tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post116064977959057641..comments2024-01-18T11:30:45.737-05:00Comments on Les Politiques: Science and Credibility: The New Iraq Body CountUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-64422941068989972062008-02-08T17:50:00.000-05:002008-02-08T17:50:00.000-05:00Moussa,I so much loved this post of yours.Moussa,<BR/>I so much loved this post of yours.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-14545481244751528312008-02-08T11:25:00.000-05:002008-02-08T11:25:00.000-05:00gosh, thanks Sophia.gosh, thanks Sophia.Moussa Bashirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07669549981657166786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160942869192697922006-10-15T16:07:00.000-04:002006-10-15T16:07:00.000-04:00No no definitely I am not throwing stones at this ...No no definitely I am not throwing stones at this effort, but being devil's advocate, Bush's saying the numbers are not accurate, is not invalid. Statistical findings have a margin of noise (or standard deviation.) And because I believe there is a certain degree of randomness in the universe we live in (one attested to by the esteemed scientists themselves; ... no god doesn't play dice, but stillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160928431098796842006-10-15T12:07:00.000-04:002006-10-15T12:07:00.000-04:00Naj,I agree with you that every human kife counts ...Naj,<BR/>I agree with you that every human kife counts and that quantifying numbers does not add to the immorality of this war.<BR/>However I don't agree with you on the second part of your commentary: the science of the cosmos is not only based on observation, it is also based on deductions and theories. It is both theories and facts. I am stating this because philosophers like Hume tended to Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160921770759266172006-10-15T10:16:00.000-04:002006-10-15T10:16:00.000-04:00I don't want to debate Lancet's publication, and I...I don't want to debate Lancet's publication, and I don't care whether it's 66 or 665,000 people who are dead in BushCo crussade. Emphasizing on the number of dead, to prove the immorality and illegality of malintentions, is as putting a price tag on actions with human life as the currency. It's like playing the Bush's hand: "well 66 bodies was worth it we had budgeted for that, but 665,000 was Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160874349802168802006-10-14T21:05:00.000-04:002006-10-14T21:05:00.000-04:00Jeha, You are accrediting Bush. Not everything ca...Jeha, <BR/>You are accrediting Bush. Not everything can be debated in science. Is the roundness of the earth debatable ? Is the fact that the earth revolves around the sun debatable ? Are statistical methods debatable ? <BR/>Science accepts debate within certain limits. Evidence, widely proven methods, facts, are some of those limits and without them, there is no knowledge.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160873308049202862006-10-14T20:48:00.000-04:002006-10-14T20:48:00.000-04:00I understand the Lancet is a reputable and peer-re...I understand the Lancet is a reputable and peer-reviewed journal. But the methodology can be debated; in the confusion of experts, the truth can be easily hidden...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160869036844721692006-10-14T19:37:00.000-04:002006-10-14T19:37:00.000-04:00Jeha,''In the confusion of numbers, little truth w...Jeha,<BR/><BR/>''In the confusion of numbers, little truth will emerge.'' I don't agree with this statement because when a scientific study is published in the Lancet, it goes through severe reviews from peers in the field. Satistics and epidemiology are real science with methodology and not mere guesses. I believe in the scientific process as the only way to find truth.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160868455207051102006-10-14T19:27:00.000-04:002006-10-14T19:27:00.000-04:00There will always be a controversy as to body coun...There will always be a controversy as to body count, statistical methodology, etc... The story of the counting of Iraqi death only illustrates the adage that there are 3 types of lies; lies, damn lies, and statistics.<BR/><BR/>In the confusion of numbers, little truth will emerge. And if anyone pays a political price, the basic situation will not change.<BR/><BR/>We may already be in the post "Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160854659083443112006-10-14T15:37:00.000-04:002006-10-14T15:37:00.000-04:00Who needs a tribunal?Like my Manichean Methodist m...Who needs a tribunal?<BR/><BR/>Like my Manichean Methodist <I>maître-à-penser</I> before me, I say “there is a sign out west...which says wanted, dead or alive”!<BR/><BR/>I’m starting to like Dixie-style vigilante justice...<BR/><BR/>:))Dr Victorino de la Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03383153981550886276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160854556385958852006-10-14T15:35:00.000-04:002006-10-14T15:35:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Dr Victorino de la Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03383153981550886276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160841787652937932006-10-14T12:03:00.000-04:002006-10-14T12:03:00.000-04:00Issam,Thanks for the link. I think the point Mogr...Issam,<BR/>Thanks for the link. I think the point Mograbi is making in his movie is correct. Israel's policy in the ME is a suicide mission but a collective one. It is like Samson: 'Alayyi wa 'ala 'ada'iSophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160841644587966782006-10-14T12:00:00.000-04:002006-10-14T12:00:00.000-04:00Victor,I believe that there should be an effort to...Victor,<BR/>I believe that there should be an effort to try these people for what they have done. We should have a second Nuremberg.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160813470680208032006-10-14T04:11:00.000-04:002006-10-14T04:11:00.000-04:00Hi Sophie,Superb post.On that same issue, P.C. Rob...Hi Sophie,<BR/><BR/>Superb post.<BR/><BR/>On that same issue, P.C. Roberts (President Reagan's most senior economic adviser) said the following:<BR/><BR/><I>"What is America's reward for Bush's illegal wars that have killed 655,000 Iraqis, an uncounted number of Afghans, and disabled as many as 400,000 U.S. troops? <BR/><BR/>According to the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate and to practically Dr Victorino de la Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03383153981550886276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160796261221872752006-10-13T23:24:00.000-04:002006-10-13T23:24:00.000-04:00avi Mograbi was on the current with Anna Maria Tre...avi Mograbi was on the current with Anna Maria Tremonti a few days ago and he gave an excellent interview. Anna Maria is a great host and journalist. She asked all the right questions. check it out at http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2006/200610/20061012.html<BR/><BR/><BR/>IssamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160762285623286222006-10-13T13:58:00.000-04:002006-10-13T13:58:00.000-04:00Naj,Thanks for the link. Double standards are kil...Naj,<BR/>Thanks for the link. Double standards are killing the little seriousness and credibility international politics can have in the ME and no reasonable person in the middle east believes in the good will of Israel and its allies. This is setting us on a dangerous path...Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160761722856761812006-10-13T13:48:00.000-04:002006-10-13T13:48:00.000-04:00Canada blocks bid by Arab countries for vote on re...<A HREF="http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=0ed47a3c-e312-432e-843c-16b26f8f2a40&rfp=dta" REL="nofollow"> <B>Canada blocks bid by Arab countries for vote on resolution declaring Israel's nuclear capabilities a threat</B></A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160695548230443732006-10-12T19:25:00.000-04:002006-10-12T19:25:00.000-04:00L.M.I thought that my argument was clear. The boy...L.M.<BR/>I thought that my argument was clear. The boycott for me is a moral imperative and it is above everything else.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160691899580790002006-10-12T18:24:00.000-04:002006-10-12T18:24:00.000-04:00I'm not attempting to recycle a previous argument ...I'm not attempting to recycle a previous argument in this topic thread, but I have to ask how you would reconcile admiration for the Israeli filmmaker Avi Moghrabi, with a call to boycott Israeli cultural products?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160683627670187242006-10-12T16:07:00.000-04:002006-10-12T16:07:00.000-04:00Naj,A while ago, may be four years back, I saw a d...Naj,<BR/>A while ago, may be four years back, I saw a documentary made by Avi Moghrabi at the MFF. It was about Israeli society. I was fascinated. Moghrabi was able to mix fiction and real documentary by following a family in israel and their inetractions and by interviewing people in the street. If I remember well, it was just after Sharon was first elected as PM. It was hilarious. MoghrabiSophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160680262339429662006-10-12T15:11:00.000-04:002006-10-12T15:11:00.000-04:00Speaking of the devil (or Canadian zionzealots)The...Speaking of the devil (or Canadian zionzealots)<BR/><BR/>There is a political-cinema event going on in Montreal called <A HREF="http://cinemapolitica.org" REL="nofollow">Cinema Politica </A>.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately I cannot attend this event (because like a good citizen I am spending the taxpayers money to study), but I heard that after the screening of <B><I> Avenge But One of My Two Eyes</B></Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160674830722430842006-10-12T13:40:00.000-04:002006-10-12T13:40:00.000-04:00Issam, of course Ignatieff is not a Human rights l...Issam, of course Ignatieff is not a Human rights lawyer as I said but teacher as he likes to brag about.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160667656621379022006-10-12T11:40:00.000-04:002006-10-12T11:40:00.000-04:00Richard,Yes you are right. I remeber the famous '...Richard,<BR/>Yes you are right. I remeber the famous 'We don't count bodies'. It was Tommy Franks who said it.Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160667585690176302006-10-12T11:39:00.000-04:002006-10-12T11:39:00.000-04:00Issam,Thanks for the link on IgnatieffWell, I won'...Issam,<BR/>Thanks <A HREF="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061011.wignat1010/BNStory/National/" REL="nofollow">for the link on Ignatieff</A><BR/>Well, I won't call him 'poor Iggy'. That's a Human rights lawyer who first said that the qana massacre did not let him loose sleep and then after all Human rights organisations called the massacre a violation of Human rights and a Sophiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09577807573716384982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19435968.post-1160666223549829652006-10-12T11:17:00.000-04:002006-10-12T11:17:00.000-04:00BushCo has already admitted (since the early days)...BushCo has already admitted (since the early days), almost bragged even, that they don't count Iraqi deaths.<BR/><BR/>Now that someone else has, all of a sudden BushCo claim they 'know' the figure is lower.<BR/><BR/>'Nuff said?Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11048198233889575116noreply@blogger.com