Archive for 2010
January 4, 2010
REMEMBERING THE “GIDDY FUTURISM” of Omni Magazine.
TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO stop tweeting about.
MOUSSAOUI CONVICTION UPHELD. So is this support for the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York?
3D CHESS IS NO FUN when you’re only a pawn.
THE ANCHORESS on Brit Hume and Tiger Woods. “On one hand, as a Christian, I admire it; Hume put himself out there, as ‘a fool for Christ,’ willing to face ridicule and scorn for his faith. On the other hand, I’m not comfortable with the venue.”
THE END OF THE U.S. HIV TRAVEL BAN. Good. Maybe this made sense (or at least seemed to) in the early days of AIDS, but as an infection-control measure it’s been pointless for quite a while.
GOOD FOR HER: Clinton slams ‘ruthless repression’ of protestors in Iran. I’m beginning to grow a bit more optimistic on the Administration’s posture on Iran.
IF IT’S JANUARY, IT’S TIME TO GET OUT THE SPRING SEED CATALOGS? Amid this lousy cold weather, anything that makes me think of spring is welcome.
“YOU CAN NEVER SUBSTITUTE HOPE FOR SECURITY:” Operation Archangel: On the Front Lines of High-Tech Counterterrorism.
SEQUENCING CAVEMAN DNA.
MORE ON DEMI MOORE’S LEGAL PHOTO-THREATS. When you publish a photo that threatens a carefully constructed image, people get angry, I guess.
UPDATE: Reader Richard Doyle writes: “The bad part about this is that I think the photo with the extra flesh is far better. Why would they degrade it in Photoshop?” I suspect that most men would agree.
SUNNY THOUGHTS FROM DANIEL GROSS: America’s economic recovery will be twice as big as experts predict.
UPDATE: Of course, when you listen to these experts, that’s not saying much: “A dismal job market, a crippled real estate sector and hobbled banks will keep a lid on U.S. economic growth over the coming decade, some of the nation’s leading economists said on Sunday. Speaking at American Economic Association’s mammoth yearly gathering, experts from a range of political leanings were in surprising agreement when it came to the chances for a robust and sustained expansion. They are slim.” Let’s hope they’re wrong.
NO CORRUPTION, WE’RE JUST ALL GOOD FRIENDS HERE: Murtha-tied Company Wins Sole-Source Vaccine Contract.
LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD cyber-ninjas.
NICK GILLESPIE: More On The Coming War Over Public-Sector Pensions. “One of the old arguments about lavish (relative to the private sector) retirement benefits for public-sector employees was that they were simply getting deferred compensation, that they might have job security, but they got paid less during their careers, so good retirement benefits were the payoff. This is no longer true, with the average public-sector worker making about $71,000 and the average private-sector drone pulling only $40,000 nationally. Plus great job security, more days off, generally sweeter health-care coverage, etc.” I, alas, don’t have one of those lavish public-sector pensions, just a regular defined-contribution setup.
OVER AT FEMINIST LAW PROFESSORS, rounding up some unfortunate turns of phrase from the past year. I like the warning about a snake, “which was said to be unarmed.”
JOBS: The Epic Fail of 2009?
A CALL GOES OUT FOR ClimateGate whistleblowers. With a bounty attached.
ABC NEWS: Third Gate-Crasher Discovered at White House State Dinner. “‘The Secret Service’s investigation into the security events surrounding the Indian State Dinner on November 24, 2009, has revealed that a third individual, who was not on the White House guest list, entered the State Dinner,’ a statement from the US Secret Service reads.” If they can’t secure the White House, can they secure the country?
UPDATE: Reader Ed Stephens emails: “If they can’t run a dinner party, how can they run health care?”
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: The Carter Syndrome.
RADLEY BALKO ON the Great D.C. Snowball Fight.