by Randy Waterhouse | 23 Apr 2009 |
My first semester in graduate school I had the pleasure of attending a talk by General Wesley Clark (Ret.). He gave the talk not soon after the attacks of September 11th and the US offensive in Afghanistan. At the time, Clark was just begining a PR offensive that would eventually position him as a contender for the Democratic nomination in 2004. During the Q&A I asked him a question about the regional dynamics going forward as a result of the...
by Dan Nexon | 22 Apr 2009 |
I just turned down a request that I review for a journal because, in part, they failed to send me an anonymized copy of the decision letter the last time I reviewed for them. And this despite the journal using an electronic review system that automates the process.I can think of a number of reasons why all peer-reviewed journals should be required to supply reviewers with copies of their decision letters. In no particular order:(1) It provides...
by Dan Nexon | 22 Apr 2009 |
I've been hearing rumors to the effect that US negotiators have cut a deal with the Kyrgyz government to allow continued use of Manas. But media sources remain silent, except to note that the Russians are sending additional warplanes to their own base in Kyrgyzstan. Instead, they report on a new US-Tajik agreement to allow transit rights for non-military supplies to Afghanistan. This adds to existing deals with Uzbekistan and Russia.But,...
by Rodger Payne | 21 Apr 2009 |
Joshua Kurlantzick recently argued that the global economic downturn might spell doom for a number of autocratic governments around the world. Most, he argues, have staked their legitimacy on economic performance. Dramaticaly reduced world demand for consumer goods and energy threatens states like China, Russia, and Venezuela (and perhaps also Iran and other OPEC states): Modern autocracies are very different from those of the past. Rather than...
by Randy Waterhouse | 21 Apr 2009 |
The Wall Street Journal reported today that hackers have breached classified data on the United States' Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program (the F-35). (For those without a subscription, here is the Reuters story). The scale and nature of information the hackers were able to obtain appears quite significant--however, the most sensitive data did not reside on servers connected to the web, which is good news.The default suspect is, of course,...
by Dan Nexon | 21 Apr 2009 |
It would be funny, except that it isn't.Taleban militants operating in Pakistan's Swat region who agreed a peace deal with the government have expanded operations into nearby Buner.Dozens of militants have been streaming into bordering Buner to take over mosques and government offices.Buner is part of the Malakand region, which has just seen the implementation of Sharia law under the peace deal.But the Taleban have mainly operated in Swat,...
by Rodger Payne | 19 Apr 2009 |
For some time, the media has been losing interest in America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Portland at the International Affairs symposium I previously mentioned, Washington Post journalist Thomas Ricks named a handful of news agencies covering Iraq -- and then claimed that no others remained in-country. He named his own paper, the New York Times, CNN, and McClatchey. He may have mentioned one or two more that I've forgotten, and he may...
by Charli Carpenter | 19 Apr 2009 |
(A blog response to "The Academy Strikes Back" by Dan Drezner.)Also, see here and here.
by Charli Carpenter | 19 Apr 2009 |
Before heading over to the YouTube Conference keynote, I tuned in for a few hours Thursday morning to the Harvard University Humanitarian Law and Policy Forum's latest live webcast. (Recording can be accessed here.)Thursday morning's discussion: the status of pirates and piracy in international law.I didn't catch the whole thing because I had to run to an 11:00 meeting, but key points of discussion included: 1) Practical concerns such as the...
by Charli Carpenter | 18 Apr 2009 |
A brilliant aspect of the conference I just attended was the the fact that presenters were required to create YouTube versions of their research. Some of the videos I liked best are here.A radical idea: what if conference presenters at venues like ISA prepared 3-5 minute videos instead of giving 15-minute presentations. Panelists would appear but not speak until time to field questions. Each video would run, a discussant would present concise...
by Charli Carpenter | 18 Apr 2009 |
Max Harper, who piloted the concept of the Blueprint for Change videos for President Obama's 2008 campaign, provided a point-by-point playbook today for how the Obama campaign used Web 2.0 to win the election.At first, I found myself wondering how he could speak so candidly about it. But then again, Harper and everyone in the room understood one key feature of the political revolution he was describing: that because of the dynamic relationship...
by Dan Nexon | 15 Apr 2009 |
Over at Donald's place, I predicted that the total turnout for the "tax protests" would be about the size of a single large Obama rally. Based on the numbers we've seen, that sounds about right.Puts things in perspective.I also noted that the AP story contains the following:Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News.All of the main guys...