pissing match

So let me see if I have this right. Bush demands that the Taliban turn over bin Laden (presumably for trial), the Taliban says they want to see evidence first, and Bush says that's not good enough? It sounds like a perfectly reasonable expectation to me: show us what you have on him and we'll give him to you, and if not, not. After all, weren't we going to go through at least the pretence of a trial if we got him? Wouldn't that require evidence?

I expected a long, protracted argument about what was considered good-enough evidence. But Bush is bypassing that question entirely. This reminds me so much of the schoolyard bully whose only argument was "because I say so". Hmpf.

What he's doing is making the validity of our grievances against various folks completely irrelevant by his bad behavior. It will end up not mattering if bin Laden was behind it; we'll go after him the wrong way and the world will judge against us for it. The whole "turn over bin Laden" thing is just a ruse to set up a fight Bush wants to have regardless. I resent that.

caffeine

I've been tryng to gradually reduce caffeine intake for the last few days, with the goal of getting through Yom Kippur (25-hour complete fast) without a caffeine headache. Last year I had to take one Advil; I'm hoping to do better this year. I'm currently at the point of alternating units of caffeine with units of non-caffeine, so here it is almost noon and I'm only partway through my second can of Diet Pepsi. This is pretty good.

You may wonder why I don't just keep myself caffeine-free after Yom Kippur instead of drinking a couple of liters at the break-fast meal. The answer is that I seem to be unable to maintain a caffeine-free existence for the long haul without undesirable tradeoffs (like those withdrawal headaches, and sleeping too much). But it's ok; I'm comfortable with my current addiction. I would prefer to be able to get my caffeine without being accompanied by either sugar or nutrisweet; I've heard that someone is now selling just plain water with caffeine, but I haven't found it yet. (No-Doz is too concentrated, and I loathe the taste of coffee. Hot tea doesn't get it into the bloodstream quickly enough, and iced tea I would have to make myself because no one sells it in cans/bottles without some sort of sweetener.)

Ah, the challenges of addiction-management.