25 most recent entries:
Changing Winds (Nov 23 2008 17:51 GMT)
Winds of Change mission statement 2.0: What challenges will face the U.S., the West, the rest of the world that aren't being discussed everywhere every day?
TAREK VERSUS TARIQ (Nov 23 2008 08:27 GMT)
by Valentina Colombo. ?I am fully ready to have a public debate with Tariq Ramadan to make it patently clear that the man does not know 1% of what a world-class scholar must know.? The challenge comes from an another Tarek, the Egyptian intellectual Tarek Heggy. When you tell Heggy about the expansion of Islamic extremism in Europe, but most of all when you pronounce Ramadan?
Turkey (Nov 21 2008 20:09 GMT)
I'd bookmarked this to blog, finally got some time, and discovered that Ann Althouse had written pretty much word for word what I intended to write: Deal with it, you candy-asses. If you eat meat, something like that is going on in the background for you too.
Hoder in Jail in Iran (Nov 20 2008 22:32 GMT)
Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan has been arrested by Iranian security (h/t Harry's Place). Hoder - as he was widely known in the blogs is another OG blogger who has lived in Canada for some time to keep himself out of the hands of the Iranian police. While anti-mullah, he's resolutely pro-Iranian, and we've actually knocked heads a bit on that. The Guardian writes: A prominent Iranian blogger has been arrested in Tehran and accused of spying for Israel after visiting the country with the aim of being "a bridge between Iranian and Israeli people".
Project Valour-IT (Nov 19 2008 19:31 GMT)
Update: We need more donors!! Donate, comment, and recognize that you're doing a Really Good Thing. Even before I had a soldier of my own, I've been a big supporter of Soldier's Angels, the peer-to-peer organization that allows each of us to support the men and women of our military. They are the kind of organization that is a no-brainer to get behind, regardless of your politics - because it's about providing support to the soldiers and their families.
Obama's Web 2.0 Communication Strategy (Nov 19 2008 02:42 GMT)
You'd think that the party with a massively biased media dead-set against it might be the one doing the most innovation in terms of new channels and approaches. You'd be wrong, of course. The GOP leadership still sees the Internet as a cheaper way to send pres releases, with partial research materials sent as a concession to bloggers. I have yet to see anything approaching a party communication and mobilization strategy for the GOP itself, let alone outreach beyond its base or input into the communication and policy process. Obama led in all these areas, and this MarketingVOX piece talks about their continuation into governance, alongside the immediately-available "change.
The Next Tech Boom? (Nov 19 2008 01:34 GMT)
In "The Next Tech Boom is Underway," Greg Ness says it may be something much more prosaic and fundamental than the clean tech startups attracting so much venture capital money these days: "Until the current network evolves into a more dynamic infrastructure, all bets are off on the payoffs of pretty much every major IT initiative on the horizon today, including cost-cutting measures that would be employed in order to shrink operating costs without shrinking the network.... even with the simple act of managing an enterprise network?s IP addresses, which is critical to the availability and proper functioning of the network, expense and labor requirements actually go up as IP addresses are added. As TCP/IP continues to spread and take productivity to new heights, management costs are already escalating....
Prince Charles: Defender Of Nothing In Particular (Nov 18 2008 05:46 GMT)
This post is inspired by fiona patten's comment (link): "Yep we [the Australian Sex Party] are not going to be all things to all people- but hopefully we can make some positive change." Prince Charles, who will in time be King of Australia as he will be of the United Kingdom, wants to take the opposite tack. He wanted to be Defender of Faiths when he becomes King, rather than Defender of the Faith, that is, a particular faith (originally the Roman Catholic faith). That proved controversial, particularly with the Church that he would be the formal head of, but no longer the defender of.
The Australian Sex Party (Nov 17 2008 15:11 GMT)
The Australian Sex Party is online (link). In the context of preferential voting and proportional representation in the Senate, this could become a viable little protest party. Or rather an anti-protest, anti-pressure group party. It's appeal is straightforward: "If you're sick of religious and anti-sex politicians like Steve Fielding, Brian Harradine and Fred Nile threatening to block legislation in the Senate and State Upper Houses unless they get their way on sex and gender issues, vote for someone who understands this rort.
The Prisons of the Arab Mind. (Nov 17 2008 09:10 GMT)
I have been studying the Arab mindset for the last four decades from several perspectives. For a start, I myself am a product of this Arabic-speaking region and was able to study the phenomenon from the perspective of an 'insider' as it were, as well as from my vantage point as a researcher who has had twenty books published in Arabic and English (including five devoted exclusively to the Arab mindset and Arab culture). I also had the opportunity to interact with the Arab mindset and culture from a different angle during my years as chairman & CEO of a multinational oil company in the Arab region, when I worked in close proximity with the end product of Arab culture, so to speak ? the Arabic-speaking worker in the work environment.
Well, Solar Works, I Guess... (Nov 17 2008 03:01 GMT)
...that's not my heavy breathing in the background, it's windy as heck (which is why the fires were so much trouble).
Almost Solar (Nov 14 2008 16:52 GMT)
The panels are up and connected. We're waiting for the final city inspection and then we'll throw the (very large) switches. At $68/month it's a screaming deal. I'll post more as the system comes online. ...
John McCain as George W. Bush's Third Term of Office (Nov 12 2008 15:40 GMT)
In retrospect, isn't Barack Obama's charge that electing John McCain meant more of George W. Bush more plausible, now that we see the Republican Party embroiled in a toxic post-defeat fight, and John McCain, the leader of the Republican Party, taking it easy, starting to restore his personal image, and doing nothing either for his party or for his candidate to be Vice-President? Barack Obama was trying to tie John McCain to the "failed policies" of George W. Bush. That wasn't a very good attack.
On My Way to Baghdad (Nov 12 2008 09:39 GMT)
My request to embed with the U.S. Army in Baghdad has been approved, and it turns out that I need to leave a bit earlier than I expected. It will take a while before I actually get there ? I need to be in Kuwait four days in advance for paperwork and ?
Without Comment (Nov 12 2008 03:14 GMT)
Australia and China versus the free Internet (Oct 31 2008 08:39 GMT)
"AUSTRALIA will join China in implementing mandatory censoring of the internet under plans put forward by the Federal Government." (link) "The revelations emerge as US tech giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, and a coalition of human rights and other groups unveiled a code of conduct aimed at safeguarding online freedom of speech and privacy." "The government has declared it will not let internet users opt out of the proposed national internet filter." In doing this, our moderate left government is only carrying on what was begun by the moderate right Howard government. There is nobody to support, if you believe in unfettered free speech on the Internet.
The Times Video Guy (Oct 31 2008 06:27 GMT)
As you doubtless know, the LA Times is sitting on a video of Obama at a Palestinian event honoring Rashid Khalidi, who I now believe has Edward Said's chair at Columbia. Their journalistic integrity precludes them from releasing the video. Yes, I'm being ironic, and yes, I will do something on journalism in light of this and the Nir Rosen story. But for now, I did a tiny bit of digging around, and found a Eric Martin post at American Footprints which included a Juan Cole post which - shockingly! - calls 'racism' in the attacks on Khalidi, and extols this article in the Nation as an example of the kind of good influence he could be on the Middle East.
EMP, Again (Oct 31 2008 05:55 GMT)
There's a lot of chatter about Iranian EMP again (it seems to come back periodically). here's Walid Phares over at the Counterterrorism Blog: Over the past seven months I have been interacting with US Homeland Security and European defense officials and experts on a the potential next threat to the West, more particularly against mainland America. The signature of that strategic menace is EMP: Electro Magnetic Pulse;
Calm Down, People (Oct 31 2008 04:56 GMT)
First of all, the race is still wide open.If I was a more passionate Obama supporter, or if I wasn't putting my tiny bit of energy into a) passing Prop 11, b) defeating Prop 8, and c) passing local Props X and Y here in Torrance - badly-needed school bonds for our local schools which have all passed the date at which they should have been rebuilt - I'd be worried and trying to figure out what I can do. I still believe both that he will and that he should win; but I hear the people who are deeply convinced that he's really Emma Goldman in drag and dark makeup. First, I don't think he is.
Bob Kerry On Obama (Oct 30 2008 20:47 GMT)
In the NY Daily News, former Senator and all-around Good Guy Bob Kerry explains exactly what the model is for an Obama presidency that would make me very happy and comfortable. By my lights, the primary threat to the success of a President Obama will come from some Democrats who, emboldened by the size of their congressional majority, may try to kill trade agreements, raise taxes in ways that will destroy jobs, repeal the Patriot Act and spend and regulate to high heaven. This is where Obama's persona is invaluable. He can withstand the arguments and pressure of the liberal wing in the Democratic caucus if, once elected, he is guided by the best instincts he has displayed on the campaign trail. I believe this is likely because Obama will surround himself with professionals, not ideologues or acolytes.
Your Politics Or Your Job (Oct 30 2008 16:45 GMT)
So here's something that caught my eye. Dan Cooper makes beautiful hunting rifles in Montana. Like most gun people, he's been a Republican most of his life, but in 2004 he became enamored with Barack Obama, after his Democratic Convention speech, and donated to his Senatorial campaign. He maxed out donating to Obama's presidential campaign. When a story about this appeared in USA Today, the gun folks were - unhappy.
Mo' Murtha (Oct 30 2008 08:39 GMT)
Here's the Murtha ad, and a widget to help you find and sign the petition demanding that he apologize to the Haditha Marines...
Vets For Freedom and John Murtha (Oct 30 2008 01:31 GMT)
Vets For Freedom has been running ads hammering John Murtha for his ongoing willingness to believe - and speak - the worst of our troops. Murtha's commentaries about Haditha alone were despicable - simply because they rushed to judgment and showed that with very little information, he accepted the worst possible narrative about the tragedy. Murtha is also a pork baron, and a classic example of the sense of entitlement that's destroying our Congress. That's why I was happy to donate to his opponent, and to sign the Vets For Freedom petition - and ask you to click over and sign as well - asking that he apologize for his flatly false claims about the solders who - like him - stood in harm's way, and then - unlike him - came home to find themselves unjustly charged as criminals. They need to get their reputations back, and Murtha's colleagues needs to learn that there are limits to what outrages they can commit on-mike.
A Thought Experiment (Oct 29 2008 06:06 GMT)
Patterico and I are having a debate about American attitudes toward the law. We've settled on a hypothetical, and disagree about what people's reactions to it will be. Ground rules: This is a hypothetical, a gedanken experiment like Schrodinger's cat. Yes, I acknowledge that it couldn't be true.
Someone Tell Me Why We Are Using These Things? (Oct 28 2008 23:03 GMT)
Miscalibrated voting machines in North Carolina... Several early voters have called into WFMY News 2 with concerns about a voting machine glitch. All callers reported that they touched their finger to the screen for the person/party they wanted to vote for, but the wrong person/party was marked. One person reported trying to check the McCain/Palin ticket, but Obama/Biden was highlighted. Another person reported the exact opposite.
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