Politics

MORALITY IN FOREIGN POLICY….Today in the Weekly Standard William Kristol celebrates the return of morality to foreign policy: It is true that regimes don’t exist apart from the various material interests and geographical and historical characteristics of nations. So “morality in foreign policy” is always limited. Necessity has its claims. And the freedom and security […]

IS CREATIONISM SCIENCE?….Shazam! If you want to generate traffic and email, just blog about either (a) France or (b) evolution. Today’s subject is evolution. Here’s the nickel version of the story so far: Michael Dini, a biology professor at Texas Tech, says that he won’t give students recommendations for “further education in the biomedical sciences” […]

END THE VETO POWER?….I’ve noted many times that I think the UN has shown pretty good judgment in matters of military action by its members over the years. Not perfect judgment, mind you, but it has a pretty respectable record, and that’s one reason why working through the UN on Iraq is a good idea. […]

DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO….The Los Angeles City Council voted this week to uphold a new police department policy regarding residential burglar alarms. From now on, police will not respond to burglar alarms unless they also get a phone call verifying a problem. Too many false alarms, the LAPD says, and we’re […]

VACATION IS OVER….OK Matt, it’s January 31. Where are you?

CHESS UPDATE….Kasparov has now punted two games in a row. In game three, playing white against Deep Junior, Kasparov played strongly until the end, when he slipped and looked headed for a draw ? but then missed a crucial play and allowed Deep Junior to pull out a last-minute win. This seems to be the […]

THE FUTURE….Every once in a while, while I’m all caught up in the middle of some furious political blogging, I suddenly blink and wonder if any of it really matters. Here’s why: Quantum computing Artificial intelligence Infinite clean energy from fusion/solar/etc. Nanotechnology Genetic tailoring Plus a couple of other new technologies that we haven’t even […]

I JUST CAN’T TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS….I’ve got a deal for conservatives: we’ll stop claiming Bush is dumb if you’ll stop pretending that every administration fuckup is actually part of an intricate master plan of Brobdingnagian proportions. Sheesh.

FROM THE “CAN’T WIN ‘EM ALL” DEPARTMENT….Is art a reflection of life, or is it the other way around? One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

DOES IRAQ HAVE NUKES?….Knowledgable people who talk honestly about “weapons of mass destruction” usually differentiate between chemical and biological weapons ? bad ? and nuclear weapons ? horrific. The all-purpose acronym WMD often obfuscates this, leaving us to wonder: does Iraq really have a nuclear program? Or just chemical and biological? Today Josh Marshall publishes […]