by Peter | 14 Dec 2007 |
Obviously, the Mitchell Report is all the big news in the world of sports, culture, and politics this morning, and is receiving saturation coverage. Rather than try to add my 2 cents as a baseball fan, I thought I might try to tease out an interesting IR angle to the whole thing.As I was driving home yesterday, I heard Selig in his press conference assert that Baseball had one of the most stringent testing drug policies (now) of any major...
by Maia Gemmill | 12 Dec 2007 |
Will Putin's plan be Russia's victory? I can't tell you. However, I can tell you that it does apparently involve Putin becoming prime minister. Dmitri Medvedev, the apparent heir apparent, yesterday declared that he would name none other than Vladimir Putin as his prime minister.Thus shall Vladimir Putin keep a grasp on the reins of power, though, as I have previously noted, it is no guarantee. The prime minister's position is substantially...
by Charli Carpenter | 11 Dec 2007 |
From USA Today: “Darfur Benefit Party Brings Celebs Out in Force” While Forest Whitaker chatted with a refugee, his wife, Keisha, worked a table selling her line of lip gloss, with money going to the IRC. Her top seller: the shade she named Forest. Whitaker, who arrived directly from the Toronto set of Repossession Mambo, said issue-oriented films remain high on his agenda. In March, he'll shoot Hurricane Katrina-related The Patriots, to be...
by Peter | 10 Dec 2007 |
From today's Post: White House spokeswoman Dana Perino revealed on NPR this weekend thatDuring a White House briefing, a reporter referred to the Cuban Missile Crisis -- and she didn't know what it was."I was panicked a bit because I really don't know about . . . the Cuban Missile Crisis," said Perino, who at 35 was born about a decade after the 1962 U.S.-Soviet nuclear showdown. "It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I'm pretty sure."So she...
by Maia Gemmill | 10 Dec 2007 |
After months of intrigue that fueled rampant speculation, Putin has finally endorsed a successor. Drum roll, please...And the winner is...Dmitri Medvedev.Medvedev has been considered a front-runner for years, along with former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. In recent months, this seemed to be working against him. Since September, when Putin abruptly dismissed the cabinet and appointed a new prime minister, all the buzz has surrounded Putin's...
by Rodger Payne | 10 Dec 2007 |
In January, I was skeptical about the prospects for the new Iraq strategy, commonly called "the surge." As everyone knows, the strategy was built around securing Baghdad: The Bush administration asserts that the violence in Iraq, "particularly in Baghdad," has reversed the political gains that were reflected in the 2005 elections. By stabilizing the situation in and around the capital, they assert, the U.S. can help the current government...
by Rodger Payne | 9 Dec 2007 |
Peter has a great post about the meaning of wealth in America -- and the diverse problem that voters making upwards of $97,000 annually pose to the Democratic candidates in the 2008 election campaign.After all, Democrats have long been said to represent the interests of the downtrodden. Think about FDR's "New Deal" or LBJ's "Great Society." Yet, Democratic members now hold many House seats in districts that are viewed as affluent by income...
by Peter | 8 Dec 2007 |
Time for another installment of Ducking the Issues, where we here at the duck take a closer look at issues in the 2008 campaign.David points out an interesting article, reporting a study by the Heritage Foundation that asserts that the Democrats are now the “party of the rich.” When combined with a discussion between Obama and Clinton in a debate in Las Vegas the other week, you end up with an interesting and revealing set of income and class...
by Dan Nexon | 7 Dec 2007 |
Dave Schuler and I are arguing (again) over the counterfactual question: would a Gore Administration have invaded Iraq?. I say, predictably, "no." Dave says, "yes." Weigh in, if so inclined, at his place.
by Charli Carpenter | 7 Dec 2007 |
A conference was recently held at the University of Maastricht on Human Rights and Methodology, which explored the following questions:By which criteria can a product of human rights research be qualified as a methodologically sound piece of work? What are examples of such good practices and what are examples of practices that are unsatisfactory from a methodological point of view? And are there aspects and considerations that are typical for...
by Maia Gemmill | 7 Dec 2007 |
By now you've probably read about the new NIE saying that Iran almost certainly halted its nuclear weapons program some time in 2003. There are, of course, bound to be people who disagree with this assessment--after all, it is an "estimate", which is another way of saying "our best guess". Although the report indicates varying levels of confidence associated with each piece of the report, it's not like we know for sure. Disagreeing with some...
by Rodger Payne | 6 Dec 2007 |
Remember the threat terrorism was supposed to pose to shopping malls? Actually, some of these warnings are quite recent.For years, some have feared that terrorists might go into shopping malls and start killing innocent shoppers or service employees. Often, the warnings are associated with popular holidays like Halloween or Christmas.Here's how Michelle Malkin might handle the latest developments in Omaha -- if she worried about the ready...