Enjoying codesmithy because analysis at this blog isn’t mere trade of jingo but sincere study. There’s this, and that:
“…obstacles or no obstacles, principles of self-reliance and responsibility should guide people’s actions.”
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“I finished watching Fitna, the controversial movie by Geert Wilders that attacks Islam. It portrays Islam as a violent religion, quoting passages out of the Koran followed by video of atrocities committed by Muslims or clerics declaring some sort of hateful screed against Jews, homosexuals, adulterers, or other infidels. At its heart, the film is propaganda. Are there fundamentalist strains of Islam that I find concerning? Yes. However, I find those same hateful ideas embodied in Christian fundamentalism.
“The struggle to preserve the West cannot be about the domination of one fundamentalist dogma over another. It has to be about preserving egalitarian values embodied in democratic rule, scientific thought, and prefaced by basic moral truisms of equality and liberty.”
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“I do have sympathy for the people who suffer the Ayn Rand fans.
“Alas, I digress. The larger point is the information conundrum. An underlying current of the essay is that more information is now available before two people even meet. While, this may at first be more efficient, it has its own set of concerns. One concern is disqualifying information. By putting too much information out, there will more a chance that a potential date will find something that they will not like even before they technically ask. Good for the ask-er, not so great for the ask-ee. Second, people don’t actually know what they are looking for in another person. Maybe, there is a suitable suitor who has never heard of Pushkin. Third, people game the system. The most important piece of information is seldom the one expressed, but rather the ones left out.
“Social norms have not adjusted for the vast amounts of information that is now readily available with the barest modicum of digging. Much of it is just an adjustment in expectations. Although, if there is one truth it is the difficulty in applying the same standards to ourselves as we apply to other people. What do you think you look like to an outside observer?”
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Frontline ran an amazing two part program called “Bush’s War.” It can be viewed online here. It isn’t a complete picture of Iraq, however it gives insight into the behind-the-scenes political battles that took place surrounding the war.
I don’t want to belabor any of the points. However, a couple things are clear. First, Rumsfeld was hopelessly deluded about the war. The disastrous post-invasion looting was due directly to his incompetence. The torture of prisoners for information is something he directly authorized.
Second, Rice failed her way upwards. … Finally, Bush is one of the worst executives in history. He is in love with his own myth….