I love a Friday with someone new to hate

It is people like Michael Gorman that make me question my decision to become a librarian. Trapped in a bygone era and desperately clinging to the idea that they are not becoming obsolete. Surely if information is important, it must take you a long time to find it and will require the help of someone with special letters after their name. Right?

The man actually suggests that it is better to read a book in book form than in digitized format. And belittles bloggers who disagree with him. It is certainly my preference to read words off the printed page, but please do not suggest that the quality of information is somehow better just because trees had to die to get it into your mind.

The fact that he admits that he didn't really know about blogs until 2004 says about all that needs to be said. As an information professional, it really is your responsibility to know about new media. You don't have to like it, but you certainly can't revel in your ignorance and expect the respect of intelligent people.

"It is obvious that the Blog People read what they want to read rather than what is in front of them and judge me to be wrong on the basis of what they think rather than what I actually wrote. Given the quality of the writing in the blogs I have seen, I doubt that many of the Blog People are in the habit of sustained reading of complex texts. It is entirely possible that their intellectual needs are met by an accumulation of random facts and paragraphs. In that case, their rejection of my view is quite understandable."

I ain't never read none of them there complicated texts. Them books sure do gots lots of words. Thank the lord for the Drudge Report or I don't know how I'd get my news. It's hard for me to read the newspaper 'cos all the drool dropping from my mouth smudges the ink.

And clearly he is judging the 'blog people' by what they have written, rather than by what he thinks, which accounts for the fact that he has not just lumped an entire group of people into the category of idiots because he happens to not like the format in which they choose to share information. Because that would be the reaction of a mindless idiot!!

This is the mentality of the president of the American Library Association. He also thinks that Google should put the money they have been using to digitize and make searchable some of the contents of the world's great libraries -- to make them accessible to all of mankind -- into providing libraries for the poor children of California. Well, Mr. Gorman, if you're that concerned about those children rent a van, get some books and drive through the streets of East L.A. Do not presume to tell Google how to spend it's money. And I'm not sure who it is that insisted that the quality of your writing was such that it deserved to be in print. But perhaps you should get a second opinion.

It is fair to say that I hate this man and everything that he and his Castro loving organisation stand for. And somehow I doubt that next time someone asks me for information I will respond "let me just Universal Bibliographic Control that for you."

I am posting this to the internet now, without an editor or a censorship board (sorry Fidel).

via Instapundit

"Change the demography of Darfur and make it void of African tribes"

Nicholas Kristof Times column today discusses the archives being assembled on Darfur by the African Union.


"During past genocides against Armenians, Jews and Cambodians, it was possible to claim that we didn't fully know what was going on. This time, President Bush, Congress and the European Parliament have already declared genocide to be under way. And we have photos.

This time, we have no excuse. "

The international community's response? "Well, ya know, uhhhm China, Russia, uh Security Council, state sovereignty. Look, we're looking into it. Be patient and we'll let the International Criminal Court deal with it once they're done with the killing."

Ah, the Manolo, you truly are super fantastic!

I knew there was a reason I loved the Manolo!

Of course, if it was up to us they would never have happened

So, the U.N. has congratulated the Iraqis on holding successful elections. Okay, you know what U.N.? Shut the fuck up! If it had been left to the U.N. these elections would never have happened in the first place and Saddam Hussein would still be in power. I am so sick of all this sudden outpouring of support for Iraqi democracy from people who were perfectly content to leave a dictator in place forever. It's like you get to be this great supporter of democracy who also gets all the wonderful anti-war cred too. Except that the world isn't like that, unpleasant decisions need to be made so that good things can happen. Unless you're willing to acknowledge that the invasion of Iraq was a good idea -- you don't have to say it was perfectly orchestrated -- I don't want to hear a single word from you on these elections. Are we clear?

Let us be clear about this: we will do nothing to stop it

Since the U.N. decided that the attrocities in Darfur are not genocide, I keep reading that they want to put the people responsible for the not-defined-but-definitely-not-very-nice-behaviour on trial. So have we given in now? Is the U.N.'s official line "we will do nothing to stop this, but as soon as it runs it course, we will put those responsible on trial"? Then they will be brought to justice like those responsible for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia I guess.

Now, I love Sam Waterston, so my favourite part of Law and Order is when the Law stuff starts. But the Order bit is pretty important too. As in television, so in life. Unfortunately for the people in the Sudan, the U.N. is not the NYPD, so apparently we are just going to be crossing our fingers and hoping that this stops and that the Sudanese government has a change of heart and is willing to hand over those guilty of attrocities. Which makes absolutely no sense because they and their henchmen are the ones guilty of committing attrocities. Sometimes I really wonder what it must be like to be part of the U.N. Are you aware of the absurdity of your existence or do you just buy into all of it?

But I'm sure the suggested travel ban should really do a lot of good. Personally, I know a lot of people who were deciding between Darfur and Cancun for Spring Break this year.

They shoot horses don't they?

So apparently handsome Prince Charles is making an honest woman out of horsewoman Camilla. Which is a far cry from becoming her tampon, but I guess you settle for what you can get.

Look on the bright side: they're too old to spawn.

Get down on your knees and worship google

No more Mapquest!!!! God bless you Google!

Democracy: Fun for the Whole Family!

Thomas Friedman on the Iraqi Elections:

"....this election has made it crystal clear that the Iraq war is not between fascist insurgents and America, but between the fascist insurgents and the Iraqi people. One hopes the French and Germans, whose newspapers often sound more like Al Jazeera than Al Jazeera, will wake up to this fact and throw their weight onto the right side of history.

It's about time, because whatever you thought about this war, it's not about Mr. Bush any more. It's about the aspirations of the Iraqi majority to build an alternative to Saddamism. By voting the way they did, in the face of real danger, Iraqis have earned the right to ask everyone now to put aside their squabbles and focus on what is no longer just a pipe dream but a real opportunity to implant decent, consensual government in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world. "

They have also earned the right to ask those who suggest that people in the Middle East don't really want democracy and that it is somehow against their 'culture' to shut the hell up. To suggest that any group of people don't want to make decisions about their own lives and how their society is run is ridiculous and, frankly, smacks of racism.

Al Zarqawi does not speak for the people of Iraq and never did. Which, given that he is Jordanian, makes sense. Far too many people who would never tolerate the idea that Americans should speak for Canadians or the Germans for the French will tolerate the notion that a Jordanian terrorist somehow represents Iraqis because they are all Arabs. The majority of Iraqis have now made it clear that they do not want Islamofascists speaking for them. They have a voice of their own and it has now been heard for the first time. All democratic nations everywhere must now support the Iraqi people in their transition. For they are one of us now.

I've now picked a side in the NHL dispute... thanks Jacques

Jacques Rogge has come out against the players in the current NHL hockey dispute saying that Olympic athletes don't need big salaries, they do it for the love of the game. Because as we all know, the big payouts are for members of the IOC.

Of course, his point is complete nonsense because the Olympics are an amateur event and the NHL is a professional league. So, shut the fuck up Jacques! Bitter Lemon has now officially sided with the players.