by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson | 8 Oct 2007 |
There's nothing like a combat situation to sharpen ethical dilemmas to their most extreme point. For instance: the US military's use of anthropologists in the course of their operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the New York Times reports, an experimental Pentagon program is embedding "anthropologists and other social scientists" with combat units in the field, and utilizing their professional expertise to alter both strategic and tactical...
by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson | 5 Oct 2007 |
Interesting article in the New York Times about efforts to reduce the amount of time that it takes to get a Ph.D. While I have no objection to many of the strategies discussed -- give students guaranteed funding for five years, dissertation-writing groups, a culture in which advisers actually check up on how their students are coming along -- this line about the impact of increased funding gave me pause:That means students need teach no more...
by Rodger Payne | 3 Oct 2007 |
Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago is on "The Colbert Report" right now. Check out the video here. As you might expect, the scholar is promoting his latest book on the Israeli lobby. Perhaps you remember the earlier article.Why Colbert?Maybe Mearsheimer, in his critical theory mode, buys into the comedy of great power politics?
by Peter | 3 Oct 2007 |
Its a great day here at the Duck, as the playoffs begin and my team, the Cleveland Indians, are front and center, tied for the best record in all of baseball, as the home team hosting the Evil Empire, better known as the Yankees.Hope springs eternal in Cleveland. Our team, ranked second in the ESPN misery index of suffering baseball fans, is now a very likable, exciting, group of players, led by Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, CC Sabathia,...
by Maia Gemmill | 1 Oct 2007 |
I was planning to blog on the Ukrainian elections today (exit polls show a very slim lead for Yulia Timoshenko's party, but both sides claim victory), but, well, things get in the way. Like these headlines:"Putin eyes prime minister's job""Putin Says He Will Run For Parliament"United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya)--the Kremlin-approved dominant political party in Russia--kicked off its election campaign this morning with a party conference. It was...
by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson | 30 Sep 2007 |
Fascinating set of articles in this morning's Washington Post about the US military's efforts to develop an effective strategy for dealing with the IEDs -- improvised explosive devices -- that are involved in something like half of the combat deaths in Iraq (and many other deaths of non-combat personnel). IEDs are low-tech explosive devices, but by virtue of this low-tech character they are both cheap to produce and virtually undetectable, and...
by Rodger Payne | 29 Sep 2007 |
Secretary of State Condi Rice and President George Bush made news this week by calling for global action to prevent global warming. However, neither one even really hinted at caps, limits, or mandatory cuts in so-called greenhouse gases. Secretary Rice kicked off the White House's climate summit by declaring "it is our responsibility as global leaders to forge a new international consensus on how to address climate change." In the end, however,...
by Maia Gemmill | 28 Sep 2007 |
Photo: ReutersWhile I've been fascinated by goings-on in southeast Asia, I've missed events going on in my intellectual backyard: political turmoil in the Republic of Georgia.Earlier this week, President Mikheil Saakashvili and his former defense minister, Irakli Okruashvili, had a very public falling out. First, Okruashvili launched his an opposition party, "For a United Georgia". Then he alleged that Saakashvili instructed him to kill several...
by Maia Gemmill | 28 Sep 2007 |
The government crackdown on democracy protesters continues in Burma. The official death toll is nine, including a Japanese photo-journalist, but opposition sources claim that the true number is many times higher. One report I heard claimed that there are over 100 bodies in hospital morgues, and more bodies in the streets. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to get good information about what is going on. The junta has realized the effect...
by Maia Gemmill | 26 Sep 2007 |
Source: Mandalay GazetteAfter nine days of mass, peaceful protests in Myanmar, the crackdown has begun. Government troops have beaten demonstrators and fired tear gas and live bullets. The government currently claims that there has been one death and three injuries; independent accounts confirm the death of at least one monk. There are unconfirmed reports of as many as six protesters killed. There are also reports that hundreds of monks have...
by Maia Gemmill | 25 Sep 2007 |
Putin has named his new cabinet. Despite heated speculation in the media, the changes are fairly small. Almost all the ministers kept their jobs. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin kept his post, but has also been elevated to deputy prime minister. Minister of Economic Development and Trade Germain Gref is out, replaced by his former deputy Elvira Nabiullina. Gref's departure was widely expected, so no big surprises there. Dmitri Kozak, former...
by Maia Gemmill | 25 Sep 2007 |
Source: Mandalay GazetteThe revolution may not be televised, but you can rest assured that it will be blogged. The large scale protests continue, despite yesterday's threats. The ruling military junta has banned foreign journalists, but the locals are snapping photos and emailing them to the western press. There is a great collection at Mandalay Gazette, a Burmese language paper based in California. Photos continue below the fold.