with their placement on the spectrum that problems arise. And based on the number of gay Republicans espousing anti-gay rhetoric, it's pretty clear that the failure to accept one's placement on the spectrum creates serious emotional conflicts. In the end, The Closet is the most emotionally destructive force in sexuality. We need to create a society where nobody feels the need to be in The Closet. And that needs to include the transvestites, transgendered, and transexuals as well. Thailand does it pretty well. So can we."

As you can see, it's longer than many of my posts. I think it's time to stop worrying about what I write, and just write. It's easier that way.

Tim Russert

Shocking news. I guess it's another reminder that we never really know when the end will be. I generally liked Tim as an interviewer. His toughness sometimes slipped into gotcha questions, but not too often. And he generally stuck to substantive questions. Overall, I'd say he was one of the better journalists on television. He will be missed.

Why is Sysia Talking?

Gulf News has a good answer. It turns out that they need Western investment. So why is Israel talking? Well, Olmert is in legal trouble again, so he might want to deflect attention from that. And doing something the liberals (his main enemies) might like is a good start. But I probably shouldn't be so cynical. Olmert sees an opportunity. The Syrians know they would be better off distancing themselves from Iran and Hezbollah. And they want to become closer to the West and the Arab world for financial reasons. Israel would like to encourage that transition. But if they bomb Syria, they'll prevent that transition. If they talk, they'll encourage it. So they're talking, even though they would probably prefer bombing. I'm still somewhat skeptical about the negotiations, but both sides seem to be operating in a rational fashion, so there's hope. In the end, peace is the only rational option. Maybe the two sides will get there.

Update: Gershom says that elections might be coming. You'll need to click his link to get to the full article. I link to him because his intro is great. Money quote:

"Here we have an election whenever the humidity, the soccer results, the stock market and the mood in the State Prosecutor’s Office line up in a formula known only to several deceased alchemists."

Now that's Jewish humor.