Civil Unions in the Constitution State

As a gay rights advocate and a Connecticut native, I'm very pleased with the news that the Connecticut legislature has chosen to lead the way in making gay civil unions legal. I had been planning a light posting day today (with Passover coming up, and after a busy day yesterday), but I'll be following this closely. I'll be commenting on civil unions and the same-sex marriage debate, as well as related topics. Keep an eye on this space.

Morning Report: April 22, 2005

Connecticut approves gay civil unions. News sources report that Connecticut became, on Wednesday, the first state to enact a civil-unions law for gay couples through the legislative process: 'Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, signed the bill about an hour after it was approved 26-8 by the Democrat-controlled Senate. The law, which takes effect Oct. 1, includes an amendment that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Civil unions are reserved only for same-sex couples.' Gay marriage advocates were disappointed that the bill also contained a provision explicitly defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; but many also recognized the law as an important step forward. '"I think we are all going to have to step back and take a deep breath and realize that we need to understand the world is not going to change as the result of this legislation," said Democratic Sen. Andrew McDonald, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee and one of a handful of openly gay legislators.' Gay Patriot (the blog is now being written by GayPatriotWest) has this to say: 'When we look at Connecticut's recognition of same-sex civil unions in this context, we see how huge it is. Yes, many municipalities, universities and private employers, including 200 Fortune 500 companies, offer domestic partnership benefits. Yes, many religious denominations celebrate gay unions, with Reform Judaism recognizing gay marriage. But, until yesterday, no elected state legislature, without having been forced by the courts, passed a bill recognizing same-sex civil unions. When the state's democratically elected Republican governor (albeit elected Lieutenant Governor, but who assumed her current position in accordance with the state Constitution when her predecessor resigned) signed the legislation, the bill became law. Now, the whole nation is watching.' GPW echoes the concern of many gay conservatives that relying on judicial activism will undermine the legitimacy of legal advances for gay rights. Log Cabin Republicans welcomed the new legislation: 'Log Cabin Republicans praise Governor Jodi Rell (R-CT) for signing legislation creating civil unions in Connecticut. "Today Governor Rell becomes the first Governor in history to sign civil union legislation without being forced to do so by the courts. We thank Governor Rell for recognizing that all families deserve basic fairness, including gay and lesbian families," said Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Guerriero. Legislation establishing civil unions in Connecticut passed the State House and State Senate by wide margins and with bipartisan support. Governor Rell previously signaled her support for civil unions by stating, "I don't believe in discrimination of any sort, and I want people to have equal rights and equal opportunities." "The Governor's signature on this bill is an important reminder that the fight for basic fairness for gay and lesbian families is a bi-partisan fight," continued Guerriero. ...' (various)

Best of Dreams Into Lightning

ORIGINAL FICTION
The Zero Ring
The Rose of Paradise
The Death Wish

POLITICS
Harari: Eye of the Storm
Barnett: Gap and Map
State vs. Defense (May 2004)
Disengagement: The Messy Divorce (May 2004)

THE L WORD: Liberalism in crisis.
Liberals, Conservatives ...
TNR Deconstructed: "The New Republican" series
Response to Thomas Friedman: America's Addiction
Response to E.L. Doctorow: The Unfeeling Left
Paul Berman: Another Peace Movement
The Moral Struggle
Code Lavender

SPIRITUALITY
The Shul I Don't Go To
Islam and Islamophobia
The World of Tomorrow
The Kabbalah: complete series
Vashti and Freedom
I Am a Jew and My Father Was a Jew
Creating the World You Love
The Names

ARTS AND CULTURE
On American Literature
Trina Schart Hyman
N. Scott Momaday
Audre Lorde
Shahna Lax (see also here)
Music and Encyclopedias

FREEDOM
Freedom and Responsibility (Thanksgiving Day post)

IRAN
Iran Regime Change Petition

WOMEN AND POWER: Gender, politics, and the price of empowerment – responsibility.
Women and Power
But Can She Vote?
Iran in Transition?
Gender and Sexuality

THE DREAMS INTO LIGHTNING UNIVERSE
Pacific Memories (Ken McLintock - WWII memoir)
Urban Renewal (Ken McLintock - poetry and other writings)
Wilderness Vision (Stephanie McLintock - poetry)
Portfolio (undergraduate papers)
The Iraqi Holocaust
Iraqi Holocaust Files

WORDS TO LIVE BY
Faith

The Calling

Fruma: You want to kill innocent dragons? How COULD you?
Mirka, responding to her stepmother: But - but - dragons are EVIL! They eat people and stuff!
Fruma: That's just nature. Owls eat other animals, but we don't call owls evil. For that matter, you eat fish and beef and chicken all the time, but you don't propose to kill yourself in revenge. Don't try telling me "eating humans is different". Try selling that to a CHICKENS's mother ... [and yada yada yada]
Mirka: Okay. You're right. I give up. I won't slay any dragons.

Fruma: Mirka! You mean you'd just let a dragon kill and eat the whole village? How COULD you? ...

From the "Hereville" comic by the genius Barry Deutsch. You don't subscribe? Just look what you're missing. Go to Girl-a-Matic right now and sign up ... and discover what Mirka's true calling is. (Hint: It's what every blogger dreams of.)

While you're there, check out lots of other great comix, like "Dicebox" (featuring Molly - alias Benecia - and Griffen), drawn (usually) by Jenn Manley Lee; "Arcana Jayne" by Lisa R. Jonte (aka Luminous Rae Jones); "Kismet: Hunter's Moon" by Layla Lawlor; and lots of others.

I guess I'm not very bright.

I don't understand why wife-beating is a lesser crime than cockfighting in South Carolina. Alas, A Blog has the scoop:

If you’re a victim of domestic violence living in South Carolina, guess what?! Cockfighting is a felony, while domestic abuse is just a misdemeanor! From the President-for-Life Sheelzebub of Pinko Feminist Hellcat…

The South Carolina Judiciary Committee passed legislation that turned cockfighting into a felony. The same committee tabled a bill to protect victims of domestic violence–beating up your spouse is still just a misdemeanor.

And if you question this logic, you’re obviously not very bright, at least according to SC State Rep. John Graham Altman III.

And here’s a little spat between Altman and a reporter named Kara Gormley who dared to do her job and ask why the fuck would anyone place more value on a rooster’s life over a domestic violence victim.

Rep. Altman responds to the comparison, “People who compare the two are not very smart

Read the whole post at the link; then go on to this post.

Ethnic Arabs, Persians Join Forces Against IRI Regime

Anti-regime riots continue in Iran as ethnic Arabs protest against the IRI's declared "total persianization" of Khouzestan Province, according to a new item on this thread at Free Iran.

Iran Press Service:
Unrests continued unabated in the oil rich Iranian province of Khouzestan, with local and international sources putting the death toll at about 30 people, including seven revolutionary guards and security men in plain clothes and the number of injured at five hundreds.

Though the authorities insist that they have the full control of the situation and calm had been restored, but an Interior Ministry’s spokesman confirmed on Monday some media’s reports that at least 2 more people had died on Sunday in clashes with security forces in the port of Mahshahr, increasing the number of dead at five people, according to official accounts.

According to the government, troubles in this south-western region of Iran situated on the borders with Iraq started last week after the distribution of a letter, attributed to Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Abtahi, the former Vice-president for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs calling for a “total persianisation” of the Province that is dominated by Iranians of Arab ethnic speaking an Arabic dialect of their own. ...

Read the full analysis at the link. Buried in the middle is the following paragraph: "Commanded by Admiral Ahmad Madani, the Governor of the Province, the fighting lasted several days before the heavily armed Arabs, some of them Iraqi soldiers, were defeated and calm restored. "

Reader Pantea adds the following info: "There are many people calling dissident tv stations, telling them what's going on in Khoozestan. It may have started with the Arabs but other people have joined them."

American commenter Rasker observes: "When the Ceaucescu regime collapsed in Romania, it all started unraveling with demonstrations among German minorities in a backwater town called Timosoara."

It appears that Iranians of all backgrounds are uniting toward a common goal of freedom. Keep an eye on Free Iran.


UPDATE: The latest DebkaNet Weekly (which just hit my e-mail box ten minutes ago) suggests that the CIA and MI6 may be lending a helping hand. No surprises here, but it's nice to know. If it's true, all I can say is: Good for the CIA. Keep an eye on the Debka website for breaking news and analysis about the Mideast; also, consider subscribing to their weekly newsletter. Information is available at the site.

Liberals, Conservatives, Neoconservatives, and the Rest of Us

Every little while, I could hear something about the abolitionists. It was some time before I found out what the word meant. It was always used in such connections as to make it an interesting word to me. If a slave ran away and succeeded in getting clear, or if a slave killed his master, set fire to a barn, or did any thing very wrong in the mind of a slaveholder, it was spoken of as the fruit of abolition. Hearing the word in this connection very often, I set about learning what it meant. The dictionary afforded me little or no help. I found it was "the act of abolishing"; but then I did not know what was to be abolished. Here I was perplexed. I did not dare to ask any one about its meaning, for I was satisfied that it was something they wanted me to know very little about.

-Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life

It took me two years to figure out what a "neoconservative" was. I kept hearing the word in the news media, invariably in a phrase like, "some neoconservative hawks in the Bush Administration". If you thought about it, you'd have to notice that these "neoconservatives" - whoever and whatever they were - seemed only to exist in the government (specifically the "Bush Administration"); clearly, then, they did not represent any segment of the American people. Opinion writers would often describe them as a "cabal", suggesting a close-knit group of crafty outsiders, sort of like ... well, you could always draw your own conclusions.

The neoconservatives (whatever the term might mean) seemed always to be stirring up trouble. But who were they, and what had they done to earn the media establishment's enmity? I think it's partly because the liberal establishment has been caught sleeping on the job, and they're not happy about it at all. Liberals like to portray themselves as the messengers of enlightenment, open-mindedness, and freedom. But where was the liberal concern for the peoples of the Middle East suffering under islamist or ba'athist regimes? It appears that many of these self-proclaimed champions of human rights are really only interested in "human rights" when it provides an excuse to bash America - or those Americans they don't happen to like (for instance, Republicans).

Those neoconservatives, then, were a threat to the liberal media establishment. They showed up the weakness and hypocrisy of what liberalism had become. No longer could the people who controlled the newspapers, the TV networks, and the universities hide behind their vapid slogans about peace and brotherhood. If you're serious about fighting dictators, the neocons were saying, it takes more than writing a few letters for Amnesty International.

I've always thought of myself as a liberal. I was raised by Unitarian parents who opposed the Vietnam War and disliked President Nixon. I became involved in a number of liberal causes (including seven years with the Green Party) because I really believed all that stuff about human rights and freedom. And I still do. I've been reluctant to call myself a "neoconservative" mainly because I don't care to cede the title of "liberal" to a bunch of moonbats. What amazes me is the number of so-called "liberals" who, having been at best indifferent to the human rights of Mideasterners, were only too happy to actively defend the fascist regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. When the democratic revolution begins in Iran in mid-June (mark your calendars), they will probably oppose that too.

The other big discovery for me has been the depth and scope of media propaganda. Leftists like to use the word "propaganda" in conjunction with "government" because they can't conceive of any other kind; after all, the left conceives of power - and the government - as intrinsically evil. But there are other kinds of propaganda too. And I have to admit I was slow to catch on to the media's game. After all, they were the voice of reason - educated, literate people who reported fearlessly on current events. Writing on the Vietnam-era news media, Neo-Neocon puts it this way:

I was getting my news from several sources: network TV, Newsweek, Time, the Boston Globe, and the NY Times. I was under the impression that this represented a broad spectrum of news.

But some of us have seen through the matrix of deception woven by the media machine. We've awakened to the mortal danger that threatens our very existence, even as the entrenched powers try to keep us hypnotized with their version of reality. We are the ones who have chosen to face the truth, however horrifying it may be; we are the ones who took the red pill.

(Maybe that's why they call us Neo-cons? But I digress.)

I'll always believe in the possiblity of positive change. But there are some things that are worth conserving. I've learned a lot from conservative thinkers, and I've learned a great deal of respect for the values of tradition, religion, morality, cultural authenticity, small government, personal responsibility, and free enterprise. Perhaps we are coming to the point where the old labels no longer mean much; in any event, I don't mind saying that I have a "conservative" side as well.

I think there will always be people who are temperamentally predisposed to seeing the possibilites of a better, future society, just as there will always be people who instinctively understand the value of our heritage of the past. What matters is to learn from one another, and to find common beliefs and goals. "Out of many, one."

See also:
Poison Pill - the Media Today

The Left Today

British anti-war activist George Galloway found himself on the bad side of some Muslim extremists recently:

The bitter election battle in the East End has spilled into violence, with extremist Muslims and anti-war protesters targeting George Galloway and Oona King.

Anti-war campaigner Mr Galloway was forced to take refuge from Islamic militants who denounced him as a “false prophet”. The former Labour MP said “the police saved my life” after supporters of radical group Hizb-Ut-Tahrir clashed with members of his Respect party last night.

Labour’s Ms King had her car tyres slashed and the vehicle was pelted with eggs by a gang of youths angry at her support for the Iraq war. Both incidents triggered fears for the safety of Mr Galloway and Ms King as they prepared for a stormy hustings meeting in Bethnal Green and Bow tonight. ...

Mr Galloway was electioneering on the Osier council estate in Bethnal Green last night when a gang of 30 Muslim fundamentalists, who claim voting is un-Islamic, surrounded him and his supporters.

The men said they were angry at Mr Galloway’s attempt to woo Muslim voters. They said they were “setting up the gallows” for him and warned any Muslim who voted for his anti-war Respect party that they faced a “sentence of death”.

After a fight broke out between the two groups, police were called and Mr Galloway was forced to hide in his car in an alley until the violence calmed down. Two men were later arrested.
...
Speaking to the Standard minutes after the attack, Mr Galloway said it was clear the men were worried that he could become MP for an area with a large Muslim population.

Source: This Is London (via LGF).

A loyal fan of Ward Churchill, Emily at Strangechord heard Churchill speak at Reed College recently and had the following observations:

The Q&A afterwards was really wild... The lineup for the mic was about 90% young, white guys and most of them asked questions that revealed a complete blind spot as far as their privilege was concerned. If they weren't being ethnocentric and even racist, they were being painfully and irrelevantly intellectual in the phrasing of their questions (like the student who asked Churchill about the "distinction between theory and practice" and found a way to work Homer into his question). I mean, what the hell?

It was horrendous. For example, one guy asked whether it was still relevant and fair for the U.S. government to have to honor land treaties with Indians that the gov't broke since "most Indians on reservations have more European blood than native blood these days". Another guy started off with the phrase, "I have a few Navajo friends..." and went on to ask how best to deal with the "immense loss of culture Native Americans have undergone". Mind you, this was coming from a 20-year old, rich-looking white student. Another asked in a whining voice what white people like himself were going to do if Indians were decolonized as Churchill suggested - "if they get their land back, where are we supposed to go?"

Churchill didn't mince words with these people at all; he was justifiably cutting and precise in his replies and the students would walk furiously away from the mic, shaking their heads, and grabbing their friends for the door. They couldn't stand to listen to someone who didn't coddle them.

Read the full post at the link.

Meanwhile, Galloway finds himself unwilling to confront Salam Pax in a debate:

The "Baghdad blogger" was at the event to make a film for Newsnight, and he managed to snatch a brief interview with Mr Galloway before the Respect candidate dashed off to his meeting with the lawyers.

"I know who you are," said Mr Galloway, warily eyeing Mr Pax, whose weblog gave the world an insight into the lives of ordinary Iraqis in the run-up to the US-led invasion.

Mr Pax wanted to know why Mr Galloway wanted the immediate withdrawal of occupying troops from Iraq.

"I really don't think we are going to agree on this. You supported the war and I opposed it," said Mr Galloway.

"You welcomed the invasion of foreign armies into your country. I opposed it. So we are not going to agree on this, which is why I didn't think it would be productive to have a discussion with you and I do have to go now."

But Mr Pax - whose real name has never been revealed - pressed the point.

Galloway: "I just want to be honest with you. You can not demand that our armed forces occupy your country - that's a matter for us.

"It's not a matter for you - it's a matter for us. Now I think there are millions of people in this country who think the war was illegal, was wrong shouldn't have happened and should be immediately withdrawn from. We are entitled to that point of view and we are."

Mr Pax "shouldn't have supported" the war in the first place, added Mr Galloway.

But Mr Pax countered that would be tantamount to supporting the continuation of a regime like Saddam's.

Galloway: "We are not going to agree on this. You are a supporter of the war. You are a supporter of the occupation and I am an opponent. Your family joined the puppet government."

Pax: "We are helping to build the new Iraq."

Galloway: "That's your point of view, it's not our point of view and you are entitled to your opinion, and I welcome you to London, and I am entitled to mine - and let's see what the British people think."

And with that, Mr Galloway really was gone.

Morning Report: April 21, 2005

UN Oil-for-Food officials resign. According to news reports: 'Two senior investigators in the probe of corruption in the U.N. Oil-for-Food program have resigned because they believed a report that cleared Kofi Annan of meddling in the $64 billion operation was too soft on the secretary-general, a panel member confirmed Wednesday.' Roger L. Simon writes: 'The level of prevarication surrounding the recent resignation of investigators Robert Parton and Miranda Duncan from the Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme is so great that even a blogger in farwaway Los Angeles can see that committee members responding to the resignations are lying through their teeth. Here's an excerpt from CNN's coverage of the breaking story by Richard Roth: Another member of the Volcker panel, Richard Goldstone, discounted a media report that Parton and Duncan resigned to protest conclusions the panel reached about U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Goldstone told CNN that was not his understanding, and that Parton and Duncan had already been set to leave after having completed their work. He said their departure would not affect the investigation. Well, I am sorry Mr. Goldstone but I am actually amazed you would put your name publicly to such nonsense (next time I would advise speaking, as did your female cohort from the committee, on "condition of anonymity" or some such). Why am I so sure this is nonsense? Because I have known personally about Parton's disaffection from the committee for over a month ... ' Read Roger's piece at the link; the CNN story is here. Roger Simon has provided extensive - and exclusive - coverage of the Oil-for-Food scandal on his homepage. (AP via Fox, Roger L. Simon, CNN)

Debka roundup. Latest headlines from Debka: 'Civilian Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter shot down by ground fire near Tarmiya north of Baghdad killing all 9 aboard. ... Several Israeli soldiers injured, one seriously, in Palestinian bomb explosion against Israeli patrol outside Gaza Strip near Kfar Aza. ... Israel’s security chiefs recommend three-week delay in start of Gaza Strip and N. Gaza Strip pull-back to August 15. ... In Passover radio interview, Sharon pledged again no more Israeli withdrawals after Gaza and N. West Bank. Settlement blocs must remain part of and contiguous to Israel and each other. Washington never accepted settlement policy common to all Israeli governments from 1967, he added. The peace process will go forward, he stressed, only after Palestinians meet commitments to disarm and dismantle terrorist groups, enforce complete calm and reforms. Sharon will raise Russian anti-air missile sale to Syria with Putin when he visits next week. He does not accept deal final or not detrimental to Israel.' (Debka)

Mohammed: Iraqi people's success is Tehran regime's failure. Mohammed at Iraq the Model writes: 'The role of Tehran in creating the sectarian conflict in Iraq has became more than obvious after the failure of all the attempts to provoke a conflict between the Sunni and the She'at. The astounding successes of Iraq in democracy and writing the constitution and building a free community is causing a panic the neighborhood. We mentioned earlier that the Mada'en crisis is a fake and we pointed out that intrinsic and extrinsic parties had taken a stance to invest this story. ...' Full post at the link. (ITM)

Iran: Unrest spreads after Khouzestan riots. Report from Free Iran: 'Violent clashes continued, yesterday and this evening, in several southern Iranian cities, such as, Ahwaz, Khoramshahr, Mahshar. This wave of unprecedented unrest which has started from Ahwaz, since last Friday, has spread to other cities of the oil rich Khoozestan province, such as, Dezful and Masjed Soleiman. Sporadic demonstrations are still taking place despite the heavy security presence and injunctions to end the riots. Slogans against the Islamic regime and its leadership are the main motto of these actions. New reports are stating about the increase of number of deaths among the demonstrators but also security forces. Two militiamen were killed in an armed attack against a security post yesterday evening in Ahwaz. Houses of some of the regime officials or their relatives have been set ablaze ... ' (SMCCDI via Free Iran)

Dreams Into Lightning Celebrates One Year

Dreams Into Lightning is a year old today. It's been an amazing year. I love blogging and I have no intention of quitting, so I am now looking forward and making some plans for this blog's second year.

What won't change. Don't worry about updating your browser favorites: I have no plans to leave Blogger. There are some very good blog hosting services out there, but I'm a creature of habit, and I confess that (like Wretchard) I've developed a certain sentimental attachment to BlogSpot. On a more pragmatic level, I'm accustomed to its features and its limitations. Finally, having suffered (along with thousands of other bloggers) through Blogger's growing pains and service outages, I think we're finally out of the woods. The Blogger status page indicates that they've been working pretty hard on upgrading their capabilities, and I've noticed a spectacular improvement over the past few weeks. I'm banking on the trend continuing, and sticking with Blogger/BlogSpot.

Style and content of Dreams Into Lightning will evolve, but I don't expect any radical departures. My politics and values haven't changed; as many of you know, I am a pro-Bush liberal with interests in politics, culture, science, the arts, religion, feminism, and gay rights. The events of recent years, and blogging in particular, have brought me into contact with many fine conservative thinkers and activists, and I've gained a great deal of respect and appreciation for conservative thought. So I don't mind saying that - to whatever extent these labels mean anything anymore - I have a "conservative" side too. Whatever that means.

A little about me. As I've said, I am liberal, feminist, pro-gay-rights, and pro-Bush. I am passionate about the battle for freedom, human rights, and democracy in the Middle East; this is enormously important, both for moral reasons and because our own survival depends on it. (As I've argued previously, I believe that the term "neo-conservatism" is basically a fancy name for "enlightened self-interest" - which is not a bad thing at all.) As a veteran of the 1990-1991 war (Desert Shield / Desert Storm) I have a particular connection to Iraq. I am a moderately religious Jew and a strong supporter of Israel; this does not mean, of course, that I agree with everything the Israeli government does. I've always supported the Palestinians' right to self-determination; I agree with President Bush - the first American President to explicitly call for a Palestinian state - that this is not incompatible with a safe and secure Israel. (This vision will not be possible, though, until the fascist regimes trying to undermine it are removed.)

Clearly there will be some areas where I don't agree with the President; but I think he is right about the things that matter most. I also think he's a man of principle. This doesn't mean I think he's perfect - I believe that he acts from a combination of idealism and self-interest, like you and me and most people in the world. Is he a "fundamentalist"? Well, I've become very cautious about throwing that word around; more and more it seems like a scare word used by the liberal establishment. Personally, I believe in a G-d who cares about our well-being and our conduct as human beings, and who wants us to live with dignity and to treat each other with compassion and respect. If the President, or anyone else, believes in the same G-d, then we have something in common, whatever our particular doctrinal differences may be.

I enjoy writing and I was raised in a home where books and writing were a way of life. Blogging allows me a creative outlet for my writing, and in the coming year I hope to be posting more creative material. (Outside of the blog, I'm planning to spend more time at creative writing, with an eye to getting published in print one day.) Incidentally, this is also one reason I haven't chosen to pursue "photoblogging" here. I think you can say a lot with pictures, and (for instance) Iraq the Model has given us some extraordinary images we would never have been able to see otherwise. But for me, it's about the written word; so while I can't rule out the possibillity that I might post an image some time, Dreams Into Lightning will remain first and foremost a wordblog.

As I mentioned a few days ago, a little structure may be in order. I'm working out a tentative posting plan where I can focus on a particular topic each day of the week, while retaining enough flexibility to deal with the vagaries of world events and my own life. Watch for an updated version of the projected posting schedule.

Thanks for visiting, and come back often.

Morning Report: April 20, 2005

Cardinal Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI. The College of Cardinals elected the former Cardinal Ratzinger as the new Pope, succeeding the late John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI spoke at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday. The Belmont Club cites the Catholic Encyclopedia for information on the new Pope's predecessor in name, Benedict XV, who was born in 1854 and held the papacy from 1914 to his death in 1922. Of Benedict XVI, Wretchard writes: 'Ratzinger comes at a time when his own native Western Europe is gripped with a crisis similar in some respects to that which divided Eastern Europe in John Paul's day. Like John Paul, he arrives at the Papacy in the midst of a global war: what the Cold War was to John Paul the War on Terror must be to Benedict XVI. He is an unknown quantity, without extensive pastoral experience; a philosopher Pope: the Pope of the Memes. And it is in this last where Benedict's historical significance may lie. He is the first Pope of the Internet Age and stands uncertain, as we all are, on its brink.' Other responses come from Jana Novak (the daughter of Michael Novak and no relation to Jane); David Klinghoffer; seminarian Dennis Schenkel (via Dawn Eden); Andrew Sullivan, who's not happy; Mamamontezz, who hopes for bark and bite; and finally, Winds of Change with an excellent selection of links and an interesting analogy. (various)

More than 60 bodies found in Iraq. The bodies of more than 60 people have been found in the Tigris River and identified, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani announced. News reports indicate that the victims were hostages seized in Madain (Mada'en) earlier this month. Morning Report notes that contradictory accounts of the hostage crisis continue. Another 19 Iraqis were found murdered execution-style at a sports stadium in Haditha. Debka reports: 'First report: Iraqi president Talabani reports 50 hostages’ bodies found in Tigris River south of Baghdad. He claimed to know who they were and who captured them but gave no further information. Shiite officials identify them as belonging to hostages taken in town of Madean by Sunni insurgents. Unconfirmed report of 19 bodies shot dead found in soccer stadium in Haditha northwest of Baghdad.' (Fox via Command Post; Debka)

Musharraf says no to inspections. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said today that he would never allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to visit Pakistan's nuclear sites, Stratfor (subscription service) reports. The IAEA had wanted to compare Pakistani environmental samples with traces of enriched uranium found in Iran. (Stratfor)

Belmont Club on intellegence rivalries. Today's entry at Belmont Club assesses US interagency rivalries (particularly Defense Department vs. CIA) in intelligence operations, especially the critical area of human intelligence. Dreams Into Lightning has previously posted on the State Department's longstanding rivalry with Defense, in State vs. Defense (May 2004). (Belmont Club)

Ledeen: The revolution continues. 'Blessed be we, who live in exciting times. Not only are we participating in a global struggle against tyranny, but, if we look carefully enough, we can see the collapse of the conventional wisdom about the relationship between tyrannical rulers and their subjects. We're in the midst of a great paradigm shift, which, as any decent Hegelian will tell you, involves both a transformation of the world and of the way we understand it. In such rare times, both pundits and policymakers need to constantly challenge their own assumptions about the way the world works, because those assumptions age, along with the world they once described.' Michael Ledeen goes on to cite recent developments in China, Iran, and North Korea, which, he argues, portend a "dramatic tipping point" for the regimes in those countries. Read the article at the link, and watch for discussion on the Free Iran forum. (NRO, Free Iran)

A Moment of Silence

In honor of the first anniversary of Dreams Into Lightning, Blogger will observe 20 minutes of downtime on Thursday, April 21.