A Tale of Three Court Cases: Part One
When I turned on my computer this morning all I got was a short "whirr" and a flash of my power light. Panic. I tried again. Nothing. More Panic. I cracked open the case and tried again. Nothing. I flipped the main power switch on the back off and on again. Tried booting up. Same flash as before and I noticed that the fans started spinning oh so briefly before sputtering out. Bloody hell. I put my thinking cap on and remembered what happened when I tried installing the ATI 9800 XT AIW almost a year ago. It did something similar then. I deduced that not enough power was getting to my machine. I unplugged a few things from the circuit and success. Whew.
Anyway back on track.
All the buzz in the past week or so has been around two major court cases in the US. A few people have asked for my thoughts so I will post them starting today. But first, there is another court case that doesn't have the same profile as the others. It finally got resolved today.
Bobby Fischer Heads for Iceland After Japan Release
The great American chess hero Bobby Fischer was released from detention in Japan where he will head to Iceland, which granted him citizenship last week. He has been incarcerated in Japan since July because he is wanted in the US for playing a chess match. No, Bush doesn't want to try out his Gruenfeld against the greatest player who ever lived, the American authorities want him jailed for playing in a chess match back in 1992.
You see, back in the day, Americans were prohibited from performing any activities in the former Yugoslavia and that is where Fischer had his match. Fischer won $3 million for defeating Boris Spassky in a rematch of their 1972 classic which launched Fischer to icondom in the US.
Ok, dudes... the Cold War is over. The match was in 1992, not 1962.
Even Fischer's Cold War rival, Boris Spassky things the charges are rediculous. He wrote Bush a letter himself asking for "charity" and "mercy." Spassky even offered to turn himself in. As a French citizen in 1992, he believes he was an equal participant in Fischer's crime.
An excerpt:
If for some reason it is impossible (to drop charges against Fischer), I would like to ask you the following: Please correct the mistake of President François Mitterand in 1992. Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set.
Another thing that bothered me in the original story is at the bottom where author Elaine Lies (*cough*) says:
He resurfaced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. In an interview with a Philippine radio station, Fischer praised the strikes and said he wanted to see America "wiped out."
What a bad man eh?
Well this is what he actually said:
"This is all wonderful news. It is time to finish off the US once and for all.
"I was happy and could not believe what was happening. All the crimes the US has committed in the world. This just shows, what goes around comes around, even to the US.
"I applaud the act. The US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians for years. Now it is coming back at the US."
While still damning and sounding like a nut, Lies selective use of quotes makes it seem far worse than what he actually said. Context is everything. Let me see.. I'll pull a few selective quotes myself.
Sober says Fischer said:
"... could not believe what was happening. All the crimes the US has committed in the world. This just shows, what goes around comes around, even to the US."
Now then... that doesn't seem all too different from this quote:
"You cannot exercise your powers to the point of humiliation for the others. That is what the Western world -- not only the Americans, the Western world -- has to realize. Because they are human beings too. There are long-term consequences,"
"And I do think that the Western world is getting too rich in relation to the poor world and necessarily will be looked upon as being arrogant and self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits. The 11th of September is an occasion for me to realize it even more."
And that was the then Prime Minister, Jean Chretien.
Anyway back on track.
All the buzz in the past week or so has been around two major court cases in the US. A few people have asked for my thoughts so I will post them starting today. But first, there is another court case that doesn't have the same profile as the others. It finally got resolved today.
Bobby Fischer Heads for Iceland After Japan Release
The great American chess hero Bobby Fischer was released from detention in Japan where he will head to Iceland, which granted him citizenship last week. He has been incarcerated in Japan since July because he is wanted in the US for playing a chess match. No, Bush doesn't want to try out his Gruenfeld against the greatest player who ever lived, the American authorities want him jailed for playing in a chess match back in 1992.
You see, back in the day, Americans were prohibited from performing any activities in the former Yugoslavia and that is where Fischer had his match. Fischer won $3 million for defeating Boris Spassky in a rematch of their 1972 classic which launched Fischer to icondom in the US.
Ok, dudes... the Cold War is over. The match was in 1992, not 1962.
Even Fischer's Cold War rival, Boris Spassky things the charges are rediculous. He wrote Bush a letter himself asking for "charity" and "mercy." Spassky even offered to turn himself in. As a French citizen in 1992, he believes he was an equal participant in Fischer's crime.
An excerpt:
If for some reason it is impossible (to drop charges against Fischer), I would like to ask you the following: Please correct the mistake of President François Mitterand in 1992. Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set.
Another thing that bothered me in the original story is at the bottom where author Elaine Lies (*cough*) says:
He resurfaced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. In an interview with a Philippine radio station, Fischer praised the strikes and said he wanted to see America "wiped out."
What a bad man eh?
Well this is what he actually said:
"This is all wonderful news. It is time to finish off the US once and for all.
"I was happy and could not believe what was happening. All the crimes the US has committed in the world. This just shows, what goes around comes around, even to the US.
"I applaud the act. The US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians for years. Now it is coming back at the US."
While still damning and sounding like a nut, Lies selective use of quotes makes it seem far worse than what he actually said. Context is everything. Let me see.. I'll pull a few selective quotes myself.
Sober says Fischer said:
"... could not believe what was happening. All the crimes the US has committed in the world. This just shows, what goes around comes around, even to the US."
Now then... that doesn't seem all too different from this quote:
"You cannot exercise your powers to the point of humiliation for the others. That is what the Western world -- not only the Americans, the Western world -- has to realize. Because they are human beings too. There are long-term consequences,"
"And I do think that the Western world is getting too rich in relation to the poor world and necessarily will be looked upon as being arrogant and self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits. The 11th of September is an occasion for me to realize it even more."
And that was the then Prime Minister, Jean Chretien.
posted by Sober at 10:14
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