Hub Blog

The Manchurian candidates

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:14:00 +0000

Did they even think of the sick irony? ... One major problem with the otherwise good story: The communists wanted to extract false confessions from POWs for propaganda purposes. They weren't looking for the truth. So to emphasize that the 'interrogation methods' led to false confessions without making that point seems silly. ... BTW: Hub Blog doesn't care if the interrogation/torture methods led to the truth or not. The methods are morally wrong and pragmatically not necessary. The FBI warned the CIA on both counts that it was making a big mistake.

'It's great to be wanted'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:02:00 +0000

Celts have made an offer to James Posey. Hope they keep him. It'll be close. But I like their bid for Corey Maggette. ... The champs are whooping it up in Vegas. I both laughed and winced a bit while reading it, but, hey, they earned it and remained loyal to their Somerville fan base. ...

'Oh My God! Ohhhhhh. ... Ohhhh. Oh, My God!''

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:10:00 +0000

Exhibit A for why the rest of the nation hates Boston fans? ... It has to be the best worst video I've ever seen -- sort of a cross between When Harry Met Sally and the Museum of Bad Art. But more than 32,000 have already viewed it -- and you're about to as well because you can't resist. ... I eagerly await John Farrell's expert critique. ...

Update -- From a friend who's seen it: 'Beyond cheesy and obnoxious.' ... So beyond cheesy and obnoxious that it's true Boston art. ...

Update II -- John: 'It should be beyond belief. But it's not. Because it's Boston.' ...

'Lack of personal chemistry'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:04:00 +0000

Let's hope McCain is only going through the motions to appease Fox News, which, for reasons I can't comprehend, keeps plugging Mitt every chance it gets. ... If McCain doesn't follow his gut instinct (i.e. the 'personal chemistry' thing) and goes with Mitt, then Obama inches closer to the all-important Hub Blog endorsement. ...

Update -- Jon thinks McCain is just posturing. ...

'Medieval Boston'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:35:00 +0000

Speaking of farewells, I re-discovered this site about the old West End and 'Medieval Boston' while digging through my archives for the post below. It's one of my all-time favorite links. The photos and comments are excellent -- and heartbreaking. ... There's a good comment from an old-timer toward the very end. He doesn't romanticize the West End and Boston of his youth. There was a sense back then that Boston was a decaying city. But the 'urban renewal' planners' solutions were tragically wrong. They couldn't grasp the notion that rejuvenation was possible. It hadn't been proven yet. ... Thank goodness they put a stop to the 'planning' madness. ...

Adieu, Brigham's

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:16:00 +0000

The sale of Brigham's is a big disappointment. Hood is a fine local company. But Brigham's just won't be the same. ... Hub Blog sensed something was amiss when Brigham's jumped into the Fluffernutter silliness and started giving its ice-cream products cute names, like Wicked Chocolate and Dice-Kream, etc. But they didn't mess with their chocolate chip and mocha chip brands. Hopefully Hood won't either. ...

Update -- Adam has more. ...

'Endorsing the individual-rights view'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:29:00 +0000

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment strikes me as confirming reality and common sense: Americans have always owned guns as individuals, not as militia members. It's been accepted practice for centuries. Even Democrats, in their last presidential platform, endorsed the 'individual-rights' view toward firearms. But what worries me is that common-sense government regulations of guns might be overturned by the SC's decision. Even the Bush administration, in the case decided yesterday, was worried that an 'individual-rights' view could be construed to mean government can't outlaw machine guns. Scalia states the ruling does give government latitude to regulate guns. But I'm still nervous. The NRA is already gearing up for multiple legal challenges based on yesterday's ruling. Note the reference to going after 'assault gun' bans, i.e. machine guns. Note also how it's going after a law banning guns in a government housing projects. ... I believe people have the right to own pistols, rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic or not, for self-protection or sport, etc. But I don't think it's in society's best interest to allow military-grade weapons -- or completely restrict local governments' ability to ban guns in some public or publicly-owned places. The pendulum swung to one extreme with the District of Columbia law. It shouldn't swing to the opposite extreme post-District of Columbia law. ...

Update - 6.28.08 -- Rich responds:

You wrote: "Note the reference to going after 'assault gun' bans, i.e. machine guns."

I like your columns, but that's total, unreasearched, parroting the standard liberal line BS.

Do some reading on the so-called "assault weapon" ban. It's mostly weapons which are cosmetically-incorrect (i.e. they look too evil) and which are mostly SEMI-AUTOMATIC (i.e. a far, far cry from a "machine gun").

I really expect better of you, based on most of the stuff on your blog.

Rich and I had a good back-and-forth exchange of emails after this. I'll only point out that I went out of my way to say that people have a right to bear arms -- including 'semi-automatics.' I understand that semi-automatics, largely because of the ignorance of some gun-control advocates, often get caught up in 'assault' gun bans. But some 'assault' weapons are indeed forms of machine guns -- and they should be outlawed along with other military-grade weapons.

J.R. Giddens?

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:11:00 +0000

I like the pick. Never mind his past controversies. Paul Pierce had his own stabbing/nightclub problem. He grew out of it. I'm not overly concerned about Giddens' past troubles. The vets will keep him in line. ... Danny can say all he wants that the Giddens pick has nothing to do with the possibility of losing James Posey. But the Celts need to prepare for the possible loss of Posey or House or Sam C, etc. ... I would have felt better if the Celts had gotten a big man. But Roy Hibbert was gone by the 30th pick. The C's did select Semih Erden, but I'm not sure he's ready, or ever will be ready, for the NBA. ... I've been saying it for years: The Celts need a big man. With Kendrick's shoulder woes and Brown's return up in the air, the problem looks more acute next season. ...

'Shaq disses Kobe'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Hilarious. The crudeness starts at 1:03. Celts fans will enjoy it. ... Heard it first on Dennis and Callahan this morning.

'Disappointing showing, Philly fans'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Bert takes on Philly fans. ...

'Iraq starts to fix itself,' Part III

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:21:00 +0000

David also notices the surge ironies . ... Though President Bush does deserve credit for pushing the surge, I'd be careful about giving him too much credit. The surge's successes don't counterbalance his initial blunders. Not even close. ...

The Chicago Bulls: Best Team Ever?

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:20:00 +0000

I was rummaging through old junk at Chez Hub Blog this weekend when I came across an old framed photo of Larry Bird covering Michael Jordan, circa 1980s. Anyway, I recalled living in Illinois from the mid '80s through the mid '90s -- and putting up with Chicagoans' guff, as the Bulls piled up championships starting in the early '90s, that Michael et gang were the best team ever. I would roll my eyes and patiently explain to said fans, if they bothered to listen, that "Michael" played against Larry and Magic in their prime and "Michael" never won -- until Larry and Magic were either gone or over the top. Or as Wikipedia puts it. "By the 1990-91 season, the Bulls had run out of excuses." ... Or the Bulls had run out of worthy rivals. Whatever. ... Anyway, I recalled all of this after seeing the Bird-Jordan photo and reading Steve's and Bob's all-time top Celtics rankings. ... The Bulls? Who? ... Bulls fans were sooooooo obnoxious back then. But I wasn't envious. Well, sort of. ... I'd be fascinated to see, fantasy-wise, a '90s Jordan team face up against the 2007-2008 Celts. Michael would shine. No doubt. Better than Kobe "You're Not Jordan" Bryant. But I'd still push two-thirds of the chips toward the 2007-2008 Celts because of their bench and Phil 'Chicago-LA' Jackson's inability to pronounce Leon Powe's name correctly. ...

'Some very cool spacewalk pictures'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:58:00 +0000

Very cool. Check out the one in the middle. I know the Space Shuttle has had its problems. But there's something noble in its slightly beat-up look in space. The tiles show it's a workhorse. ...Via Glenn.

'Wimbledon fears match-fixing scandal'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:07:00 +0000

First the NBA. Now Wimbledon. Players and agents confirm fix offers. ...

'Why Boston, not Houston?'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:06:00 +0000

He admits it's envy. ... Elsewhere, Daniel announces he's defecting from the Nation -- and hauls out the tired They Use To Be Lovable Losers line. But he does acknowledge:

"What will happen when the Phillies win a championship?" my colleague asked as we walked toward the ballpark on Tuesday. "Will Philadelphia fans be as obnoxious as Boston fans?"

"Hell, yes," my son replied.

Winning will do that.

He says he'll move to Cleveland at that point. The nobleness of poignant depression. ... Papelbon has a theory about how Boston fans play a role in winning here. But Youks sounds like he's still smarting from fans' negative reaction to his dugout antics of late. ...

Update -- Kev now experiences the positive vibes. ...

'We Americans are better than that'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:11:00 +0000

I'm of two minds about the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: 1.) I'm glad he spilled the beans. 2.) It's depressing to think that the U.S. govenment's 'enhanced interrogation methods' were 'modeled on the torture repertories of the Soviet Union.' ... I've always suspected that the torture policies emerged from inexperience, ignorance and an arrogant macho spirit that assumes everyone else is naive. The article confirms my suspicions. ...

'Iraq starts to fix itself,' Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:24:00 +0000

Facts are facts. We should be happy about the options these Iraq successes present us, not ramming them into tired 2003 should-we vs. shouldn't-we arguments about the war. ... The irony is that the successes, albeit tentative, undercut and underscore both presidential candidates' stated positions at the same time. The success of the surge, which Obama and his allies generally opposed, makes it easier for him to argue to pull troops out. The success of the surge, which McCain and his allies generally supported, makes it more difficult to argue to stay the course. ... Advantage: Obama, for logical illogical reasons. ...

P.S. -- Of course, now watch the partisan arguments flip. Liberals: The surge is working! Conservatives: Wait, it's not working that well! ...

The Best

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:58:00 +0000

Steve is harder on the 2007-2008 Celts than Bob, largely because of the Atlanta and Cleveland series. But he still puts them in the top five (without really ranking them in order within the top five). I can't argue with either one's picks. Rankings across generations are always subjective and speculative by nature. ... FYI: Unlike Steve, I do think there's usually a prejudice against teams of the past. ... Both Steve and Bob put the '72-73 non-championship Celts in the top five. I wouldn't have thought of them. But the joint '72-73 picks makes sense in retrospect. As a young kid, I remember being so BITTER that the Knicks won the championship, largely because of Hondo's shoulder injury. It was obvious which team was better going into the playoffs that year. ... BTW: I was a CYO basketball expert back then. Trust me. The Celts got robbed. ...

'Front-runner-itis'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:21:00 +0000

Steve and Howie approach Hub hate from two different angles. I did see my share of the following yesterday:

I love the idiots who throng into Boston for these parades. Duh, they say, I’m takin’ da day off. The day off from what? The methadone clinic? If you were wondering why it took so long to get an order of fries at McDonald’s, I have two words for you. Sweet Seventeen.

But the day was still great. I'm trying to figure out how many more parades might fit into this decade. Probably one. Maybe two.

Update -- Jim Carnell, a Boston cop, appears to be in Howie's camp on this one. He doesn't mince words. ... BTW: He's steaming over Tuesday night's obnoxiousness, not the parade, which, I repeat, was great, except for the abundance of sweet seventeens.

Update II -- After the parade, I saw some of the video clips of the event. I initially didn't catch the first few minutes when Glen Davis whipped his shirt off, revealing the Big Baby still has a lot of baby fat. But from roughly the old West End to Copley Square, the TV coverage was disappointing, at least on the channels I was flicking through. ...

Where are the players?

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:47:00 +0000

Half hour into the parade and I still haven't seen a player on TV. What the heck? Why all the hangers-on in the Ducks? ... Lot of shots from the air. Lots of shots of Ducks approaching. But no players. ... Updates to come. ...

Update - 1 minute later -- OK, finally. Ray Allen!

Update II - 11:55 a.m. -- OK, it's back to Lucky and the cheerleaders. Jeez. ... Many fuzzy, distant shots of the Ducks. ... The crowds look great. I was down there just prior to the start and fans were getting pumped. ... My gut impression is that the final crowd count will be in the vicinity of the Sox II and Pats II and III parades. Nothing could beat Sox I and Pats I. At least I don't think so. Crowds today are growing by the minute, it seems. ...

Update III - 12:03 p.m. -- Glimpses of KG, Danny Ainge and the trophy. But most of the shots are of non-players/managers etc. They packed too many people on each Duck. Hard to determine who's who. ...

Update IV - 12:13 p.m. -- Wyc gets interviewed. Vows another parade next year. ... Kevin hoisting the trophy. But still disappointing coverage. ... Oh, well. The fans along the route seem happy. That's the important thing.

Update V -- 12:16 p.m. -- We're rocking now. Great shot of Paul holding up the trophy. ... Posey, Kendrick, Davis. ... Must be more cameras in Copley Square. ...

Update VI - 12:25 -- Fun shot of P.J. He earned this moment.

Update VII - 12:29 -- The End. ... Festive crowd still sticking around. ... Happy day.

'Overt De-Escalation; Covert Disruption'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:15:00 +0000

Excellent David Ignatius column on Iraq. Read it. Sharp insights into what has to be done on the military and diplomatic fronts. ... He's also right about our current domestic debate as boiled down by Obama and McCain: 'Sterile.' I would have used the word 'simplistic.' But that's a minor quibble. ... Good news in Afghanistan. ...

'The renaissance Celtics,' Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:23:00 +0000

Let 'em hate us. ... The little people can be so annoying. ... Steve is giving Trader Danny a little too much credit. But I haven't given Trader Dan enough credit. So there. ... Ray's right: Kill the 'Big Three' talk. The Big Three and the Benchies just doesn't work. ... Dan and I were in agreement yesterday about the similarities between today's Celts and the '70s Celts. But that was just a generalized eras comparison. Bob drills down deeper and comes up with team-by-team comparisons. You know, I can't disagree with his rankings, though it's still hard to accept that only one Russell-era team made it into Bob's top five. I'm trying to find a hole in his logic but can't find it. ... Dennis & Callahan yesterday were apparently having a grand old time ripping into the Lakers' 'Euroweenies.' A Hub Blog friend made roughly the same point to me during Tuesday's game: The European players are a great addition to the NBA, but they lack that killer playoff instinct. That will come with experience. ... Celtics banner via Adam via Dave via, apparently, imageshack. I don't know the use conditions and will take it down if requested. But I thought it was cool and will let it fly until further notice. Looks good, doesn't it?

Update -- RE my question: Who would match up with Rondo? Peter writes in: 'That was my post at midnight!' ... The answer is obvious. I'm embarrassed I didn't think of it.

Update II -- Speaking of Euro players, I agree with Bruce: 'I can watch this all day long.' Scroll down to video. ...

'Iraq starts to fix itself'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:26:00 +0000

The Economist assesses the gains in Iraq: They're quite real but fragile. ... Enjoyed this brush up over at BMG. Agree with JohnD that the gains are significant (though I don't agree with his media paranoia). But I understand Bob's anger and even sarcasm. As the Economist put it right from the start, 'After all the blood and blunders ...' The administration's many blunders still anger me. But we should be thankful that we may well avoid a complete debacle in Iraq, thanks largely to Gen. Petraeus and our GIs. ... There's one other major blunder the adminstration could yet make. From the Economist:

George Bush meanwhile has a further part to play, which consists mainly of not doing things that might tempt him. He should not, for example, attack Iran. One of the impressive things about Iraq's present government is its refusal to take sides between America and its next-door neighbour. It needs good relations with both if it is to prosper.

'The renaissance Celtics'

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:20:00 +0000

'Lordy, Lordy.' Where to begin? There's Danny and Doc and Kevin and Ray and Rajon and Leon and Kendrick and Eddie. But before any of them were here, there was one man who single-handedly held the franchise together for 10 long years until this season and this day could happen: Paul Pierce. Paul earned the right to say this:

I’m not living under the shadows of the other greats now. I’m able to make my own history with my time here and, like I said, this is something that I wanted to do. If I was going to be one of the best Celtics ever to play, I had to put up a banner. And we did that.

Notice how he slipped into the 'we' at the very end. Great guy. ... Kobe: 'What we’ve got to take from this series is we can’t expect to win a championship focusing on the offensive end.' This season was almost as improbable for the Lakers as it was for the Celts. The Lakers will be back. ... Loved this quote from a fan: 'All we need now is the Bruins.' Not a huge Bruins fan. But it would be nice to see them win one in the final year of this decade of sports decades in Boston. ... P.S. - Thank goodness Kendrick played. I was suprised how effective he was and how long he played at the start. He made a big difference under the basket. ... Photo via Herald.

Update -- Bert thinks Doc was the MVP and adds:

Garnett was the man tonight. Rondo, too. Allen was huge. Pierce was complete. Defense was unreal.

Kobe quit too early. Odom is insane enough to be commited.

Watching this series and this game it's tough to imagine the Lakers were picked by just about all the experts to win in 6 or less. The Celtics have been so much better.

Update II -- Adam has the local blogosphere round-up. ...

Update III -- Michael Wilbon:

The Lakers' biggest problem is that they, like the Hawks and Cavaliers and Pistons before them, had no solution for Pierce, who by leading this particular franchise to a championship in such a decisive way took a spot alongside Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Bill Russell and Bob Cousy as leaders of basketball's royal franchise. Pierce didn't have a prolific Game 6, and he might not be as revered as his predecessors, not yet anyway. But he nevertheless belongs in the franchise's championship team picture because of his poise under pressure throughout the playoffs.

I like the comparison to John Havlicek. Pierce shares the same forward/guard roles and understated leadership qualities of Hondo.

Update IV -- I really liked Dan's comparison of today's team to the Celts of the '70s. As I see it: Pierce - Hondo. Allen - JoJo. Kevin - Cowens. Hmmm. Who would match up with Rondo? ... Though the Celts of the '70s won more championships, I see today's team as stronger and deeper. Just do. Time will tell. More championships, please. ...

Update V -- Oh, c'mon. ESPN has suspended the writer who compared the Celts to Hitler, whatever. She was joking. She corrected it. She made a bad decision. For Christ's sake.

First 'Hilter' -- and now 'Axis of Evil,' Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jay) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:34:00 +0000

The post below was getting too long. So I'm adding another. From Bert:

Pot, meet kettle: A Philly writer is bemoaning the manners of Boston fans? That’s rich.

The problem the rest of the world has with us right now is not our attitude; it is that our teams are winning so much and theirs are not. That one fact makes anything we do seem smug, arrogant and obnoxious to them.

Perhaps if the Phillies got a better return on their $100m+ payroll, they wouldn’t be quite so bitter. That puts them very comfortably in the top tier of salaries. But Philly has become the land of “close, but not quite” teams. Phillies, Flyers, Eagles, 76ers. They’ve all played for or contended for a Championship in recent years. They just can’t break through the way Boston has been able to. But if they do, they’ll be just as obnoxious as they think we are, have no fear.

Don’t head for the Tobin yet, Jay. Celts win tonight.