Saturday, October 23, 2004
THE YANKEES IN NEW YORK AND BAGHDAD
Fri Oct 22, 7:44 PM ET
Op/Ed - Richard Reeves
By Richard Reeves
NEW YORK -- I have always hated the Yankees, as does most every kid who grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan. It was not that the Yanks were the winners; it was that we were the losers year after year.
Richard Reeves
I'm not crazy about the Red Sox, either; they're a bunch of shaggy multimillionaires. But I love the game, and like many fans I had a groggy week, staying up too late night after night. So I saw "the play," when Alex Rodriguez deliberately karate-chopped Bronson Arroyo's arm to knock the ball out of his glove in the eighth inning of Game 6. The umpires caught it, which made the game fairer, but so did the cameras, which means A-Rod will look like a bush-leaguer forever.
It's only a game, so they say, but I was struck by the way the game's announcers -- Tim McCarver, Joe Buck and Al Leiter -- handled it. In rough paraphrase, one of them said: "Hey, he was going to be out anyway, so why not take the shot?" One or both of the others agreed.
Welcome to America, 2004. Or 2000 in Florida. It's not how you play the game; it's whether you win or lose. Obviously, this American attitude predates the 21st century, a century off to a lousy start. It's been more than 30 years since Vince Lombardi thrilled Richard Nixon by saying, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
And while I am in a confessional mood, I will alienate anyone who has read this far by saying this: I thought Paul Hamm (news - web sites) should have given back this year's Olympic gold medal for best all-round male gymnast in Athens. The other guy, the South Korean, won the thing fair and square. "Fair and square" -- that's a phrase that was in use when I was a lot younger. You don't claim to be the champion because one judge couldn't add right. Hamm was great and the whole world saw that, but he would have been greater if he ignored all the grown-ups telling him possession is nine-tenths of the law.
So put me down as a girlie man. My favorite quote from the Bush family was by Barbara Bush in her 1990 commencement address at Wellesley College: "At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent."
If her son, the incumbent president, had listened to his mother a bit more, he might not have gotten us into the ongoing mess in Iraq (news - web sites). Or if he listened to his father, victor in the first Gulf War (news - web sites), who defended his decision not to try to conquer Iraq in 1991 by saying: "Whose life would have been on my hands as commander in chief, because I unilaterally went beyond international law, went beyond the stated mission, and said we're going to show our macho? We're going into Baghdad. We're going to be an occupying power -- Americans in an Arab land -- with no allies at our side? It would have been disastrous."
The language of sport and war are linked in all societies. They are related now, I think, and not because George W. Bush was once part-owner of a baseball team, the Texas Rangers. Bush and his ilk like to attack the "entitlement society," meaning the idea that some poor woman is entitled to medical care. But they feel that they and we, Americans, are entitled to impose our will wherever it suits our purposes, as the Yankees are entitled to cheat and so is the U.S. Olympic Committee, because winning is the only thing that matters.
Unfortunately, we are not winning the game we never should have played in Iraq. It is a disaster, and all most of us can do is watch. We are treated as fans. "Support your team ... Support our troops." If George Bush (news - web sites), the younger, is re-elected, or John Kerry (news - web sites) is elected, the cheering will end with a president who will support our troops either by sending more men and weaponry to Iraq or by beginning to bring them home right away. Like the Yankees, we (or at least our military) were good, we were expensive, we won early battles easily. But at least the Yankees got to play at home. In Iraq, we were and are strangers in a strange land -- Americans in an Arab land -- and we cannot win.
(EDITORS: If you have editorial questions, please contact Alan McDermott at amcdermott@amuniversal.com.)-->
Fri Oct 22, 7:44 PM ET
Op/Ed - Richard Reeves
By Richard Reeves
NEW YORK -- I have always hated the Yankees, as does most every kid who grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan. It was not that the Yanks were the winners; it was that we were the losers year after year.
Richard Reeves
I'm not crazy about the Red Sox, either; they're a bunch of shaggy multimillionaires. But I love the game, and like many fans I had a groggy week, staying up too late night after night. So I saw "the play," when Alex Rodriguez deliberately karate-chopped Bronson Arroyo's arm to knock the ball out of his glove in the eighth inning of Game 6. The umpires caught it, which made the game fairer, but so did the cameras, which means A-Rod will look like a bush-leaguer forever.
It's only a game, so they say, but I was struck by the way the game's announcers -- Tim McCarver, Joe Buck and Al Leiter -- handled it. In rough paraphrase, one of them said: "Hey, he was going to be out anyway, so why not take the shot?" One or both of the others agreed.
Welcome to America, 2004. Or 2000 in Florida. It's not how you play the game; it's whether you win or lose. Obviously, this American attitude predates the 21st century, a century off to a lousy start. It's been more than 30 years since Vince Lombardi thrilled Richard Nixon by saying, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
And while I am in a confessional mood, I will alienate anyone who has read this far by saying this: I thought Paul Hamm (news - web sites) should have given back this year's Olympic gold medal for best all-round male gymnast in Athens. The other guy, the South Korean, won the thing fair and square. "Fair and square" -- that's a phrase that was in use when I was a lot younger. You don't claim to be the champion because one judge couldn't add right. Hamm was great and the whole world saw that, but he would have been greater if he ignored all the grown-ups telling him possession is nine-tenths of the law.
So put me down as a girlie man. My favorite quote from the Bush family was by Barbara Bush in her 1990 commencement address at Wellesley College: "At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent."
If her son, the incumbent president, had listened to his mother a bit more, he might not have gotten us into the ongoing mess in Iraq (news - web sites). Or if he listened to his father, victor in the first Gulf War (news - web sites), who defended his decision not to try to conquer Iraq in 1991 by saying: "Whose life would have been on my hands as commander in chief, because I unilaterally went beyond international law, went beyond the stated mission, and said we're going to show our macho? We're going into Baghdad. We're going to be an occupying power -- Americans in an Arab land -- with no allies at our side? It would have been disastrous."
The language of sport and war are linked in all societies. They are related now, I think, and not because George W. Bush was once part-owner of a baseball team, the Texas Rangers. Bush and his ilk like to attack the "entitlement society," meaning the idea that some poor woman is entitled to medical care. But they feel that they and we, Americans, are entitled to impose our will wherever it suits our purposes, as the Yankees are entitled to cheat and so is the U.S. Olympic Committee, because winning is the only thing that matters.
Unfortunately, we are not winning the game we never should have played in Iraq. It is a disaster, and all most of us can do is watch. We are treated as fans. "Support your team ... Support our troops." If George Bush (news - web sites), the younger, is re-elected, or John Kerry (news - web sites) is elected, the cheering will end with a president who will support our troops either by sending more men and weaponry to Iraq or by beginning to bring them home right away. Like the Yankees, we (or at least our military) were good, we were expensive, we won early battles easily. But at least the Yankees got to play at home. In Iraq, we were and are strangers in a strange land -- Americans in an Arab land -- and we cannot win.
(EDITORS: If you have editorial questions, please contact Alan McDermott at amcdermott@amuniversal.com.)-->
Dear Yahoo!:
What's the difference between the Sunni and Shia forms of Islam?
BrianBeaufort, North Carolina
Dear Brian:
The differences between the two sects go deeper than we can describe here, so we recommend you visit the sites listed in the Islam and Shia'ism categories of the Yahoo! Directory. That said, here is a simplified explanation.
Up to 90% of all Muslims follow the Sunni tradition, making it the largest branch of Islam. The name Sunni comes from the Arabic sunnah, meaning the custom or example of the prophet Muhammad. By the 10th century, Muslim theology was codified into the Sunni tradition.
But even before that time, there were splinter groups, and the largest of these was the Shia tradition. "Shia" comes from the Arabic phrase shi'at 'Ali, which means the partisans of Ali. Ali was the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, and Shias believe that he was the prophet's rightful successor. Ali ruled as the fourth caliph (leader) after Muhammad, but he was assassinated in 661.
The matter of leadership evolved into the Shia institution of the Imamate, a spiritual leader followers considered chosen by God. Ali was the first of the 12 most important Imams, and Shias regularly visit the shrines of the Imams. Sunnis have Imams too, but these men are more like prayer leaders and scholars, and they don't hold the same religious or political authority as Shia imams.
Shia Muslims also interpret some verses of the Quran (the holy book of Islam) differently than do Sunnis. Suffering and martyrdom are idealized more in Shia tradition than Sunni, and the sects hold varying views on divine justice and free will. Shia'ism has its own call to prayer, prayer forms, and ritual practices as well.
Despite the variations, Shias and Sunnis all believe in the Five Pillars of Islam, which are the basic tenets of the religion. Most Shias and Sunnis consider each other Muslims, although ethnic and political issues may divide them.
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What's the difference between the Sunni and Shia forms of Islam?
BrianBeaufort, North Carolina
Dear Brian:
The differences between the two sects go deeper than we can describe here, so we recommend you visit the sites listed in the Islam and Shia'ism categories of the Yahoo! Directory. That said, here is a simplified explanation.
Up to 90% of all Muslims follow the Sunni tradition, making it the largest branch of Islam. The name Sunni comes from the Arabic sunnah, meaning the custom or example of the prophet Muhammad. By the 10th century, Muslim theology was codified into the Sunni tradition.
But even before that time, there were splinter groups, and the largest of these was the Shia tradition. "Shia" comes from the Arabic phrase shi'at 'Ali, which means the partisans of Ali. Ali was the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, and Shias believe that he was the prophet's rightful successor. Ali ruled as the fourth caliph (leader) after Muhammad, but he was assassinated in 661.
The matter of leadership evolved into the Shia institution of the Imamate, a spiritual leader followers considered chosen by God. Ali was the first of the 12 most important Imams, and Shias regularly visit the shrines of the Imams. Sunnis have Imams too, but these men are more like prayer leaders and scholars, and they don't hold the same religious or political authority as Shia imams.
Shia Muslims also interpret some verses of the Quran (the holy book of Islam) differently than do Sunnis. Suffering and martyrdom are idealized more in Shia tradition than Sunni, and the sects hold varying views on divine justice and free will. Shia'ism has its own call to prayer, prayer forms, and ritual practices as well.
Despite the variations, Shias and Sunnis all believe in the Five Pillars of Islam, which are the basic tenets of the religion. Most Shias and Sunnis consider each other Muslims, although ethnic and political issues may divide them.
Email this page - View most popular
Related Links
·
Infoplease Almanac: Religion
·
Y! Full Coverage: Religion
More Questions About
·
Religion & Spirituality
Get Ask Your Way
·
·
My Yahoo!
·
Yahoo! Companion
·
RSS
Copyright © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Copyright Policy
Typhoon Tokage produces record eight-story wave in Japan
Sat Oct 23, 9:06 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Typhoon Tokage produced the biggest wave ever recorded in Japan as its rampaged across the country this week, claiming nearly 80 lives, the government said.
AFP/File Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Typhoons
The 24-meter-high (80-foot) wave, the size of an eight-story building, was monitored off the port of Muroto on the southern island of Shikoku on Wednesday, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.
It was the highest wave recorded in the country since the ministry started monitoring wave heights in 1970.
The previous record was 20 meters in a wave monitored off Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu when another typhoon roared by in August.
The ministry said that the average height of waves monitored in a 20-minute period as the typhoon struck on Wednesday was 13.55 meters (45 feet). The waves were recorded by an underwater monitoring point about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) offshore.
Towering waves crushed a sea wall and 14 houses at Muroto, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) southwest of Tokyo, killing three people there.
The National Police Agency said late Saturday that 79 people had been confirmed dead from the typhoon with 12 others missing and 299 injured.
Sat Oct 23, 9:06 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Typhoon Tokage produced the biggest wave ever recorded in Japan as its rampaged across the country this week, claiming nearly 80 lives, the government said.
AFP/File Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Typhoons
The 24-meter-high (80-foot) wave, the size of an eight-story building, was monitored off the port of Muroto on the southern island of Shikoku on Wednesday, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.
It was the highest wave recorded in the country since the ministry started monitoring wave heights in 1970.
The previous record was 20 meters in a wave monitored off Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu when another typhoon roared by in August.
The ministry said that the average height of waves monitored in a 20-minute period as the typhoon struck on Wednesday was 13.55 meters (45 feet). The waves were recorded by an underwater monitoring point about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) offshore.
Towering waves crushed a sea wall and 14 houses at Muroto, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) southwest of Tokyo, killing three people there.
The National Police Agency said late Saturday that 79 people had been confirmed dead from the typhoon with 12 others missing and 299 injured.
Where does this madness end. What is the benefit to the American people as a whole? Who is paying the price for all this death and destruction. How is the United States any more secure for having invaded Iraq, and what was the justification for lying to the American people about the conditions on the ground in Iraq before the war was begun?
How can anyone in their right mind return this President to office after the bold face lies and misrepresentations that he has repeatedly regurgitated on the campaign trail.?
Unless we send a strong message that this behavior on the part of our leaders is unwarrented and unforgivable, the future of our country is dark and frightening. Much more so than any terrorist threat, real or imagined.
22 Dead in Iraq Blasts; Ambush Wounds 6
1 hour, 48 minutes ago
By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Suicide bombers struck Iraqi security targets Saturday north and west of Baghdad, killing 22 Iraqis, officials said. Six U.S. soldiers were wounded in an ambush on the road to Baghdad airport — one of the country's most dangerous routes.
AP Photo
AP Photo
Slideshow: Iraq
Latest headlines:
·
When worlds collide U.S. News & World Report - 9 minutes ago
·
Soviets Might Be Around if Kerry Had Led - Cheney Reuters - 18 minutes ago
·
Bloody day for Iraq's security forces as Zarqawi aide captured AFP - 28 minutes ago
Special Coverage
Elsewhere, the U.S. military announced the arrest of what it said was a newly promoted senior leader in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror movement — taken into custody during an early-morning raid near Fallujah.
At least 16 Iraqi policemen were killed and 40 others were wounded when a suicide driver detonated his car at a police station near a U.S. Marine base in Khan al-Baghdadi, 140 miles west of the capital, according to police. No Americans were hurt in the 7 a.m. attack, the U.S. military said.
A second suicide driver killed four guardsmen and injured six others in an attack Saturday near an Iraqi National Guard checkpoint in Ishaqi, 6 miles south of Samarra, police said. Another two guardsmen were killed in a convoy attack in the northern part of the city.
The six American soldiers were injured when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol about 7:15 a.m. on the main road linking Baghdad International Airport with the city center. One armored vehicle was destroyed but none of the soldiers received life-threatening injuries, the U.S military said.
Insurgent attacks have increased by 25 percent across the country since the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began last weekend. Most of the recent attacks have been by car and roadside bombs.
The purported al-Zarqawi aide was arrested along with five other people in a pre-dawn raid outside Fallujah, the military said. The person's name was not released, but a U.S. statement said the individual had risen in rank as other al-Zarqawi associates had been killed in U.S. attacks on Fallujah.
Fallujah residents identified those arrested as Abdel-Hamid Fiyadh, 50, his sons Walid, 18, and Majid, 25, and three relatives. Relatives insisted the men had nothing to do with al-Zarqawi.
Al-Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for numerous beheadings of hostages — including Americans — and suicide car bombings, including recent twin bombings inside Baghdad's Green Zone, where the U.S. and Iraqi leadership are housed.
A videotape posted Saturday on Islamic Web sites showed Iraqi militants claiming to have beheaded a man who said he worked for the U.S. military in the northern city of Mosul for the past year. The man, who identified himself as Seif Adnan Kanaan, said he fixed vehicles and delivered beverages to U.S. forces based at Mosul airport.
The killing was claimed by the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, which claims to have killed at least 14 other hostages.
Also Saturday, the husband of the kidnapped director of CARE International's operations in Iraq (news - web sites) appealed for her release. Margaret Hassan, 59, who has British, Irish and Iraqi citizenship, was seized Tuesday in western Baghdad. On Friday, she made an emotional televised plea to British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) to save her life by withdrawing his country's troops from Iraq.
On Saturday, her Iraqi husband, Tahseen Ali Hassan, begged for the kidnappers to free her "in the name of Islam."
"It hurts to watch my wife cry," Tahseen Hassan said on Al-Arabiya television. "This scene has saddened and worried her friends and loved ones. I plead with you, in the name of Islam and Arabism — while we are in the most sacred Islamic month — that my wife and beloved return to me."
The secretary-general of CARE International made his own appeal Saturday.
"She is a naturalized Iraqi citizen and always holds the people of Iraq in her heart," Denis Caillaux said. "CARE joins with many of the people whose lives Mrs. Hassan has touched over her decades of service in Iraq in reaching out to her captors to appeal to their humanity."
Militants have kidnapped at least seven other foreign women over the past six months, and all were released. By contrast, at least 33 foreign male hostages have been killed, including three Americans beheaded by their captors.
In other developments Saturday:
_ A mortar round landed in a central Baghdad neighborhood, killing two people and injuring one.
_ An unexploded mortar was found inside Japan's military base in Samawah. It was the first such incident since hundreds of Japanese troops arrived on a humanitarian mission, a Japanese official said. There were no injuries.
_ Gunmen opened fire on a convoy of Turkish trucks in Mosul, killing two drivers — a Turk and a Yugoslav — and wounding two others, hospital and police officials said. The attack occurred about noon in the city center.
How can anyone in their right mind return this President to office after the bold face lies and misrepresentations that he has repeatedly regurgitated on the campaign trail.?
Unless we send a strong message that this behavior on the part of our leaders is unwarrented and unforgivable, the future of our country is dark and frightening. Much more so than any terrorist threat, real or imagined.
22 Dead in Iraq Blasts; Ambush Wounds 6
1 hour, 48 minutes ago
By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Suicide bombers struck Iraqi security targets Saturday north and west of Baghdad, killing 22 Iraqis, officials said. Six U.S. soldiers were wounded in an ambush on the road to Baghdad airport — one of the country's most dangerous routes.
AP Photo
AP Photo
Slideshow: Iraq
Latest headlines:
·
When worlds collide U.S. News & World Report - 9 minutes ago
·
Soviets Might Be Around if Kerry Had Led - Cheney Reuters - 18 minutes ago
·
Bloody day for Iraq's security forces as Zarqawi aide captured AFP - 28 minutes ago
Special Coverage
Elsewhere, the U.S. military announced the arrest of what it said was a newly promoted senior leader in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror movement — taken into custody during an early-morning raid near Fallujah.
At least 16 Iraqi policemen were killed and 40 others were wounded when a suicide driver detonated his car at a police station near a U.S. Marine base in Khan al-Baghdadi, 140 miles west of the capital, according to police. No Americans were hurt in the 7 a.m. attack, the U.S. military said.
A second suicide driver killed four guardsmen and injured six others in an attack Saturday near an Iraqi National Guard checkpoint in Ishaqi, 6 miles south of Samarra, police said. Another two guardsmen were killed in a convoy attack in the northern part of the city.
The six American soldiers were injured when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol about 7:15 a.m. on the main road linking Baghdad International Airport with the city center. One armored vehicle was destroyed but none of the soldiers received life-threatening injuries, the U.S military said.
Insurgent attacks have increased by 25 percent across the country since the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began last weekend. Most of the recent attacks have been by car and roadside bombs.
The purported al-Zarqawi aide was arrested along with five other people in a pre-dawn raid outside Fallujah, the military said. The person's name was not released, but a U.S. statement said the individual had risen in rank as other al-Zarqawi associates had been killed in U.S. attacks on Fallujah.
Fallujah residents identified those arrested as Abdel-Hamid Fiyadh, 50, his sons Walid, 18, and Majid, 25, and three relatives. Relatives insisted the men had nothing to do with al-Zarqawi.
Al-Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for numerous beheadings of hostages — including Americans — and suicide car bombings, including recent twin bombings inside Baghdad's Green Zone, where the U.S. and Iraqi leadership are housed.
A videotape posted Saturday on Islamic Web sites showed Iraqi militants claiming to have beheaded a man who said he worked for the U.S. military in the northern city of Mosul for the past year. The man, who identified himself as Seif Adnan Kanaan, said he fixed vehicles and delivered beverages to U.S. forces based at Mosul airport.
The killing was claimed by the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, which claims to have killed at least 14 other hostages.
Also Saturday, the husband of the kidnapped director of CARE International's operations in Iraq (news - web sites) appealed for her release. Margaret Hassan, 59, who has British, Irish and Iraqi citizenship, was seized Tuesday in western Baghdad. On Friday, she made an emotional televised plea to British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) to save her life by withdrawing his country's troops from Iraq.
On Saturday, her Iraqi husband, Tahseen Ali Hassan, begged for the kidnappers to free her "in the name of Islam."
"It hurts to watch my wife cry," Tahseen Hassan said on Al-Arabiya television. "This scene has saddened and worried her friends and loved ones. I plead with you, in the name of Islam and Arabism — while we are in the most sacred Islamic month — that my wife and beloved return to me."
The secretary-general of CARE International made his own appeal Saturday.
"She is a naturalized Iraqi citizen and always holds the people of Iraq in her heart," Denis Caillaux said. "CARE joins with many of the people whose lives Mrs. Hassan has touched over her decades of service in Iraq in reaching out to her captors to appeal to their humanity."
Militants have kidnapped at least seven other foreign women over the past six months, and all were released. By contrast, at least 33 foreign male hostages have been killed, including three Americans beheaded by their captors.
In other developments Saturday:
_ A mortar round landed in a central Baghdad neighborhood, killing two people and injuring one.
_ An unexploded mortar was found inside Japan's military base in Samawah. It was the first such incident since hundreds of Japanese troops arrived on a humanitarian mission, a Japanese official said. There were no injuries.
_ Gunmen opened fire on a convoy of Turkish trucks in Mosul, killing two drivers — a Turk and a Yugoslav — and wounding two others, hospital and police officials said. The attack occurred about noon in the city center.
Excited Boston Ready to 'Play Ball'
Sat Oct 23,11:55 AM ET
By Steve Keating
BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston was tingling with anticipation on Saturday as the Red Sox prepared to host Game One of the World Series (news - web sites) against the St. Louis Cardinals (news) and take a step toward ridding themselves of a hex that has hung over the team for eight decades.
Reuters Photo
Long-suffering fans, some of whom had paid thousands of dollars for a ticket, began to make their way to Fenway Park hoping to see the Red Sox attempt to claim their first World Series since 1918.
But dulling the festive atmosphere will be the presence of over 800 police and riot squad officers in a bid to prevent a repeat of the violence that marred the celebrations following the Red Sox historic American League Championship Series win over the Yankees.
Journalism student Victoria Snelgrove was killed when she was struck in the eye by a pepper-spray pellet fired by police officers attempting to disperse the rampaging crowd.
"If we have to execute mass arrests, they'll have buses and vans and tactical officers available," Boston police commissioner Kathleen O'Toole told the Boston Globe. "We need to send a very strong message to the potential troublemakers that we're there in force."
City officials had considered banning the sale of alcohol during World Series Games but instead have imposed other measures including banning television cameras from bars in and around Fenway Park and asking owners to reduce waiting lines.
Several Red Sox players, including pitcher Curt Schilling and slugger David Ortiz, have appeared on television and radio appealing to fans to refrain from violence,
The Red Sox have brought their fans to the brink of a World Series championship before only to leave them crushed and heartbroken, each defeat adding to a curse said to hang over the team since 1920 when owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
Since that ill-fated deal, the Red Sox have not won the Fall Classic while the Yankees piled up 26 titles.
But ever-optimistic Red Sox supporters believe things will be different this time after Boston staged the greatest comeback in Major League history erasing a 3-0 series deficit to vanquish New York in seven games and clinch the American League pennant.
Divide seen in voter knowledge
By Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Correspondent October 22, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Supporters of President Bush are less knowledgeable about the president's foreign policy positions and are more likely to be mistaken about factual issues in world affairs than voters who back John F. Kerry, a survey released yesterday indicated.
A large majority of self-identified Bush voters polled believe Saddam Hussein provided "substantial support" to Al Qaeda, and 47 percent believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the US invasion. Among the president's supporters, 57 percent queried think international public opinion favors Bush's reelection, and 51 percent believe that most Islamic countries support "US-led efforts to fight terrorism."
No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, the Sept. 11 Commission found no evidence of substantial Iraqi support for Al Qaeda, and international public opinion polls have shown widespread opposition to Bush's reelection.
In contrast, among Kerry supporters polled only 26 percent think Iraq had such weapons, 30 percent say Iraq was linked to Al Qaeda, and 1 percent said foreign public opinion favors Bush.
The polls results, said Steven Kull, the head of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which conducted the survey, showed that Americans are so polarized two weeks before the election that many lack even a common understanding of the facts.
"It is rather unique the extent to which we have different perceptions of reality," Kull said.
On other international issues, the survey found that around 70 percent of Bush supporters responding believe that the president supports participation in the land mine treaty and the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, and a narrower majority believes he supports the International Criminal Court and Kyoto Accords. In fact, Bush opposes all four treaties.
Kerry supporters correctly identified their candidate's position on every foreign policy issue in the survey except defense spending. Only 43 percent of the Democrat's supporters know he wants to keep the Pentagon budget at the same level rather than cut or expand it.
The survey was conducted in three waves, Sept. 3-7, Sept. 8-12, and Oct. 12-18, by the polling firm Knowledge Networks. The poll's margin of error is between 3.2 and 4 percent.
Kull said it is common for voters to tailor their views on particular issues to those of the candidate they favor overall, but the extent to which Bush supporters are filtering out news from Iraq that might reflect poorly on the president is unprecedented.
According to the survey, the difference doesn't reflect lack of access to information about Iraq.
The poll found that perceptions did not vary significantly by level of education among those who plan to vote for Bush.
And many of the Bush voters surveyed knew that the Duelfer report said Hussein had no WMDs, but continue to believe that he did regardless.
Kull suggested the dissonance among Bush voters reflects the country's difficulty coming to grips with the discrediting of the rationale for the Iraq war.
"This period will really stand out as when the US went to war on assumptions that turned out to be incorrect," he said. "The body politic is still struggling to come to terms with that."
© Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
By Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Correspondent October 22, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Supporters of President Bush are less knowledgeable about the president's foreign policy positions and are more likely to be mistaken about factual issues in world affairs than voters who back John F. Kerry, a survey released yesterday indicated.
A large majority of self-identified Bush voters polled believe Saddam Hussein provided "substantial support" to Al Qaeda, and 47 percent believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the US invasion. Among the president's supporters, 57 percent queried think international public opinion favors Bush's reelection, and 51 percent believe that most Islamic countries support "US-led efforts to fight terrorism."
No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, the Sept. 11 Commission found no evidence of substantial Iraqi support for Al Qaeda, and international public opinion polls have shown widespread opposition to Bush's reelection.
In contrast, among Kerry supporters polled only 26 percent think Iraq had such weapons, 30 percent say Iraq was linked to Al Qaeda, and 1 percent said foreign public opinion favors Bush.
The polls results, said Steven Kull, the head of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which conducted the survey, showed that Americans are so polarized two weeks before the election that many lack even a common understanding of the facts.
"It is rather unique the extent to which we have different perceptions of reality," Kull said.
On other international issues, the survey found that around 70 percent of Bush supporters responding believe that the president supports participation in the land mine treaty and the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, and a narrower majority believes he supports the International Criminal Court and Kyoto Accords. In fact, Bush opposes all four treaties.
Kerry supporters correctly identified their candidate's position on every foreign policy issue in the survey except defense spending. Only 43 percent of the Democrat's supporters know he wants to keep the Pentagon budget at the same level rather than cut or expand it.
The survey was conducted in three waves, Sept. 3-7, Sept. 8-12, and Oct. 12-18, by the polling firm Knowledge Networks. The poll's margin of error is between 3.2 and 4 percent.
Kull said it is common for voters to tailor their views on particular issues to those of the candidate they favor overall, but the extent to which Bush supporters are filtering out news from Iraq that might reflect poorly on the president is unprecedented.
According to the survey, the difference doesn't reflect lack of access to information about Iraq.
The poll found that perceptions did not vary significantly by level of education among those who plan to vote for Bush.
And many of the Bush voters surveyed knew that the Duelfer report said Hussein had no WMDs, but continue to believe that he did regardless.
Kull suggested the dissonance among Bush voters reflects the country's difficulty coming to grips with the discrediting of the rationale for the Iraq war.
"This period will really stand out as when the US went to war on assumptions that turned out to be incorrect," he said. "The body politic is still struggling to come to terms with that."
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