In today’s Washington Post Jon Wolfsthal writes that the key to stopping North Korea’s missile program is good old-fashioned deterrence. Wolfsthal writes:"Over the long run, how can Americans be sure that some future "test" missile won't be fitted with a nuclear weapon and targeted on a US city? The short answer is they can't. But through a straightforward policy of deterrence we can eliminate any thought in North Korean minds that they can...

I'm becoming a fan of Amazon's "search inside" feature. Much like Google's variant, it provides a quick way to check the accuracy of citations. But it also can turn up some rather random stuff. Forgotten stuff.Here's Martin Gardner in his collection, Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience:The Skeptical Inquirer published in its March/April 1997 issue two angry letters from readers who accused me of unfair attacks on John Dewey...

I fail to understand why this concept is so hard to get one's head around. Like Steve Clemons says, taking issue with the Iraq conflict (and leaders who supported it)"has nothing to do with being 'anti-war', it has everything to do with being 'anti-Iraq War' and trying to prevent the same kind of dangerous calculus from being followed in the future."Seems pretty simple to me.Maybe we ought to use smaller words to get the point across.Filed as:...

As you've seen and heard, North Korea tested its missiles. They launched the Taepo-Dong 2 multi-stage missile as well as 6 short and medium range Nodong missiles and Scud variants.What first strikes me as interesting about this is the sheer number of missiles launched--7 overall. The first volley included 5 short / medium range missiles along with the Taepodong 2. Then, a few hours later, they fired off a 7th missile, also of the short-range...

Via FP Passport, a view inside the weapon system procurement process. You'll notice that in the upper right-hand corner of the chart that this is a classroom aid for students at the Defense Acquisition University--yes, there is a university dedicated to the subject. That should tell you all need to know. FP Passport has a link to PDF versions of the front and back (oh yes, there is a back, and it 'clarifies' the chart on the front).Filed as:...

With the (failed) test launch of the Taepodong-2--along with a few other Scud-like missiles)--some uncertainty regarding North Korea's capabilities has been cleared up--the DPRK lacks the capability to credibily threaten an "annihilating strike" (or any strike for that matter) against the United States. However, by going forward with the test launch, North Korea has put the United States in a position where it must now reveal just how much it...

UPDATE: news reports now suggest North Korea launched at least seven missiles. Why so many? The Glittering Eye is taking suggestions.Top story on Reuters:TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea launched up to four missiles on Wednesday, including a long-range Taepodong 2 that appeared to fail in flight, a U.S. official and media reports said.A Pentagon official in Washington told Reuters two of the missiles launched by Stalinist and secretive North Korea...

Wishing my fellow members of the Duck and all our readers a safe and happy 4th of July.In between burgers and dogs I would recommend giving E.J. Dionne, Jr.'s column a read. Hopefully we will never forget that 1776 was merely a starting point and that great work remains to be done.Filed as: Independence Day

In honor of Independence Day, a little game of "spot the performative contradiction."The First Amendment to the United States Constitution:Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.Courtesy of the Washington Post, the...

Because I worry that Haloscan may implode before blogger does, I feel compelled to preserve SteveG's comment on Patrick's ode to his HDTV for digital posterity:It may be a non-standard interpretation, but there are some scholars who consider "alienation from oneself as a species being" to be a mistranslation of "not getting decent reception on channel sechs oder acht." Of course, Marx was writing back in the times when they had rabbit...

After a long struggle with some undisclosed ailment that was producing an occasional greenish tint to the images displayed on it, our old 27" Magnavox standard-definition TV finally gave up the ghost a couple of weeks ago. It was a long, slow death, so there wasn't much mourning -- just a couple of trips to electronics stores and some 'Net browsing to find a replacement. What we quickly learned is that they just don't make decent-quality...

[Updated 7.4.06] John Robb peaks into his crystal ball to see what might happen if the US moves forward with a strategic bombing campaign against Iran (discussed in the new issue of the New Yorker by Sy Hersh). He relays some interesting possibilities, although I must say that much of what he talks about was echoed by others in the lead up to the Iraq war, and certainly the reverberations from that conflict have not been as severe as...