Despair from Pakistan

A columnist whose work I admire and respect, Ardeshir Cowasjee, writes of the despair of the educated middle class youth of his country Pakistan. Many are desperate to leave the country.

Cowasjee seems to share their despair:
They point out that there is no governance because those who have been put where they are with an aim to govern have neither the will nor the intent, that their prime motivation is the lining of their pockets and the fleeting joys that accompany power. They have read and heard why and how, from president downwards, the main powerbrokers carry on their broad shoulders heavy baggage from yesteryear.
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They know how a once viable country has been overtaken by religious extremism which, combined with the spirit of jihad as encouraged by the military that claims to be the ideological guardian of the nation, has spread a poison that has seeped into the national mindset. They realise the inherent dangers of the false pride that boasts of the possession of nuclear assets without giving one minuscule thought to the implications of such possession.

Cowasjee is not giving up. But I wonder how possible he thinks his solution is? Read the whole thing, if only to see English used in a totally un-English environment.

Moma Grizzlies, journallist mode

Yes. Moms can be ferocious in protecting their young. And sometimes in simply protecting something they hold dear. Here is one young, three time mom doing just that by tearing David Weigel several new ones, all with a certain calm, je ne sais quoi.*

It is hilarious. Unless, of course, you are a fan of the great Moma Grizzly herself.

[NB: One of Weigel's fellow commentators at the Daily Dish linked to this, which bespeaks a certain honesty we should see more of.]

in honor of his majesty, the Louis XIV wannabe, the incomparable Roushbauex, I am using French.

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Clemens learns a new word

Coconut.

No, it's not what you think. In modern slang it means "tan on the outside, white on the inside." Sort of like a Latino Oreo.

Here [from Andrew Sullivan] is a bright light on CNN misusing the term, on so many levels:

"You almost need that blank piece of paper [to be a politician]. That's the new model. Like, you know, this coconut Rubio down in Florida," CNBC commentator Donny Deutsch. If you don't know what a "coconut" is, see Urban Dictionary.

Don't know, but this would make Carmen and her whole family coconuts [must.resist.urge. for. funny.comment] - and they are all about as Europoid as you can get.

Bad writing and history

Well, about history in the making actually. Here are 29 tips on bad writing about Afghanistan. I like them because with just a bit of tweaking you can use these for bad writing about almost any historical subject.

Feudalism, anyone?

btw, my bad vision has been cured through the miracle of modern medicine. Can't you tell?

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Journalism ... not just for adults anymore

But then, you probably already knew that. Check this out.

and at the Washington Post too. tsk.

More on Journalism

I think I'll start a new feature: careers I love to trash, or something like that. Jack and I made a good start on English profs (who are, of course, completely different from History profs or Math profs), and I occasionally might mention some others. Though since my general thesis is that all professions have been disgraced and delegitimated during the first decade of the 21rst c., it is probably redundant.

So here I'll just continue to beat on the dead horse of journalism, courtesy of a "Letter from Washington" by Conor Friedersdorf guest writing at andrewssullivan.com. Here is my favorite intemperate blast:

There is this idea among movement conservatives—especially the rank-and-file—that Washington DC journalism is populated by a lot of disingenuous, careerist sell outs. These elites write to enrich themselves, to inflate their sense of self-importance, and to garner social capital, invariably measured by invitations to the dread “Georgetown cocktail party.” Thus they are unconcerned with truth, intellectual honesty, or the actual interests of anyone outside the New York to DC corridor.

This narrative is largely true!

It picks up steam from there. Friedersdorf ends up pointing it at mainly conservative hacks, of which there are plenty, but I think it is a much broader critique than that. If there is an underlying theme to the First Decade it has been careerism and the intellectual corruption it instills.

corruption: a family value.

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The Value of Higher Education

Found this little snippet on Andrew Sullivan, but it comes from Felix Salmon:

I think it’s fair to say that going to journalism school increases your chances of getting a job in journalism. If J-school graduates are almost by definition financially naive — if they weren’t financially naive they’d never have spent so much money on J-school — then maybe J-school is only serving to increase the number of innumerates working in journalism. Which is a sobering thought.

They don't know nuthin' bout History, either. Nor much about the English language.

But I'd take this more seriously if Salmon didn't look so much Lille that kid two semesters ago I had to flunk for not doing the assignments.


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A new conservative voice at the NYT

Having finally gotten rid of Billy Kristol, who managed to be both a hack and a twit, The New York Times goes for Ross Douthat to fill the void on the conservative side - unless you think David Brooks already does that! Douthat though is a good choice: smart, engaged and articulate, which will be nice for a change.

if you click on the article, be sure to read the comments.

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Muslim Rationalism

No, despite what you sometimes hear from some Americans, many of whom should know better, this is not an oxymoron. Usually when someone wants to make this point they will point to the wonders of culture, art, and science created in Al-Andalus, Muslim Spain. That, however, came to an end centuries ago. What about today?

It is tempting sometimes to think that the Islamic world has descended into irrationality, and often enough Pakistan can be used as an example. So just for your amusement here is a little column by Irfan Husain, a Pakistani journalist I sometime read. He is, at the very least, rational.

He even cites William of Ockham, a medieval Christian monk!

An antidote to this kind of muddled thinking is Occam’s razor, a philosophical device popular in medieval Europe. Although it predates him, it is ascribed to William of Okham (1285-1349), a Franciscan monk who preached a philosophy of simplicity: “Plurality should not be posited without necessity.” Or in other words, all things being equal, the simplest solution is the best. Thus, by paring away the improbable, we are left with the most probable explanation for an event.

Nice touch. I use the 'razor' myself on occasion.

William F. Buckley jr

I disagreed with a great many things Bill Buckley believed and wrote, yet I always admired his intellectual verve and vitality (except on those rare occasions when he used his vocabulary and syntax to obscure and befuddle). I saw him on stage at the University of Port City when I was 17 (just after the peace treaty that ended the War of the Roses). He was polished, wittily acerbic, and immensely charming. For awhile I read everything he had written. Then I got over it.

It is now immensely sad to read all the encomiums written about him by conservatives, especially at National Review Online, who have essentially repudiated much of what he stood for: an intelligent, clear eyed conservatism that understood the distinction betweens ends and means. And, I might add, in his own person came to loathe the Iraq War once he realized it was a mistake.

I was reminded of how much I'd enjoyed his long ago talk when I read this exchange with a student found on Slate.com's "Doonesbury" page.

"In what ways would your life have been different if you had been born female?"
-- student journalist

"I'd have seduced John Kenneth Galbraith and spared the world much pain."
-- William F. Buckley Jr.