Using data from a recent World Public Opinion survey, Ezra Kleen crafts the following graphic:
Graphic of the Day: “Reducing” Foreign Aid
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Historical Smack-down
Last month Zenpundit brought to my attention an interesting debate between military historian Lt. Col. Robert Bateman and classicist Victor Davis Hanson. The topic up for debate was Carnage and Culture, the magnum opus of Mr. Hanson’s career. For those unfamiliar with the work, the thesis of Carnage and Culture is stated eloquently on its […]
A Dark Cloud Over Europe
Read this:Ireland’s Debt ServitudeAmbrose Evans-Pritchard. The Telegraph. 30 November 2010. Having done so, please watch this: My comment: It has become increasingly clear that the fate of the Euro project will be decided in the next few months. Even the Union’s strongest defenders (much less its elected and appointed officials!) admit that if the current […]
A Question for the Conservative
Consider the following: Social norms are customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others. 1.A Culture is ultimately a social phenomena; the phrase “cultural norms” should be regarded as synonymous with “social norms.” Social norms influence all interpersonal decisions an individual may make. 2.A. By extension, social norms are the basis of the […]
Crony Capitalism and Stagnation, Connecting the Dots
Ashwin Parameswaran has an excellent piece up over at Macroeconomic Resilience on the intersection of economic innovation and technological progress, crony capitalism, complex system dynamics, and unemployment. To quote from the post’s conclusion: The Cause and Impact of Crony Capitalism: the Great Stagnation and the Great Recession Ashwin Parameswaran. Macroeconomic Resilience. 24 November 2010. Due […]
Straight Talk on the TSA, Paragon of the Creeping Security State
Over the course of the last week the Transportation Security Administration’s new airport security measures have generated a great deal of public outcry and controversy. This bout of public dissatisfaction provides a rare opportunity that should not be wasted. For the first time in nine years Americans are seriously questioning at least one part of […]
How to Take Over A Mexican Border Town
Last week I brought to the attention of my readers the alarming tale of Ciudad Mier, the border town whose entire populace fled their homes as refugees. Narco refugees being one of the most disturbing developments in Mexico’s war against the cartels, I thought it best to investigate the events leading up to Ciudad Mier’s […]
Foreigners Grade Obama’s India Trip
A few links: 1. The foreign affairs bloggers of the Takshashila Institution (formerly “the Indian National Interest”) decided “grade” President Obama’s recent trip to India. This was the result: 2. This seems to reflect the general opinion of the broader Indian public. I infer this from the shifting statements of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), […]
So Begins the Narco Refugees
Via security analyst Sylvia Longmire’s excellent blog Mexico’s Drug War: Border Violence Analysis comes one of the most unsettling news stories of 2010: Ciudad Mier evacuates after Zetas threaten to kill residents The Monitor. 9 November 2010. CIUDAD MIER, Tamps. — Hundreds of families have fled this Pueblo Magico amid reported death threats from drug […]
Jai Hind
“Jai Hind!” So said the President of the United States this week in an address to a joint session of the Rajya Sahba and Lok Sahba. It is about time. I have criticized the Obama Administration in the past for episodes of diplomatic ineptitude and cultural insensitivity. President Obama’s stay in India does not qualify […]