Although I've commented extensively on these issues on other people's blogs, I haven't used the Duck as a platform for weighing into the morass of the Karl Rove "evil liberals want to destroy America" or Richard Durbin "stop behaving like Nazis" speeches. The whole debate surrounding both speeches makes me angry. When I get angry I mouth off. The result is neither lucid nor illuminating discussion, on my part, of issues relevant to...

I'm slated to teach International security this fall for the first time in a couple of years and have been thinking about what to cover. It is a broad topic, of course, and people have all sorts of perspectives. Especially prior to the "war on terror," there was a vast literature developing on environmental security, human security, food security, etc.To a large extent, post 9/11 and war in Iraq, the field has returned to its fascination with...

I don't agree with Rodger that the Iraq War was totally unjustifiable. Rodger and I do, presumably, agree that the Bush administration's marketing of the war was marked by "threat inflation" at best, and outright deceit at worst.I am certain, however, that we agree that they've done a terrible job - from day one - of actually waging warfare in Mesopotamia. Indeed, even most of my pro-war friends and colleagues have been shocked at the gross...

There's another mention of "dog-whistle politics" over at Political Wire. Taegan Goddard quotes from a recent Congressional Quarterly article by Craig Crawford:Dean and Durbin were trying to rally their faithful with the harsh, red-meat language that partisans enjoy, but they have a lot to learn about how to deploy the stiletto instead of the assault rifle.One reason Republicans keep Democrats on the defensive is how effectively they speak to...

Earlier this week, the British government released data showing that the royal family costs each taxpayer just 61 pence ($1.12) per year. This was down £100,000 from last year, and is almost 60% less than the cost in 1991-92.Apparently, Princess Di had expensive tastes. The chief British government accountant put recent thrift in perspective for Reuters:"We believe this represents a value-for-money monarchy," said Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy...

Found in the May 26, 2005 personals section of the New York Review of Books:WOMAN would like to meet men born in 1940, preferably on November 9 or 10.The word "preferably" causes problems, I think, for the obvious hypotheses.

Well, the news is a flutter with talk of a new "Asian Invasion". The Chinese state-owned CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) has made an unsolicitated offer for the US-based UNOCAL which trumps the current offer by Chevron. This bid follows hot on the heals of the acquisition of IBM's perosnal computer arm by the Lenova Group as well as another bid for an American company, this time Maytag, by the China-based Haier. One cannot help...

By now you all probably know that Ahmadinejad handily won the election in Iran:Ultra-conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept to a landslide win in presidential elections on Saturday, spelling a possible end to Iran's fragile social reforms and tentative rapprochement with the West.Ahmadinejad, 48, received the backing of the religious poor to defeat moderate cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was supported by pro-reform parties...

I'm tied up with an article I have under "revise-and-resubmit"; the other members of the Duck are similarly preoccupied. We'll all be posting again shortly. Patrick, for example, has promised a post on American exceptionalism that will provide some perspective on the debate kicked off the Trumanites. He's something of an expert on the subject, so it should be worth the wait. 'Nuff said

To get a reputation for being suspicious and distrustful is certainly not desirable. Nevertheless, men are so false, so insidious, so deceitful and cunning in their wiles, so avid in their own interest, and so oblivious to other's interests, that you cannot go wrong if you believe little and trust less (Series C, 81).Renaissance Italy certainly must have been a fun place, eh?Filed as: Guicciardini and maxims

"Speak Victorian, think Pagan." Kaplan's clever phrase is also the motto of Coming Anarchy. I wonder, though, if Curzon takes that maxim as seriously as he should.In his June 20 post, "Thanks for Nothing", Curzon writes:Thanks all of you who pushed for the US to break with Uzbekistan after the Andijan massacre that left hundreds dead. You got what you wanted! Uzbekistan has now imposed flight restrictions on our "K2" airbase, all while saying...

Robert Farley's posted the first of a six-part series on the future of Sino-US relations. If the quality of the first post is any indication, the whole series will be an excellent primer on the debate, as well as a terrific analysis of the key issues at stake. My only concern so far is that Robert may be relying too much on "straight-line" projections: in taking current trends and extrapolating them into the future.For example, Robert is...