It's so terrifying and so sad to think that a single person, with a single act, could so thoroughly derail history. In Israel we recently marked the tenth anniversary of the Rabin assassination with the sober realization that we're only now beginning to to put back together what his killer destroyed with a few bullets.
So many works of art and fiction try to teach us about the power of the individual to alter reality (I've been watching too much Babylon 5 lately, go with it) but I think the sad truth is that when a single person alters history, they usually alter it for the worse. Destruction, after all, is so much easier than construction.
Maybe it's that these jokes are obviously meant to be told aloud and not read, but none of them are funny. A few of the "offensive" jokes are good for a tiny 'heh', but nothing beyond that.
ANY middle-class (and up) American would know the cultural cues and stay the heck away from any government organized evacuation. ANY European would figure that going with the government plan would be better than trying to make it themselves.
I can't speak for Americans, but as a (nominal) European, this is completely on the nose. I don't live in an area prone to natural disasters (well, the next big earthquake that hits, Israel is going to fall into the Mediterranean sea, but apart from that) but my country is used to man-made emergencies, and there's a definite reliance on the government and the military. The first Gulf War is a good example. People were expected to take care of themselves to a limited extent - we were instructed to seal off a room with duct tape and plastic sheeting, stockpile food and water inside, and carry our (military-issued) gas masks everywhere - but beyond that, the emergency plan for a chemical or biological attack involved the army going door to door to evacuate the area.
The American government's inaction over the last week has been nothing short of staggering to me. As late as last Monday, I was commenting to friends that of course the government was going to bus out people who didn't have cars - how could they do anything else?
I hold an American passport, and It's always been a plan of mine to live in the States for a few years - I was thinking of looking for a job there after I graduate this winter. The last week has got me wondering if this is a good idea.
In all fairness, what is it that Bush is supposed to do? FEMA handles the work on the ground, the national guard is mobilized by the governor. Beyond declaring a state of emergency, which he's already done, what can he do apart from make sombre statements and visit to survey the damage (a visit which would be best made when the people on the ground have time to deal with the hassle of a presidential visit)?
Of course you're right, Francis. It should read, When asked if they area a sane human, only insane vampires will say 'no'.
Or, to clarify:
The first question is 'Are you a sane human?'
A sane human is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is sane he will say 'yes'.
An insane human is inclined to say 'no' and because he is insane he will say 'yes'.
A sane vampire is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is sane he will say 'yes'.
An insane vampire is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is insane he will say 'no'.
Since the traveller couldn't determine which group Igor belonged to, we can conclude he said 'yes' and is therefore either a sane or insane human, or a sane vampire.
The second question is 'Are you an insane human?'
A sane human is inclined to say 'no' and because he is sane he will say 'no'.
An insane human is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is insane he will say 'no'.
A sane vampire is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is sane he will say 'yes'.
An insane vampire is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is insane he will say 'no'.
Again, we can conclude that the answer was 'no' and therefore Igor is either a sane or insane human or an insane vampire. From the first clue we now know that Igor must be human.
The third question is 'Are you a sane vampire?'
A sane human is inclined to say 'no' and because he is sane he will say 'no'.
An insane human is inclined to say 'no' and because he is insane he will say 'yes'.
A sane vampire is inclined to say 'no' and because he is sane he will say 'no'.
An insane vampire is inclined to say 'yes' and because he is insane he will say no.
Therefore, we can conclude that Igor must have answered the third question with a 'no' and the only kind of human who does that is a sane human.
Lucky Igor.
In each of the three cases, an answer of 'yes' is only possible from one of the four groups.
When asked if they are a sane human, only sane humans will say 'yes'.
When asked if they are an insane human, only sane vampires will say 'yes'.
When asked if they are a sane vampires, only insane humans will say 'yes'.
Since all three travelers couldn't determine which group Igor belonged to, it follows that he answered all three questions with 'no'.
Only one subgroup of the country's citizens will answer all three questions with 'no' - Igor is an insane vampire.
Poor Igor.
(I'm having fun exploring yours.)
Oh, damn, I better go write more entries.
I had a similar experience with the template issue. It's a bit like two women showing up at a party wearing the same dress, except that there are several gajillion guests.
Actually, what I like best about the puzzle is the misdirection of mentioning the kid's red hair. You spend so much energy wondering how hair color could be a factor in a math puzzle that you don't notice the actual information in the clue.
Like all numbers, 36 can be broken down into primes in only one way: 36 = 2*2*3*3
From this breakdown we can discover the eight possible configurations of the children's ages:
1,1,36
1,2,18
1,3,12
1,4,9
1,6,6
2,2,9
2,3,6
3,3,4
If we look at the sums of the different configurations, we will find:
1+1+36=38
1+2+18=21
1+3+12=16
1+4+9=14
1+6+6=13
2+2+9=13
2+3+6=11
3+3+4=10
Since we know that person y couldn't tell what the children's ages were from the second hint (and since person y no doubt knows his own house number) we can conclude that only two configurations are possible - 1,6,6 and 2,2,9.
From the third clue, we know that there is an oldest child, so the configuration 1,6,6 is impossible.
Therefore, the children's ages are 2, 2 and 9.
(If you're really impressed, you could, you know, go check out my new blog. If you didn't have anything better to do.)
Not that this should stop any of you, but the rumors that someone 'takes the big sleep', as Teresa puts it, in HBP are just that - rumors. They were cooked up by lazy journalists who mixed together Rowling's statements about a definite big death in book 5 and her hazier statements that 'there are more deaths ahead' (made, I think, before the publication of book 4).
I'm not saying it isn't likely that Dumbledore will bite it in book 6, just that it doesn't come from the horse's mouth.
(Also, the bookmakers were measuring out coffins for Dumbledore, and Hagrid, before book 5 and we all know how that turned out.)
Thank you, that is all.
Shunra, I was talking about approaches that can be taken by metropolitan authorities and private institutions, who have no way to affect national policy and must adapt themselves to suit their environment.
The measures you mention are undertaken by military authorities and intelligence organizations. There's no question that the fundamental reason for the drop-off in the number of suicide bombings in Israel over the last few years is the security fence, abhorrent though it is.
But, say you run a university or a shopping mall or an underground train network. How can you best defend your customers and employees against an arbitrary and wholly irrational attack? Placing security guards in your entrances won't ensure their safety, but it can minimize fatalities. Not only is the presence of a guard a deterrent, as I mentioned earlier, but on more than one occasion the guard's presence has caused bombers to detonate their charges outside. The results were casualty numbers in the low single digits as opposed to the dozens.
Guy, I have been on the Tube during rush hour, which is why I know that Londoners will never accept this method - the only one that has an even halfway decent chance of preventing a bombing like yesterday's from recurring.
Re: metal detectors. A few months ago Israel Trains received a donation from a well-meaning Jewish organization of metal detectors to place in every entrance to their stations. They were a nuisance for the very reason Jonathan notes - they stop everyone. Within a week, they had been relegated to near-uselessness - the guards check your bag and wave you through the detector without even noticing its response.
There's no question that ID cards alone can't prevent these kinds of attacks. The solution* is the one that Israel has pursued for the last decade - placing guards at all entrance to public buildings and public transportation hubs, sometimes with metal detectors, who examine everyone's bag as they enter. There are obvious problems with this approach - it causes congestion and delays at the entrance points and is quite costly. The people of London, with their experience of IRA bombs, have no doubt weighed the costs of this method against its gains. So far, they've decided against it, which isn't surprising to me.
* By 'solution', of course, I mean something partial. Guards at entrances don't protect against bus bombers, which is why that kind of attack has been the most common one in the last decade, and the congestion that a guard point creates can and has been targeted by bombers (some of you may remember the Dolphinarium attack in June 2001, in which a bomber blew himself up in the crowd waiting to get into a dance club and killed 16 people). Nevertheless, testimonies from would-be suicide bombers detained by Israeli authorities suggest that the very presence of a guard will deter a bomber seeking a target of opportunity.
Sarah M. makes a good point. I'm Israeli, and for a while a few years ago I simply took it for granted that one day I'd end up in a bus bombing. I had friends at university whose parents had given them a special allowance for cab fare to anywhere they needed to go. A person shouldn't have to stand in a bus stop and wonder if they're about to make the last decision of their lives.
That said, I'm not sure I'd say that the body count is insignificant to the terrorists. The timing of the attack clearly indicates a desire to maximize fatalities. In that sense, today has been a failure for them. At the risk of sounding coarse and with the understanding that this makes no difference to the families and loved ones of those unlucky enough to perish today, 40 casualties is practically miraculous.
sundre, Patrick, Little, Big is indeed not particularly Tolkien-ish in its tone and topics (Patrick puts it very well when he says that it manages to get out from under Tolkien's shadow. It's only in the last few years that I've discovered all the many fine works of fantasy I've missed because the bookstores I frequent only stock the Tolkien-ish kind). The similarities I see have more to do with themes. Both books are concerned with the pastoral and its elimination. Both books are quietly but determinedly anti-progress and anti-industry. Both books are very sad at what they see as the passing away of the old, magical world.
In that sense, the books mirror each other. Tolkien, the Englishman writing at the beginning of the 20th century, writes about a world permanently losing its connection to magic. Everything truly grand and beautiful and eternal is leaving the world, and its new guardians, while noble and well-meaning, can only try to delay the long and inevitable decay.
The American Crowley, writing at the century's end, describes a society in the final stages of that decay. Modernism, industry, technology, have proved hollow replacements for magic. The uneducated masses know that something is missing, and so they elect Russell Eigenblick and flock to Auberon's soap opera. The solution is to bring magic back, turn away from technology and the fruits of progress, and revitalize legend and myth.
Whether intentionally or not, I can't help but think of the two books as a call and response.
The post-Tolkien fantasies I've read that seem to me by far the most in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings are Watership Down and A Wizard of Earthsea
I definitely agree about Watership Down, but I have my doubts about Earthsea (a book whose charms eluded me, so take my opinion with a grain of salt). I'd also add Crowley's Little, Big, which to me is a sort of mirror image of LOTR, telling a similar story from the other end of the Atlantic ocean and the 20th century.
And when was the last time you saw religion in a science fiction movie? Not New Age feelgood use-the-force-Luke, but an honest-to-goodness priest who carries around a Bible with a well-worn leather binding.
Why does 'real' religion in SF have to take the form of Judeo-Christianity in order to avoid being New Age feelgood? The new Battlestar Galactica is doing great things with religion in SF, and the religious structure in that show is pantheistic with Greek and Roman inspirations. Deep Space Nine's religious attitudes did tend towards the New Agey on occasion, but there was nothing feelgood about the Bajorans' piety, and at its best that show also treated religion in a sombre, interesting way. In fact, I'd have to say that Firefly's treatment of Book's religion (and of the character itself) was rather wishy-washy, River's lovely excision of the Bible's contradictions notwithstanding.
I wish I could say that I'm as stoked as everyone here about the film, but I'm afraid that might be hazardous to my health. Unless it's a mega-gonzo-mondo hit of monstrous proportions, I don't expect an Israeli distributor to buy it. Which means I'll have to wait an extra six months for the DVD. In the meantime, I prefer not to think of it too much.
Actually, that's not the Austen pastiche I most wish I could read.
"When I first read Tolkien I was 13 and I was completely blown away. I wrote a crossover short story, Jane Austen meets J.R.R. Tolkien. It was great, especially the bit where the orcs attack the rectory."
Terry Pratchett, interviewed in The Age
When I first saw that hospital patients are asking for phone cards, I thought of the people my mother goes to visit at Tel Hashomer hospital. One of the few Oslo accords that never broke down was the agreement to have Israel take care of Palestinians with severe medical conditions. Tel Hashomer got the kids - most cancer patients and infants requiring surgery.
The children are given top-notch medical service, but they each come with a parent attached. These parents are allowed through the border stations with absolutely nothing, and they're not allowed to leave the hospital. So it falls to people like my mother to bring them food, toiletries, and their no. 1 requested item - phone cards.
Imagine my surprise when I realized you were talking about your own soldiers.
Did Nader voters actually have an effect on this year's elections? I was watching CNN.com's polls and although I didn't go state-by-state, I don't remember a state where Nader had enough votes to sway the election.
Not that I disagree with the sentiment. Last night my roommate was telling me of some friends of hers from Florida who are eligible to vote (we're both in Israel) but hadn't because they couldn't decide who to vote for. She couldn't understand why I didn't think this was something to be proud of.
"It was a choice between bad and worse to them." She said. She couldn't accept my insistence that they should have chosen the lesser of two evils. Which is strange, considering that Israelies have been holding their noses in the polling booth for about a decade.
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