Peter's already made some good points about the debate, but I thought I would weigh in as well.I should start out with a confession. I'm a politics junkie and an international affairs geek. But I was bored stiff by this debate. And if even I was bored stiff, I imagine...
With an enormous bomb nearly decapitating the Pakistani state and the Pakistani military shooting at US troops, I think it's safe to say that the situation is "not good."
Bailing out Bear Stearns: $29,000,000,000.A government stake in AIG: $85,000,000,000.Creating near consensus among academic and pundit bloggers: $700,000,000,000. Demonstrating that the correct...
International Talk Like a Pirate Day ends at midnight, and once again pirate lovers around the world are gleefully splicing the mainbrace with their mateys and poking fun at the bilge rats who don't...
The Scotsman reports on this frightening development:SCIENTISTS have been stunned by the discovery of a shark that had eaten a polar bear.Part of the jaw of a young polar bear was found in the stomach of a Greenland shark in Svalbard, northern Norway.Kit Kovacs, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, said: "We've never heard of this before."We don't know how it got there. We can't say whether or not the shark took a swimming young bear or ate a carcase."We don't know how active these sharks are as predators."But perhaps these sharks could prove a valuable ally in the coming struggle against the...
Do I write of Russian reaction to the US decision to cancel a proposed US-Russian civilian nuclear cooperation. No, I bring to your attention an important story in the Moscow Times:Putin Sexy but not the Most SexyBe sure to check out the Putin cheesecake photo. And note the mention of Putin's brave rescue of a television camera crew from a Tiger. British carping aside, it probably did happen. As a friend points out, if the whole thing had been staged, we would expect there to be video of the actual event.
My son and I finally saw Clone Wars this weekend. Afterward, I went back through some of the reviews I'd been ignoring during the past month of moving and settling in. No one seems to think the movie was great, but people are disappointed for different reasons. David Germain of the AP writes: You'll know you're in a different galaxy within the first seconds of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which substitutes the Warner Bros. logo and theme music for the familiar 20th Century Fox searchlight and fanfare. Whether because of its cartoony format or its relatively lightweight story, "Clone Wars"...
Last night I walked into my house after my usual commute home to find that the house was much warmer than I expected. A quick glance at the thermostat showed that something was wrong, since the room temperature was about 10 or 15 degrees warmer than the thermostat setting. Further investigation revealed that there was no air coming out of any of the vents in the house. Behold, a practical problem.President Bush's approval ratings are in the toilet. The war in Iraq continues to be a divisive issue, and the presumptive Republican candidate stood and stands with Bush on that issue, as on...
I know, I know. Anybody who reads our little blog has already seen this clip. But because I've been feeling madly, truly, and deeply annoyed at American political punditry lately, I think it is a mitzvah to put this clip on the Duck. Indeed, every blog should proudly broadcast this clip, until our purple mountain majesties ring with cries of "I can has enough!"
Yesterday, US troops crossed the Pakistan border for the first time -- clearly extending the war in Afghanistan into another state. This is from The Washington Post story: Helicopters carried U.S. and Afghan commandos many miles into Pakistan on Wednesday to stage the first U.S. ground attack against a Taliban target inside the country, Pakistani officials said. At least 20 local people died in the raid, according to the officials. Pakistan filed a protest and the US military apparently had no comment.Mohammed Sadiq, a spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, condemned a "gross violation...
I would so love to know if any of the Harry Potter books were among those Palin wanted taken out of her town's library. Maybe I'd even get to do some media again.Via Brad DeLong.... Alas, as John points out in comments, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had not yet been released. If only I had looked closely at the relevant dates, then I never would have gotten my hopes up.
I am now officially over Sarah Palin. Hard to believe, yes, given the odd fascination with her odd-for-a-Republican-VP nominee background, but its over.More importantly, the Republicans need to start getting over her, or they are in trouble.Palin has now done what the McCain camp needed her to do. She effectively seized the campaign narrative form Obama and brought it to the Republicans. She did so without involving President Bush. She energized the party base. She gave what everyone is going to say was a good speech last night (though I'll admit I didn't really watch it because I was...