Monday, August 16, 2004

The Keret & The Stick One of the most enduring myths propagated by Israel is that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is the most humane and moral army in the world. Last week, the Guardian published an article called "Speak Hebrew or Shut Up."  They introduced it as follows: Israel's official code of ethics says troops can only use force if threatened.  But at a checkpoint near Nablus, Israeli author Etgar Keret witnessed another code of behaviour in operation . . . Keret dubs this other code of behavior "Udi's Practical Code," naming it after Udi, the commander at the Haware checkpoint. He watches Udi perpetrate all sorts of indignities on Palestinians, while justifying his behavior with arbitrary and capricious criteria. Keret contrasts Udi's Code with the official Israeli Defense Force Code of Ethics, drawn up by the philosopher Assa Kasher.  Keret concludes: I won't be going to the Haware checkpoint anymore.  But if one day Professor Assa Kasher gets tired of sitting at his desk and mulling over the Code of Ethics of the most moral army on the planet, I would heartily recommend that he take half a day off and visit a place where Immanuel Kant has never set foot. Perhaps, in a concession to truth-in-advertising, the IDF should put the following slogan on their uniforms, tanks and helicopter gunships: IDF We Kill People Humanely 11:00:04 PM

Sync or Swim This afternoon's MSNBC Olympic coverage included two noteworthy sports. In women's beach volleyball, the USA team of Kerri Walsh and Misty May remains heavily favored to win.  It was a misty May in Athens, but it's a steamy August.  No doubt the late Rick James would call this sport Bitch Volleyball. In men's synchronized diving, the home team Greeks upset the USA, Russia and China today to win the gold. I realize that synchronized diving and swimming are difficult to perform, but I still think that aesthetically, they look silly.  Nevertheless, since these are popular events, we can count on seeing more of them in future Olympics.  In fact, at some point, every Olympic event, including the opening and closing ceremonies, will be synchronized. 4:19:22 PM

The Other Dream Team There's been a lot of criticism of the first two days of the Athens Olympics -- the empty seats, the ubiquitous corporate logos, the usual over-emphasis on women's gymnastics, the humiliating loss of the American "dream" basketball team to Puerto Rico. But no one can complain that there's not enough TV coverage of the games.  They seem to be on nearly 24 hours a day. In fact, this is the most exciting televised event since the O.J. Simpson trial. 10:05:30 AM