Archive for June, 2003
Tucker Max: a Complete and Utter Fool
Benny C. sends me this amazing link. Tucker Max’s Date Application Page. The guy is a genuine jackass. Check his site out if only to feel better about yourself in comparison.
Tom Friedman’s “Theory of Everything”
His assertion that a war in Iraq was justified–on the grounds that it will reform fundamentalist Middle Eastern states–will eventually be proven wrong. But I really admire Tom Friedman’s ability to synthesize complex material and present it in a simple way.
Why does the world hate the US? Friedman’s new “Theory of Everything” answers the question thusly: in the 90’s, the United States became “exponentially more powerful” than any other country, and much of the rest of the world didn’t like that they were now being affected by America, culturally and economically, without any say in the matter. This upset other countries, but they didn’t organize militarily against us.
After September 11th, we–already regarded as a “benign hegemon”–attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq; our increased military action on the world stage, combined with the Bush administration’s unilateralism, has the rest of the world scared to death. Who will we attack next? And who’ll be there to stop us, now that we’ve rendered the UN impotent?