Dive into the archives.
- Is Castro already dead?
An article in the National Review by Otto Reich implies that Castro may already be dead; and regardless of whether he is or not, preparations are on for a funeral of Catholic (emphasis on the capital ‘C’) proportions
This time the rumors are real: Castro is dying of stomach cancer. He may have already died, even [...]
- The History of Salt
Today, salt is universally accessible and cheap. But there was once a time when it was one of the world’s most precious commodities. A recent trip to the Tobacco & Salt Museum in Tokyo made me appreciate its role in the very development of human civilization (salt, not tobacco).
Salt inhibits bacterial growth, and [...]
- It’s Listed
It seems John Robb’s book is one step closer to your bookshelf. It’s listed here at Amazon. Shloky caught it first. You can’t preorder yet but there is some information there to read. Here’s the description from Amazon.
Book Description
Terrorism has become global, and incredibly complex, because it exists inside a social and economic system that’s [...]
- Ethiopia “technically at war”
In a follow-up to my post on this topic two weeks ago comes this article from the BBC:
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says that his country is “technically” at war with Somalia’s Islamic courts. “The jihadist elements within the Islamic Court movement are spoiling for a fight,” he told Reuters news agency.
He said they [...]
- A comic reality
Looks like Frank Miller isn’t the only one to take an historical event and turn it into a comic. Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon have released the comic version of the 9/11 Commission Report. It is endorsed by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission.
Check out this Flickr photoset with photos of the book.
Via 37signals.
UPDATE: [...]
- RFID: Not just for WalMart anymore
Developing a more robust passport regime is a priority problem for most developed countries. The future, they say, is in biometrics. But until we get there many countries are changing to technology that has been of great benefit to the field of logistics, namely Radio Frequency Identification or RFID. But there are some serious weaknesses [...]
- What if 9/11 never happened?
This is two months old, but a series of articles in the New York Metro published articles by twenty authors on the topic of what if 9/11 never happened. Here are a few highlights worth bringing to your attention.
Andrew Sullivan on President Al Gore leading an attack on Afghanistan in 2006 and the rapid [...]
- Dispatch from Kaplan: We can’t just withdraw
Robert Kaplan argues strongly against the US leaving Iraq, or threatening to leave.
An emerging school of thought says that the only real leverage we’re going to have is the threat of withdrawal … . That’s a bet, not a plan. [emphasis mine] You could also bet that any timetable for withdrawal will lead to a [...]
- D.R. Congo “Justice”
The BBC has a pretty terrifying article about “justice” in the DR Congo:
“I’ve already paid the judge, so why should I pay you too?” is a question lawyers have to contend with from their clients.
Lawyer Octavius Nasena recounts a case when someone dared to question why his opponent in a property dispute had brazenly given [...]
- The Environmental Policy Realist
In The Skeptical Environmentalist, provocative Danish political scientist Bjørn Lomborg gave a unorthodox take on environmental policy. Using data and statistics, he argues that essentially every sacred cow of the feverish environmentalist movement—global warming, overpopulation, declining energy resources, deforestation, species loss, and water shortages—are exaggerated concerns unsupported by real analysis. Lomborg excoriates the [...]
