Private e-mail fuels Cole-Hitchens slapfight

We don't even want to touch the heated political discussions that have surfaced in the wake of journalist Christopher Hitchens' attack on Juan Cole, a University of Michigan history professor and critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East.

But from a technology-focused vantage point, we can't help but note the related ethical question about his publishing of a private e-mail not even addressed to him. Hitchens, in an article on Slate, reams Cole for an e-mail he wrote in April to the "Gulf 2000" discussion group stating, among other things, that Iran President Mahmoud "Ahmadinejad did not 'threaten' to 'wipe Israel off the map.'"

Hitchens, who is not a member of Gulf 2000, cites an example to the contrary and dismisses Cole as "a minor nuisance on the fringes of the academic Muslim apologist community."

But Cole, in his own blog, quickly shot back by pointing out Gulf 2000's "no-forwarding" e-mail rule and questioning Hitchens' journalistic and ethical integrity for attacking him over an e-mail taken out of the context from a discussion group where people "make mistakes and they get corrected." Cole added that Hitchens' never contacted him for clarification or asked permission to publish the quote.

In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Hitchens maintained that any ethical problems lie with the person who sent him the e-mail and said he has "the right to keep an eye on a website that circulates gross professional slanders and libels against me..."

And you thought there was bad blood between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

Blog community response:

"It's embarassing enough that Slate continues to publish the discredited Hitchens. The far right is already doing a St. Vitus dance over Cole's potential appointment to a Yale history chair, and now Slate has handed them an article full of typical Hitchens (bull) with which to bludgeon him."
--firedoglake

"Leaving aside the merits of the various arguments, Hitchens truly is entertaining on the offensive, and never more so than in this interview with Hugh Hewitt."
--Big Tent

"Worsening matters, it seems Hitchens took out parts of Cole's email, and further discussions in the group, that clarify the point and eventually contradict Hitchens weirdo assertion. Rather than be an 'apologist' for Ahmadinejad, Cole is pretty darn rough on the guy. And unlike Hitchens, he doesn't rely on bullshit to make his points against the Iranian President."
--Spittle and Ink

"Oh, the delight I felt when I saw my main man the Hitch was having a go at the good Professor Cole! It warms the heart."
--Decision 08

[newsterl]

"small bus transporting disabled passengers Thursday, killing four people in the bus,"

Does that mean they are no longer disabled?


"The highway patrol said the crash is still under investigation and would not say whether it was weather-related."

Oh well duh, icey roads, blizzard snow, winds, the truck slides sideways and jacknifes, but no, that cant be weather related!

[springfieldohio]

I have to agree with WiseAsOwl. People dont have a clue on what the interstates were developed for. They were put in place for commercial trucks transporting the goods that people take for granate everyday. Yes there is some pretty bad truck drivers out there and there is a lot more in cars. If you look at the numbers, more people are killed by inexperienced drivers then professional drivers. So for anyone that wants to start pointing the finger at the truck driver thinking he was in the wrong then why dont you get the facts first.

[springfieldohio]

I live here in Springfield Ohio and I know one of the ladies that was in the accident. I learned of this just as I was leaving work and I am very sad to hear that four families lost a loved one. I live only 3 miles from this accident and every year i hear of this happening. I cant blame the truck driver because i dont know what went wrong but I still feel sorry for him because he now has to live with that on his mind for the rest of his life. I drive a semi and I know that when you are not carring a load it is even more dangerous then being loaded because you dont have as much traction. This is such a big loss for this community and I know everyone will be there for the families and fellow emploee's

[toldyouso21]

My family and I were in a similar incident last year. The driver fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the median and headed over a ravine, as he neared he swerved and his semi almost tipped over, the truck then swung sideways and came kareening down the highway straight at us. For some reason, my husband decided instead of staying put or even backing up, to gun it and he headed right for the truck. We were in a van. My daughter was screaming and I turned to my husband and asked "Why did you do that?"

the van was about 2 feet away from the front part of the truck when we barely made it past and he kept on swinging in back in the median and totally jack-knifed. We stopped our car (no need to worry about traffic, the back end of the truck blocked both lanes) and tried to see if the driver was ok. He would not get out of the truck and kept going to the back and grinning sheepishly.
finally another trucker from the opposite direction came over and the guy rolled his window down and said he had fallen asleep and only woke up in time to keep from going over the ravine.

If he had hit us, we most likely would all have been killed. I called 911. Personally, I think the guy was on something. I base this on the fact that despite the horrific near miss, he kept grinning and he kept going into the back part of his cab and would not get out--but insisted he was alright. We stayed out there for almost 1/2 an hour and he never would leave the cab but kept leaving our sight.

I asked the other driver what he could possibly be doing and he shrugged and said he did not know. I think he was trying to hide or get rid of something--whatever the case, the memory is still with us and now, whenever we pull up next to a semi or one is barrelling toward us, even when divided by a median--I tense and try to get away as soon as I can.

In 1986, a friend of mine was sideswiped by a semi changing lane who did not see them. of the 4 in their car, 2 were killed and my friend was horribly burned. This was a horrific tragedy and I can only imagine the split second horror of it. (We thought we were goners when we barely missed our semi)

I hope this was just ice, but I would not be surprised if the trucker was either sleep or high on something also. Too bad truckers and huge SUVs are not provided roads and routes just for them while the rest of us, use the ordinary highways. For that matter, too bad, huge SUVs aren't provided designated parking spaces so the rest of us can see to back out when at the malls or other places with tight spaces.

[WiseAsOwl]

Now, now.. He had a potentially terrible accident.. The guy was probably going back into his sleeper to clean his britches some more... It's VERY possible that he lost control by avoiding killing some doh-doh that did a boo-boo right in front of him.. I used to keep track of the number of people that I "didn't kill that day". People who were hard to avoid killing.. Some of you folks drive like you have some kind of death wish.. Those truck drivers you seem to dislike, even the worst ones, are more professional than you or yours ever thought of being.. Okay.. I confess.. There's a bad apple here and there...There are getting to be more and more 6-week wonders (graduates of truck driving school) out on the road. But, let me tell you... That highway that you think you ought to have all to yourself is more for the purpose of commercial transportation than for your little pop-fart car to go to Grandma's house in.. The trucks would like to have their own highway, too, to get away from stupid 4-wheelers.. BUT, in proportion, the truck pays much, much more in road taxes than you and contributes more total money than 50 to 100 more like you put together.. Anywhere from 5000 to 10,000 dollars a year just for road taxes alone.. How much do you pay?? You and your kind can't support your own highway without truckers' revenue.. Let me tell you... The trucks will be there long after you've come and gone.... By the way...Have you hugged your local truck driver, today??? Without him you would starve to death, if you didn't freeze to death first....

[newsterl]

By WiseAsAss;
"You and your kind can't support your own highway without truckers' revenue.. Let me tell you..."

Let me tell you, theres more of USE lowly car drivers nationwide than there are truck drivers!

Let me tell you that your trucks are the ones doing the most DAMAGE and wear and tear to those roads pounding the pavement and the bridges to hel1 with 50k truck loads, you are paying more because you are on the road more hours, more heavy loads, more miles, and doing much more damage than the guy driving to grandma's in Volkswagen.

Your $10,000 a year goes to pay for road REPAIRS, weigh stations and staff and much more required because otherwise you all would load them trucks up till the axles bend and drive over bridges rated to hold 1/3 what you have in them trucks. Lets not forget the trucks who crash into overhangs and bridges because they didnt read the height signs!
Ever price a bridge or overpass lately? ever price what each lineal foot of pavement COSTS?

Paving a residential street for example, from gravel to asphalt, 20 ft wide in the city of ALbermarle N.C costs each homeowner on the street $14.28 per foot per SIDE. I would state interstate highways cost more than that $1 + a square foot, so your $10,000 in fees would hardly pave 8,000 square feet of highway. Since lanes are 12 ft wide, 2 lanes, thats 24 sq feet for every lineal foot of highway. So at best your fees repave maybe 300 feet of highway.

[mari1963]

I hope that truck driver didn't fall asleep behind the wheel or was impaired in anyway. When irresponsible truck drivers kill people it is infuriating! And most of the time the truck driver walks away unhurt.

[consh8theusa]

I wonder how long before some neo-con comes on here blaming Obama?

[nowhiningallowed]

The tragedy would have been a tragedy regardless of the fact that those killed were disabled. The loss of life is what matters, not their age, gender, race, physical condition, etc.

[I_am_me1953]

True enough, but for me it is a little more tragic. I do work/education for these same kinds of people. I really hurts.

I do hope and pray everyone else in this accident will make it. But the survivors may have years of emotional problems, some don't have all the faculities to handle this kind of trauma.

[sjc_1]

This is a very sad story. Those people may have done nothing to cause the accident, but it happened. Truckers know that slick icy roads call for more cautious driving, but their employers tell them to speed it up and make more runs. The deaths of those people is tragic.