Thursday, October 10, 2013

Even As We Speak


THE "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.

But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "Red Death."

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence...

Sorry! Sorry!

My mistake!

Wrong story.

What I meant to post was this...
The Hero Summit Agenda 2013

The Daily Beast’s Hero Summit, Oct 10 in Washington, D.C., is an invitation-only live journalism event featuring panel discussions and interviews with some of the world’s most influential figures. The summit will showcase stories from military leaders and decorated veterans, Nobel Prize winners, politicians and journalists speaking about issues of service and heroism...
Yes kids,  if you scan the featured speaker list below you will note that David Brooks is taking yet another vacation from his New York Times "book leave" vacation to stop by Washington D.C., hang out with some buds and edjumacate the good people of that small, backwards burg about what it means to be a god damn hero! at the Tina Brown Spends Another Pallet-Truck-Load  of Barry Diller's Money Daily Beast’s Hero Summit, described, as it says in the brochure,  as "an invitation-only live journalism event" which must be why Tina Brown didn't ask me to come.

Yes, there are several people speaking here that I would love to chat with, but overall all I see is further proof that come plague, famine, nuclear fallout or zombie apocalypse, there are some festive precincts of our nation's capitol which no furlough will ever touch and no shutdown will ever dampen.

The Hero Summit Agenda 2013

8:30 AM      WELCOME

Tina Brown, Editor in Chief, The Daily Beast

INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

On the Washington shutdown, the Syria crisis, and America's role in the world.
Senator John McCain, Arizona
Moderator: Tina Brown, Editor in Chief, The Daily Beast


BLACK HAWK DOWN: 20 YEARS LATER

It was a raid that should have lasted 30 minutes, but when the first of two American Black Hawk helicopters was shot down—the entire mission changed. What started as an assault operation would end as a rescue mission. Twenty years later, the story that inspired the epic film is a reminder of the determination of America’s Armed Forces and the creed to never leave a man behind.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Producer

First Sergeant Matthew P. Eversmann, U.S. Army (Ret.); Vice President of Business Development, Allegeant LLC

Craig Nixon, CEO, ACADEMI LLC; Brigadier General (Ret.), U.S. Army
Moderator: Daniel Klaidman, National Political Correspondent, The Daily Beast          


THE CHANGING TERROR THREAT

The tragedy of the Boston bombing underscores the infinitely complex challenge of preempting a terrorist strike in the United States. Has the marriage of state-of-the-art technology and sophisticated intelligence provided for the safety and security of America’s cities?

Robert Griffin, Vice President, Industry Solutions, IBM

Jane Harman, Director, President, and CEO, Woodrow Wilson Center

General Michael V. Hayden, Principal, The Chertoff Group

Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department

Moderator: Catherine Herridge, Chief Intelligence Correspondent, Fox News Channel


WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH WASHINGTON?

How to revive leadership in the nation's capital. Former Senator and U.S. Envoy George Mitchell joins other top Washington players to deconstruct the shutdown crisis.
Bob Woodward, Associate Editor, The Washington Post

Senator George J. Mitchell, Chairman Emeritus, DLA Piper

Hon. Olympia J. Snowe, Former United States Senator; Senior Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center; Co-Chair, Commission on Political Reform

Moderator: Walter Isaacson, President & CEO, The Aspen Institute


"SHAME ON YOU!"

How America is betraying those who serve.

Arnold Fisher, Honorary Chairman, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Senior Partner, Fisher Brothers
Moderator: Martha Raddatz, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, ABC News


SHATTERING STEREOTYPES: THE NEW VETERANS

Returning veterans have found themselves in a new battle: a fight for their reputations—and for the reputations of all who serve. A conversation featuring post-military success stories.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman, 2nd District of Hawaii

Kate Norley, OIF-OEF Army Medic Veteran

Anthony Smith, OIF Army Veteran, Mission Continues Fellow

Carl M. Tegen, Executive Director, Defense Segment, AT&T Government Solutions

Moderator: John Avlon, Executive Editor, The Daily Beast


ABDUCTED IN SYRIA

A photojournalist recounts his capture by militants.

Jonathan Alpeyrie, Photojournalist, Polaris Images
Moderator: Christopher Dickey, Paris Bureau Chief and Middle East Regional Editor, The Daily Beast


THE SYRIA MAELSTROM

The chaos in Syria poses a growing threat to global security. Former top U.S. officials in counterterrorism and an award-winning author discuss financial warfare, war by proxy, and the limits of Western powers to contain the disintegration of Syria.

Philip Mudd, Director of Global Risk, SouthernSun Asset Management

Robin Wright, Distinguished Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace

Hon. Juan C. Zarate, Senior Adviser, CSIS; Senior National Security Analyst, CBS News

Moderator: Christopher Isham, Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief, CBS News                                  



12:30 PM      LUNCH

1:25 PM       THE NIGERIA CAULDRON: WOLE SOYINKA INTERVIEW

Nobel laureate, author, and political activist Wole Soyinka on the evolving threat of extremism in West Africa and his own harrowing journey—including imprisonment—as a political dissident.

Wole Soyinka, Professor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Nobel Prize for Literature ’86

Moderator: Tina Brown, Editor in Chief, The Daily Beast


FAMILIES ON THE FRONTLINES

Tens of thousands of veterans are returning home with traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and physical disabilities. For their families, life is never the same. Representatives from the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the private sector discuss the support systems they are innovating for military families on the homefront.

Arnold Fisher, Honorary Chairman, Inrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Senior Partner, Fisher Brothers
Alan Reyes, Senior Vice President of Operations, USO, Inc.

Dr. Tommy Sowers, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Brannan Vines, Founder and President, Family of a Vet

Moderator: John Donvan, Moderator, Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates; Correspondent, ABC News


THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MEN

There are more African-Americans on probation, on parole, or in prison today than the total number of slaves in America 1850. Is crime the central issue? Or is this a fundamental crisis of the nation’s character—of human beings who have been left behind? President Obama’s former spiritual adviser, Joshua DuBois, leads a candid discussion on the moral courage required to forge a genuinely promising new future for black men in America.    

Joseph T. Jones Jr., President and CEO, The Center for Urban Families, Inc.

Moderator: Joshua DuBois, Founder, Values Partnerships; Columnist, The Daily Beast


CRISIS LEADERSHIP

Deadly floods, raging wild fires, and destructive hurricanes are ever-present threats that require quick and decisive leadership. Elected officials, military leaders and first responders on how they make the tough decisions in real time to save cities, homes and lives.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, Colorado

Lt. General Russel L. Honoré, U.S.A (Ret.); Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina; Author; Global Preparedness Authority

William McNulty, Co-founder and Vice President, Team Rubicon

Moderator: John Avlon, Executive Editor, The Daily Beast


WHAT MAKES A HERO?

How do we define heroism in the 21st century? This closing discussion examines courage in many realms—physical, moral, political, even intellectual—and asks, who are our modern heroes?

General John Allen, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.); Distinguished Fellow of Foreign Policy, The Brookings Institution

David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times

Anchee Min, Author

Wole Soyinka, Professor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Nobel Prize for Literature ’86

Moderator: Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Senior Correspondent and Associate Editor, The Washington Post; Author, Little America: The War Within The War For Afghanistan


4:00 PM       CLOSING REMARKS

 Tina Brown, Editor in Chief, The Daily Beast



EVENING EVENT
...

13 comments:

OBS said...

Gah! What an agenda.

I hope all their meals feature slightly undercooked Foster Farms chicken.

tmk said...

...Speaking of NYT columns, here's a fuckin' howler for ya!

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scarborough-a-nyt-editor-told-me-krugman-s-column-is-newspaper-s-biggest-nightmare

Kathleen said...

I find it fascinating that the same Villagers who beat the drums for war in Iraq so relentlessly and demonized those of us who opposed it (Driftglass has done a stellar job of documenting that) are now concerned about veterans' physical and mental problems and their care. It's even more ironic considering Rethuglicans want to "do away with government", which provides the programs to help veterans with these issues. At least Lady MacBeth finally had her "out damned spot" moment. I don't think these vipers ever will.

Anonymous said...

@tmk

I can imagine that. The people I know who still read "Newspapers" in their physical form, or subscribe to them digitally don't like Krugmans' economics. Doesn't matter if they are liberal or conservative. They all want austerity, less taxes, and to smash social security so we don't have to pay back the IOUs in it and firms in DC, NYC, and SanFran can feast on it's corpse.

It's going to happen regardless, there isn't a thing Krugman or anyone else can say that will change what this country is going to do economically. But they all find people bitching about it to be obnoxious.

Everyone I know who likes Krugman and is freaking out about austerity and that social security is doomed... doesn't actually pay for a physical or digital paper.

I think Krugman is right about the solutions he proposes, but I also know damn well they will never happen, and that I will never receive social security. The question is how soon it's gone, and if it happens soon enough that we can kill off enough of the boomers to win the culture war on god, gays, guns, and sexy time.

blader said...

this has got to be a spoof...because nothing could be more inane..

Dew said...

The word hero doesn't jump to mind when I think of David Brooks. Lying parasite yes, hero no.

tmk said...

"I think Krugman is right about the solutions he proposes, but I also know damn well they will never happen, and that I will never receive social security. The question is how soon it's gone, and if it happens soon enough that we can kill off enough of the boomers to win the culture war on god, gays, guns, and sexy time."

...then why do you even bother posting? It's cutting into your gaming time. Go back to your Unreal or TOR or whatever. Please.

Anonymous said...

Can't blame him, really. The Hero Dollar is a good dollar.

Neo Tuxedo said...

For me, it's a case of "If I don't let off some steam every so often, my head a splode, or at the very least I step deliberately into the street and start knocking off hats". In Geese' case, he might Raging Storm an innocent bystander.

marindenver said...

Omigawd. F'n David Brooks, Humble Hero. Has the world gone insane or is it just me?

Oh, and Geese, you realize you're just an obnoxious troll, right?

Batocchio said...

Wole Soyinka and Rajiv Chandrasekaran would be interesting to hear. Michael Hayden rightly still fears he'll be prosecuted for war crimes, and it's a disgrace he was invited. As for Brooks, lemme guess – heroism is selling conservatism (at least the most conservative position that can be sold at a given time) while pretending to be all serious-centrist-moderate-reasonable.

Monster from the Id said...

Uh-oh, it sounds like the Thought Police may be preparing to banish Geese from the Kewl Kids' Table.

At least he'll find plenty of company among us freaks and geeks. ;)

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. I found myself skimming after a few entries, not having the patience to waste time by a close reading. Having covered enough conferences and committee meetings, I can only imagine the screams in my mind after a few minutes of this conference (Most likely "Shut the f*@k up!").
My favorite was the one on terrorism with IBM (one can only hope for a conspiracy theorist to be there asking about IBM and the Nazis), the NYPD police chief explaining how stop and frisk would have prevented the Boston Marathon bombing and an expert from Fox news. 'Nuff said! Well except for the bit about infinitely complex rather than just complex. Don't try to solve this one at home simple folk. You need a blue ribbon invitee only panel.