Busy

Still busy. However, a few people have made up for my lack of posting with good work of their own. Here are the four pieces published in the last two weeks I found most useful:

Mark Safranksi. Zenpundit. 9 December 2009.

A vital post on the insanity of our alliance with the Pakistanis. Extra kudos for using the phrase “rabid and schizophrenic trained mastodon.”

Kevin Carey. Democracy Journal. Winter 2010.

Has anybody told you that the United States secondary education system is the best in the world? It might be time to rethink that notion.

Yale Richmond. Whirled View. 3 December 2009.

A fascinating post on how cultural exchange programs were the catalyst for the Cold War’s end. The implications are easy to see:

1) The most effective form of public diplomacy comes from American civil society itself.

2) We should consider increasing current day foreign exchanges. I wonder — how many Iranians are coming to America today?

John McQuaid. Yale Environment 360. 3 December 2009.

The decline of global fish populations is another serious sustainability problem undeservedly overshadowed by more popular environmental issues. This post highlight a possible solution to this challenge. Notably, the solution is inspired by demand from markets, not the state.