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From the Guardian: <blockquote>• If all our emails, however personal, are to become subject to the scrutiny of the government, why shouldn’t all the government’s emails, however sensitive, become subject to the scrutiny of us? If we can’t plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament without their knowledge, why can they and Saudi Arabia plot [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized
When communism collapsed in Moscow, Prague and Belgrade at the end of the Cold War, ethnic nationalism surged to the surface in all three nations and tore them apart into 24 countries. Economic nationalism is now resurgent across Europe. And it is hard to see how a transnational institution like the European Union, run by [...]
“Cyber Monday” sounds like bunk to me, but any day is a good day to give a gift subscription to The American Conservative. Not only does the magazine for thinking conservatives make a great Christmas gift, it’s a present that keeps giving year round and won’t be forgotten after December 31. It’s also a vital [...]
Filed under: Magazines
Steve Clemons has a useful post about GOP demands for Israeli-style airport security in place of the TSA’s strip-’n’-grope regime. Not only would it be more expensive than TARP, and quite probably impractical, but as Stephen Walt writes to Clemons, there’s a bigger question going unaddressed here: Am I the only person who sees the [...]
Filed under: liberties
This writer was 11 years old when the shocking news came on June 25, 1950, that North Korean armies had crossed the DMZ. Within days, Seoul had fallen. Routed U.S. and Republic of Korea troops were retreating toward an enclave in the southeast corner of the peninsula that came to be known as the Pusan [...]
The American Conservative‘s own Michael Brendan Dougherty puts in a Bloggingheads.tv appearance with Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches to discuss what Benedict XVI said — and meant — in his recent remarks about condoms:
Filed under: Religion
Driving to buy a turkey this morning, I was treated to NPR news, which featured a leading report stating that most Americans approve of the new body scanners being used at US airports. The story was also the top headline in the Wash Post print edition today, leading with “Most support full body scanners.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/22/AR2010112205514.html The [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized
A young couple from the Twin Cities suburb of Apple Valley, Pete and Alisha Arnold (http://www.minnpost.com/dailyglean/2010/11/19/23539/putting_pregnancy_to_an_online_vote_hoax_or_not) have put their unborn child’s future up to an online vote. This couple reportedly said two recent miscarriages had put their hopes for their new child in jeopardy and actually created a website (www.birthornot.com) to put their decision of [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized
Before Republican senators vote down the strategic arms reduction treaty negotiated by the Obama administration, they should think long and hard about the consequences. In substance, New START has none of the historic significance of Richard Nixon’s SALT I or ABM treaty, or Jimmy Carter’s SALT II, or Ronald Reagan’s INF treaty removing all intermediate-range [...]
Virginia Postrel argues this weekend that environmentalists favor high-speed rail and wind power not because they reduce carbon emissions but simply because they look good. “These technologies,” she writes, aren’t just about getting from one city to another. They are symbols of an ideal world, longing disguised as problem solving. You can’t counter glamour with statistics. Though she doesn’t [...]
Filed under: Culture, environment, Politics