ARNOLD KLING answers Michael Kinsley.

JEFF GOLDSTEIN: Funnier than Margaret Cho. How’s that for an endorsement?

DON’T MISS THIS WEEK’S CARNIVAL OF THE VANITIES, a collection of blog posts from all sorts of bloggers.

IT’S NOT TOO LATE to donate to the Spirit of America blogger challenge, which is worthy of your support.

“The air of corruption that clouds the United Nations these days cannot simply be fanned away by forcing the resignation of Kofi Annan as Secretary-General . . . Annan bristles at the insinuations of corruption in his ranks, but, in truth, his tenure was tainted from the beginning. In the mid-nineties, when he was head of peacekeeping, he presided over catastrophically failed missions in Bosnia and in Rwanda, where he ignored detailed warnings of genocide, then watched them come true, while the world did nothing to stop it. Those world leaders who later hailed him as a moral exemplar at best ignored that history, at worst regarded it as a kind of credential: since Annan was a compromised figure, they did not have to fear his censure.”

Indeed. And it wasn’t me who wrote the above, but someone you might find surprising.

UPDATE: It’s worth noting that Philip Gourevitch, who wrote the above, wrote a searing book on the Rwandan genocide.

HOWARD LOVY notes that nanotechnology’s medical payoff is beginning to appear.

YEP, as my column yesterday suggests, you can take care of all your holiday, um, needs online. I don’t think that the “used or refurbished” model should sell very well, though. . . . Eew.

INDIA UNCUT is a blog on India, by Indian journalist Amit Varma.

ANOTHER DIVERSITY NARRATIVE FROM ACADEMIA, in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

My new tenure-track digs include a large office in a historic building with leaded-pane windows, sills deep enough to stack files on, and shelves on three walls filled with my own books, departmental gems, and junk from years past.

All the signs point to it: I’m finally a bona-fide member of academe.

Yet I’m gradually coming to realize that my membership card should read “in but not of” — something the 2004 presidential election set in stark relief. Maybe I should have seen it coming all along.

Interesting observations on “a clear semiotics of inclusion and exclusion.”

RON BAILEY writes on adapting to climate change. Shockingly, it’s easier when you’re rich.

THE PRESSURE, THE PRESSURE: Reader Steve Hill emails:

Since YOU are now my digital camera connection . . . How about discussing the differences between the [Nikon] D2H and the D70 as you see them. Why is a 4MP camera higher priced than a 6MP camera? Is it that much more capable?

Thanks for writing about all this – it’s been really useful.

Well, it’s apples and oranges to a degree. The Nikon D2H is a pro-level camera, with much more robust construction, and a variety of features (especially very fast autofocus) aimed at sports photographers.

On the other hand, the D70 is aimed more at people like me — serious amateurs who won’t knock the camera around nearly as much, and don’t need quite the speed of operation.

That said, I recently had my picture made by a very serious professional photographer who used a D70, and it’s hard for me to see why very many people would spend $2000 on the D2H at this point, with far more capable equipment coming down the pike. (For example, here’s a review of the forthcoming Nikon D2X, a 12-megapixel digital SLR that I mentioned earlier. But this review, by Ken Rockwell, notes that the D70 is superior in some ways.)

So there you are. Pro cameras are tougher and will last longer, but that construction comes at a price. With 35mm equipment it was worth it — I got over 20 years out of my 35mm SLRs, and they never wore out. But with the technology curve as steep as it is right now for digital SLRs, I’m not sure that longevity is as important. In 20 years, or even 2, that D2H will be woefully obsolete. So is it worth $2000? Only if you really need what it offers, and need it right now.

AUSTIN BAY:

Mark it on your calendar: Next month, the Arab Middle East will revolt.

However, generals with tanks and terrorists with fatwas won’t be leading the revolution. This time, Arab moderates and liberal reformers — the Middle East’s genuine rebels — are the insurgent vanguard. . . .

enforced by terror) kept Arab moderates and democratic reformers in the Arab alley or the Arab jail. The Arab street also has served as a theater for choreographed displays of anger, usually directed at Israel and America. Addressing the real sources of Arab deprivation and degradation, autocratic oppression and systemic corruption, was verboten.

America’s reaction to 9-11 — specifically, its strategic offensive reaction — is taking the gun out of hands of tyrants and terrorists. Removing Saddam Hussein began the reconfiguration of the politically dysfunctional Arab Muslim Middle East — a dangerous, expensive process, but one that gives Middle Eastern moderates the chance to build states where the consent of the governed creates legitimacy and where terrorists are prosecuted, not promoted.

Let’s hope. Read the whole thing.

KOFI’S CONTINUING CRISIS — over at GlennReynolds.com, where there’s also streaming video of my Kudlow & Cramer appearance earlier tonight.

READER THOMAS POCHE sends this link to a rather cheap Nikon D70 — but it’s possible that it’s a gray-market import, which may get in the way of the rebate, among other things. Still, it’s well below the the going price.

UPDATE: Matthew Cromer emails that the low price may not be such a good deal, judging by these low customer ratings.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Don Plunk notes that Pricegrabber gives ’em a lousy rating, too. That’s one reason why I tend to link to places like Amazon, that I use myself and trust. There are cheaper places out there, and they’re often OK, but often not.

WHAT’S MORE AMAZING: That according to the latest Sitemeter count 19% of my readers are using Firefox — or that I found this out first from Colby Cosh?

HOWARD OWENS has returned to the blogosphere. Who’s next? Steven Den Beste?

LOTS OF INTERESTING POSTS over at Ed Morrissey’s place. Just keep scrolling. Tom Maguire, too.

UNSCAM UPDATE: Jefferson Morley writes in the Washington Post:

There was noticeable reticence to pursue certain leads in the story. Annan is the most recognizable figure to catch heat for the scandal that occurred on his watch. But according to the Duelfer report, former French Interior Minister turned businessman, Charles Pascua, received oil vouchers from the Hussein regime that enabled him to sell more than 10 million barrels of oil on the international market. If you enter Pascua’s name in the French language version of Google News, the search engine is unable to find a single mention of Pascua’s name in the French press in the last 30 days.

Morley notes that the Americans involved in this scandal aren’t getting much attention either, though he doesn’t mention Marc Rich by name.

UPDATE: Doh! Several readers point out that Morley would have done better if he had spelled Charles Pasqua’s name correctly . . . .

RACHEL LUCAS IS BACK. And she’s pissed.

But will she be tireblogging? ‘Cause that’s the big thing now, in the blogosphere.

I’LL BE ON KUDLOW & CRAMER at about 5:50 Eastern today, talking about the U.N., Kofi Annan, etc.

MORE ON WOMEN AND PORN: This time from Michele Catalano.

GREYHAWK ON THE GROWTH OF THE BLOGOSPHERE:

First: appreciate the subtlety of Omar’s wry humor, that’s satire worthy of Swift from a man from a culture most likely far from yours for whom English is a second language. Your reading of such a thing from such a source would have been impossible a few short months ago when neither the technology nor the freedom were available to him.

Then ponder this: An American GI in Iraq just linked to and commented about an Iraqi citizen, who was linking and commenting on a post from an ex-pat from Poland now living in Australia and providing information to the world on the situation in Afghanistan.

What does it all mean? That’s entirely up to you.

Well, mostly.

SOME DISTURBING THOUGHTS about women and porn.

MY EARLIER POST on alternate-history produced a lot of email of the “how can you not mention ____?” variety. Hey, it wasn’t meant to be exhaustive. But by popular demand, I will mention H. Beam Piper, whose stuff holds up pretty well. And although it’s not exactly on point, I have to mention that this Cyril M. Kornbluth collection is probably the single best science fiction purchase I’ve made recently. Kornbluth was one of the “Futurians,” along with Isaac Asimov, Fred Pohl, etc., and died young, but had more impact than many realize. (His “would you buy it for a quarter” line from his The Marching Morons reappears as “I’d buy that for a dollar!” in the Robocop movies). His stories are more disturbing than I had recalled — The Marching Morons, though amusing, is actually monstrous — but they’re also even better than I remembered.

UPDATE: I think I may have linked to this before, but the Today in Alternate History blog is worth looking at.

THANKS, GUYS: But actually, Instapundit is growing less and less important each year. And that’s a good thing.

UPDATE: I’m blushing at this, but I’m no Burt Rutan.