History, Security

Nixon called Fred Thompson “dumb as hell”

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The Associated Press has published some interesting history on one of the Republicans who may be a 2008 presidential hopeful:

President Nixon and his top aides viewed the fellow Republican as a willing, if not too bright, ally, according to White House tapes.

[…]

Nixon was disappointed with the selection of Thompson, whom he called “dumb as hell.” The president did not think Thompson was skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outsmarted by the committee’s Democratic counsel.

[…]

“Oh shit, that kid,” Nixon said when told by his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, of Thompson’s appointment on Feb. 22, 1973.

“Well, we’re stuck with him,” Haldeman said.

In a meeting later that day in the Old Executive Office Building, Baker assured Nixon that Thompson was up to the task. “He’s tough. He’s six feet five inches, a big mean fella,” the senator told Nixon.

Physical presence noted.

Nixon expressed concern that Thompson was not “very smart.”

“Not extremely so,” Buzhardt agreed.

“But he’s friendly,” Nixon said.

“But he’s friendly,” Buzhardt agreed. “We are hoping, though, to work with Thompson and prepare him, if Dean does appear next week, to do a very thorough cross-examination.”

Five days later, Buzhardt reported to Nixon that he had primed Thompson for the Dean cross-examination.

“I found Thompson most cooperative, feeling more Republican every day,” Buzhardt said. “Uh, perfectly prepared to assist in really doing a cross-examination.”

Later in the same conversation, Buzhardt said Thompson was “willing to go, you know, pretty much the distance now. And he said he realized his responsibility was going to have be as a Republican increasingly.”

What is it with all these Nixon-era discredited insiders running for office in America? Is there some kind of weird organization of conservative corporate moguls from that era who are now trying to prove a point by pretending the world has not changed? It’s like a flash-back to Soviet-era politics where the Politicheskoye Buro (political bureau or politburo) was in control of who gets to be a candidate and what they can think, regardless of what was going on in the world around them. Clearly Thompson did bidding for Nixon, although Nixon clearly didn’t care for the guy. Would not surprise me if he was told to pick Cheney to be his Vice President too, or maybe Rumsfeld, or…someone else who worked for Nixon.

I guess one thing has actually changed, the Nixon-era gang appear to playing games with public records (the modern equivalent of tapes) to limit their liability from future discovery.

Sailing, Security

Irish Coastguard Rescues 110 Children Sailors

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The BBC reports that all were wearing safety gear, and all survived.

A major rescue operation was launched off the Irish coast on Thursday after 110 children were swept out to sea.

About 20 people were reported missing shortly afterwards, though Ireland’s coastguard later said everyone had been rescued safely.

Since lifevests are mandatory to race sailboats it is easy to see why they were all prepared.

Sailing, Security

Relishing the lack of safety, privacy

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The BBC paints a distinct portrait of the people working on a viking ship reconstruction adventure:

Every member of the crew has less than one sq metre in which to live, sleep and eat.

“It’s hard to get proper rest, sleeping conditions are hard – you don’t get the rest that you need,” says Erik, one of the older members of the crew.

“Often you don’t get as much food as you need and this is cumulative, so as days go on, it gets worse and worse.”

Privacy is also impossible in such close quarters. The ship has no shelter from the weather, no cleaning facilities and no lavatories.

They will be living virtually on top of each other for six weeks and this will test their friendships to the limit.

All of the crew are volunteers and despite the difficulties involved, most are relishing the prospect.

Some might even say the conditions are no worse than a modern office building anyway.

Security

Uganda bans plastic bags

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They join Kenya and Tanzania in leading efforts to enhance their national security through environmental regulation:

The Government, [Environment state minister Jessica] Eriyo said, took the “drastic steps” on the bags because “people out there do not know how to manage them properly” and warned that the enforcement of the law would not be easy.

“Habits are difficult to change and we need a lot of sensitisation.”

Justifying the ban, Eriyo said the plastics block channels, compromise water quality and degrade soil, which is important for agriculture.

Meanwhile, cities in America struggle with corporate lobbyists to make any progress at all. Note this complaint from the American Chemistry Council, who represents plastics corporations, that tries to prevent a ban on non-biodegradable plastics:

Also troubling is the suggestion that this ordinance will help to reduce litter. To the contrary, mandating the use of biodegradable plastics is likely to increase the incidence of litter. Many people mistakenly believe that bags labeled “biodegradable”? or “compostable”? will readily decompose in the natural environment; a misperception that could, in all likelihood, increase tolerance for improper waste disposal.

Their proposed alternative solution is to do nothing more than encourage people to recycle plastic bags instead. Oh boy. Claiming consumers are too ignorant to do the right thing as an argument against the ban on plastic bags? Where has the logic gone?

Ban the bags and get it over with. If the East African countries can step up to the challenge of improving water quality, surely Americans can handle it as well, no?