by Dan Nexon | 13 Oct 2006 |
• The Crane Wife is, as my friends predicted, growing on me. The prog-rock turn worked much better in The Tain, and I don't think I'll ever find the Decemberists' fourth LP superior to their prior three, but there's still a lot to like about their first major-label offering.• Jonah Goldberg's the worst kind of sci-fi geek: one who doesn't know a whole lot about the genre . I actually agree with him about Dean Stockwell's line in the premiere of...
by Rodger Payne | 11 Oct 2006 |
Yesterday, October 10, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked a number of questions about the apparent North Korean nuclear test. Here's my favorite:Q ...when you have a President who draws a red line three years ago and says, we will not tolerate nuclear weapons, and now you have a country that just tested a nuclear weapon -- you don't think it's fair to ask for some accountability as to what happened, or that there were mistakes...
by Peter | 9 Oct 2006 |
North Korea announced that it had tested a nuclear device last night. Though initial reports are still a bit cautious, it seems pretty clear from the global reaction that this was in fact some sort of nuclear test. You can see the seismic event catalogued here, click on the red dot in North Korea to see the event of magnitude 4.2 in the northwest of North Korea (and thanks to the current student who pointed out this cool website).This is,...
by Dan Nexon | 9 Oct 2006 | Featured
I assume we'll be closer to an answer when I get up.The North Korean news agency KCNA says its country has successfully conducted an underground nuclear test."Our science research section has safely and successfully conducted an underground nuclear test on October, 9," it said.It added that there was no leak or danger from the test.There are no more details at this stage.The South Korean News Agency Yonhap is also carrying reports that...
by Rodger Payne | 5 Oct 2006 |
Film #7 "Red Dawn" (1984). We viewed it Tuesday.Readings for Thursday: Hashim. Ahmed S., “Iraq: From Insurgency to Civil War?” 104 Current History, Jan 2005. pp. 10-18. Link requires subscription.Kaplan, Fred, “How Do We Win in Iraq?” Slate, September 9, 2005.Krepinevich, Andrew, “The War In Iraq: The Nature of Insurgency Warfare,” Backgrounder, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, June 2, 2004. Those who have seen it know that "Red...
by Peter | 4 Oct 2006 | Featured
Feeling safe? You shouldn't-- its the threatdown!I'm teaching a National Security Policy class this semester, and last week our topic was Threats. The assignment that day was for each student to write a Threatdown--an ordered, annotated list of the top 10 threats facing American.Two things struck me in reading the threats my students identified.First, most--like on the order of 60% - 70%--were non-state threats. Things like Global Warming,...
by Rodger Payne | 3 Oct 2006 |
Here's the provocative lead paragraph from an interesting new article well worth a read:A revolt is brewing among our retired Army and Marine generals. This rebellion--quiet and nonconfrontational, but remarkable nonetheless--comes not because their beloved forces are bearing the brunt of ground combat in Iraq but because the retirees see the US adventure in Mesopotamia as another Vietnam-like, strategically failed war, and they blame the...
by Peter | 3 Oct 2006 | Featured
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and publicly post a response to a debate that I've been having with a friend on email for a while now. Moreover, I'm going to go even more out on a limb and argue, well, you saw the title. The beauty of a blog.Background: What got this started was my earlier post where I concluded that withdrawal from Iraq was the least-bad option. My friend replied, yes, but isn't that just leaving a mess that will do...
by Dan Nexon | 2 Oct 2006 | Featured
The ongoing VDH war at Lawyers, Guns, and Money has, at least for the moment, degenerated into an exercise in CV parsing. No. I'm not joking. The question: does Rob Farley's status as an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky automatically make his arguments concerning President Carter's defense policy less compelling than those of someone who is a Professor Professor Emeritus at Stanford Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover...
by Rodger Payne | 29 Sep 2006 |
Film #6 "Breaker Morant" (1980). We viewed it Tuesday.Readings for Thursday: Krauthammer, Charles, “The Unipolar Moment Revisited,” The National Interest, Winter 2002/2003, pp. 5-17.Fukuyama, Francis, “The Neoconservative Moment,” The National Interest, Summer 2004, pp. 57-68.If you haven't seen "Breaker Morant," I highly recommend it. It is a great film about the dirty underbelly of the so-called "Boer War" (1899-1902). Its themes resonate...
by Dan Nexon | 29 Sep 2006 | Featured
All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. -Matthew 7:12What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. - Talmud, Shabbat 3idI have little to add to the cogent analysis of those who still believe in the bedrock principles of the United States. The bill that passed the Senate, by definition, establishes tyranny. Not the...
by Dan Nexon | 28 Sep 2006 | Featured
This looks like an amazing major. Check out the Department and the course offerings.Note the disclaimer. And take a look at the markup.Thanks to Alex M. for bringing this to our attention.Filed as: miscellany