ufomen

Two bizarre explanations for the Columbia accident: an Azerbaijan expert claims that it was
crushed by a UFO, and Camille Paglia claims that it's a stunning omen:

Anyone who thinks symbolically had to be shocked by the explosion of the Columbia shuttle, disintegrating in the air and strewing its parts and human remains over Texas -- the president's home state! So many times in antiquity, the emperors of Persia or other proud empires went to the oracles to ask for advice about going to war. Roman generals summoned soothsayers to read the entrails before a battle. If there was ever a sign for a president and his administration to rethink what they're doing, this was it. I mean, no sooner had Bush announced that the war was "weeks, not months" away and gone off for a peaceful weekend at Camp David than this catastrophe occurred in the skies over Texas.

To be fair, I agree with much of the rest of what she has to say, that religious fanatacism is a vastly more dangerous problem than Iraq. But claiming that Columbia is a foreboding omen is kind of wacko, even for Camille. It's nice to see her back in Salon, though, even if it's not a return of her regular column.

Posted by EzraBall at February 10, 2003 03:56 PM