The Morning Blog

In Which I Eat My Words Sort Of: Much to my surprise, it looks as though possibly, the UNs jaw-jaw has averted some war-war. At least for the time being. Though the Libyan government has called for a ceasefire in the face of a no-fly zone with authorization to attack tanks and other resources on the ground, Qaddafi certainly isn't planning on going anywhere. Does this leave us with a partitioned Libya? Is the international community expected to support this indefinitely? If rebel forces renew their push towards Tripoli, is the UN expected to repel government counter-attacks? I don't see the situation being very tenable for very long. I don't think the rebels will accept a Libya without Tripoli. And I don't think Qaddafi will accept a Libya without Benghazi.

In the event that anyone (like me) was hopeful that this actually would be handled by anyone other than the United States: 

Charles Heyman, defense analyst and editor of the Armed Forces of the UK, said the Americans will have the bulk of the military responsibility even though Britain and France have taken the lead in pushing for the wide-ranging U.N. resolution. 

"It's easy for the British and the French to talk a lot about it when they actually don't have all the right equipment to maintain a no-fly zone on their own," he said. "This no-fly zone requires AWACs surveillance planes, and the ability to take out air defenses, and the ability to strike at targets on the ground without putting your aircraft at risk, and that requires standoff missiles that can be launched from the air without getting too close to the targets." 

Damnit. Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't we sold the Egyptians and the Saudis quite a few fighter jets over the years? Surely, they'd love the opportunity to actually use the things?

Andrew Sullivan poses some urgent questions that will sadly be unanswered as the President has fucked off to Rio for a vacation.

After all, if we're somehow morally responsible to the people of Libya, what of the Ivory Coast? What about Bahrain? What about Yemen? Hell, what about Mexico?

At least on Briton refuses to stand idly by!

Japanese officials continue to hedge. Considering the profound differences between the Japanese public diagnosis of the disaster and the American one, now is a time when candor is crucial. The Americans have advised people to stay 50 miles away from the reactor, the Japanese have suggested evacuations within 12 miles...That's a huge difference that could place hundreds of thousands of people at risk.

That said, at least the disaster is being handled better than it was in Haiti. The country has become the best example I can think of (possibly with the exception of 1980s Ethiopia), of the risk of over-reliance on NGOs and foreign aid:

Nigel Fisher, who oversees the UN’s aid operations in Haiti, worries about this. Haitians need permanent solutions, including jobs and education; but many now have no incentive to move. Aid is filling a gap that should be filled by the Haitian state. Unless the government can take charge again, properly providing for its people, Haiti will remain chronically and disastrously addicted to foreign aid.

I always hated waiting in lines for ice cream trucks. Maybe now, they'll be a bit shorter.

As long as the FDA is considering banning menthol cigarettes inasmuch as they're preferred by black people and (horror of horrors), their packaging is often green (an actual argument being used in favor of a ban), might I suggest they take steps to protect another ethnic group from making its own decisions? When will they save Irish-Americans from the scourge that is St. Patricks Day!?!?! Not only is it targeted towards a specific group but dear God, THERE'S GREEN EVERYWHERE!!!! It must be stopped! What of the children?

This might be promising or just strange: As far as I know, the NFL lockout is still going on. However, the Steelers have renewed their contract with a local radio station to broadcast their games. With any luck, we'll actually be listening to the 2011 season rather than "Classic Steelers Radio".

Which seems like a minor problem compared to this.

Enough football talk. Here's some culture. Go ahead and take a look at it. It's good for you, just like vegetables. And it's about Albrecht Durer. Who doesn't like Albrecht Durer?

Have fun: "Killing me softly..." and not with love.

Pyrrhic Victory: The EU has ruled that crucifixes hung in Italian classrooms do not breach human rights. Specifically, in overturning a previous decision, the court ruled that "...there was no evidence that a crucifix hung in a classroom would influence pupils". Though this might please the religious, I have to note that what the court is recognizing ultimately, is the irrelevance of crucifixes.

Oddly enough, this has nothing to do with Pokemon. Though frankly, shouldn't it?

Geoff Bait, An Invitation: You are so much better situated to write intelligently about this than I am: Any interest in doing a guest post about the battle between Amazon and the states over sales taxes?