ON THE ROAD tomorrow, alas, heading home. Blogging will be light.
Archive for 2005
June 17, 2005
ROBERTA ROMANO writes in the Yale Law Journal about Sarbanes-Oxley and quack corporate governance.
CHINESE BLOGGERS REACT to the MSN Spaces censorship debacle.
VACLAV HAVEL on Burma and Cuba.
KILLING CANCER WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY:
University of Michigan scientists have created the nanotechnology equivalent of a Trojan horse to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells – increasing the drug’s cancer-killing activity and reducing its toxic side effects.
It’s dendrimer technology, not nanobots, but it’s cool.
JOEL ROSENBERG notes that quite a few anti-gun activists seem to be unclear on the concept.
SHAM IRANIAN ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES? Photoblogged by Will Franklin.
“SUBTLY DISGUISED” HILLARY-BASHING from Paul Krugman?
THE POWER OF PRODUCTIVITY: Some very interesting thoughts on the international economy.
TENNESSEE NATIVE SGT. LEIGH ANN HESTER became the first woman to receive a Silver Star since World War II. Thanks, Sgt. Hester.
A PACK, NOT A HERD:
An armed robber brandishing a revolver and some tough talk entered Blalock’s Beauty College demanding money Tuesday afternoon.
He left crying, bleeding and under arrest, after Dianne Mitchell, her students and employees attacked the suspect, beating him into submission.
Mitchell tripped the robber as he tried to leave and cried aloud “get that sucker” as the group of about 20, nearly all women, some wielding curling irons, bludgeoned him until police arrived.
Bellicose women are everywhere. (Via John Hawkins).
ANN ALTHOUSE RESPONDS TO NEAL STEPHENSON over at GlennReynolds.com.
DEMOCRATIZATION IS A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT: More proof from Kyrgyzstan.
My suggestion – the next time the Senator from Illinois is speaking on the subject of prisoner abuse and finds himself grasping for an historical parallel, perhaps he could invoke the proud history of the great city of Chicago.
Read the whole thing to find out why. (There’s also this great line in the comments: “I hate Illinois Nazi-equaters.”) If I were a Senator, I’d introduce a resolution censuring Durbin. I suspect, though, that the Republicans would rather keep him talking.
UPDATE: For some perspective, go here — but only if graphic photos don’t bother you. And Rand Simberg has more perspective, without photos.
ANOTHER UPDATE: The Mudville Gazette has a Durbin roundup, including links to video and to a Boston Herald editorial saying that “Durbin must go.”
As the Herald points out, Trent Lott lost his leadership position over less.
Bill Hobbs has audio of Dick Cheney on Durbin. And Iowahawk has discovered some heretofore unknown Dick Durbin correspondence.
More here: “Every member of the military and their families and every voter who admires the military should be watching very closely as the Democratic Party and MSM say and do nothing about Dick Durbin’s smear. You can’t be a supporter of the military and allow the #2 Democrat in the Senate to put the Nazi/Stalin/Pol Pot brand on the troops, which is exactly what Durbin did.”
MORE: More strong words on Durbin.
I LINKED TO AUSTIN BAY’S REPORTING from Iraq yesterday, but this passage is worth highlighting:
I find that this return visit to Iraq spurs thoughts of America– of American will to pursue victory. I don’t mean the will of US forces in the field. Wander around with a bunch of Marines for a half hour, spend fifteen minutes with Guardsmen from Idaho, and you will have no doubts about American military capabilities or the troops’ will to win. But our weakness is back home, on the couch, in front of the tv, on the cable squawk shows, on the editorial page of the New York Times, in the political gotcha games of Washington, DC. It seems America wants to get on with its wonderful Electra-Glide life, that September 10 sense of freedom and security, without finishing the job. The military is fighting, the Iraqi people are fighting, but where is the US political class?
Read the whole thing, which is quite critical not only of the usual suspects, but in particular of the Bush Administration for not making its case strongly or clearly enough.
RAND SIMBERG EMAILS that he saw an excellent commencement speech at USC and that it was very humble, and focused on the graduates, not the speaker, notwithstanding the speaker’s eminence. There’s video here.
PROBABLY THE LAST SCIENCE FICTION POST, though email continues to pour in. What about Lois McMaster Bujold? Lots of people asked that.
I like her a lot. She’s best known for her Barrayar stories, which start with Shards of Honor and The Warrior’s Apprentice. I like those stories a lot, but I realize that I was thinking of her as a fantasy writer because of her excellent Chalion novels, starting with The Curse of Chalion.
Somebody asked about Frank Herbert, but he’s really a 1970s writer. My colleague Becky Jacobs claims that the most recent books in the Dune franchise are actually good, but he lost me with Refrigerator Repairmen of Dune or somesuch, many years ago.
There was some outrage that I didn’t mention Neal Stephenson, but actually I did in the linked recommendations post. But he rocks
Doug Weinstein, a fan of out-and-out space opera, loves Elizabeth Moon’s Heris Serrano books, and I think they’re pretty good. (Weirdly, he doesn’t like David Weber’s Honor Harrington books, which I think most people regard as superior).
As noted before, I’m a big fan of Charles Stross. So I should note that he’s made his new book, Accelerando, available for free download with a Creative Commons license even before it appears in bookstores. Did I mention it’s free? What are you waiting for?
UPDATE: Continuing the science fiction theme, check out this Neal Stephenson column on Star Wars.
IRANIAN ELECTIONS: Norm Geras is busting double standards: “The man who was telling us only two days ago that American democracy isn’t quite good enough by European standards is today putting in a good word for the Iranian election.”
Harry’s Place has more, and Publius has some reporting.
THIS WEEK’S CARNIVAL OF COMEDY IS UP. So is the latest NBA Carnival.
LOTS OF INTERESTING STUFF at Gateway Pundit. Just keep scrolling.
WANT TO DO BLOG REPORTING? You might want to take a look at these free online courses in shooting video, etc., from the BBC.
SCREENSHOTS OF CENSORSHIP: Rebecca MacKinnon tried to set up a Chinese blog on MSN Spaces using the phrase: “I love freedom of speech, human rights, and democracy.”
She has screenshots of the rather disturbing results.
June 16, 2005
FOR THOSE WHO’VE WRITTEN asking for updates on the Insta-Wife, you can see that she’s doing better. She’s been swimming in the ocean and the pool, and generally having a good time. The recovery isn’t complete, but it’s come a long way (compare this photo), and we’re grateful.
We do these beach trips most summers: A big house with a lot of family members — 16 this time, including my brother’s Nigerian father-in-law, who’s on an extended visit to the states. (He likes the beach, which reminds him of River State where he grew up).
I really enjoy the trips, and it’s fun to see all the cousins playing and hanging out together. I’m a big believer in the old-fashioned extended family, and it’s easy to see the benefits, especially for the kids.
U2 frontman BONO was horrified during a visit to Ethiopia, when he saw local women pelting a breast-feeding aid worker with stones.
The American woman was oblivious of the offence she was causing, and had to escape the angry onslaught from female Muslims who had no qualms about injuring her or her baby.
Bono: “She didn’t mean to be insensitive.” But they did.
STATING THE OBVIOUS: PRESIDENT BUSH notes that the Iranian elections are bogus. But there’s a value to stating the obvious sometimes.