War Commentary

Missing Alms

Mark Steyn on censorship by litigation:

…why would the Cambridge University Press, one of the most respected publishers on the planet, absolve Khalid bin Mahfouz, his family, his businesses and his charities to a degree that neither (to pluck at random) the U.S., French, Albanian, Swiss and Pakistani governments would be prepared to do?

Because English libel law overwhelmingly favors the plaintiff. And like many other big-shot Saudis, Sheikh Mahfouz has become very adept at using foreign courts to silence American authors

Political Commentary

Flawed Argument

In a long and ongoing discussion on (now proven) fabulist Private Beauchamp over at Winds of Change, the topic drifts to Rathergate.

However, one fake document which claimed things that were almost certainly true, was widely regarded to somehow prove they were false because that document itself was fake. Very twisted logic there.

I must have missed that. Maybe someone somewhere argued that this proved that Bush wasn’t AWOL, but I don’t recall ever seeing such an argument.

But then, I never had a strong opinion on whether or not Bush was AWOL (and still don’t). Furthermore, I never much cared, because Bush has always said that when he was young and stupid, he was young and stupid, and he (unlike John Kerry) wasn’t running on his youthful military record–he was running on his more-recent record as president.

Frankly, what was so funny to me about the thing was that the people who were pushing the “Bush is AWOL” story thought that it would damage him with his base, when in fact they were the only people who gave a rat’s patoot (and then only because of the political damage they thought it could do to their enemy, not because they have any intrinsic problems with soldiers going AWOL–many of them would probably laud that in general). It’s the same mentality that causes them to “out” gay Republicans.

What Rathergate proved to me was that some supposedly objective journalists were willing to fabricate, or overlook the fabrication of, documents to support their political agenda, just weeks before an election. It also proved to me that they were idiots. I think that there’s very sound logic behind that.

War Commentary

Robot Soldiers

…and the laws of war. Some interesting thoughts.

I’ve often discussed my frustration with those on the left who deludedly (or more likely, disingenuously) claim that we must treat enemy captured according to the Geneva Conventions (i.e., in their minds, as POWs, or even worse, as civil criminals) when in fact to do what they demand would be a clear violation in itself of the conventions, because the conventions require that we not privilege illegal combatants. And in this war, the enemy has no legal combatants, in terms of Geneva.

In an age of asymmetrical warfare, and entering a post-Westphalian era, the conventions seem no longer to work (except as a means for those who hate America, and particularly George Bush’s America, more than they fear radical Islam, to tie our hands). They need to be replaced with something else. This kind of technology may be one solution.

Science And Society

Will Climate Change Make Hurricanes Worse?

Maybe, but there’s zero evidence of it to date:

Last month, Roger Pielke, Jr., director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado, released the most comprehensive paper ever published on the subject of damage trends in Atlantic hurricanes. The article will appear soon in the peer-reviewed journal Natural Hazards Review.

Is the planet warmer than it was? Yes. Is there any trend in hurricane-related damages in the United States, where good records of damages exist? After accounting simultaneously for inflation, population, and property values, no.

I always find it irritating when the media report this or that hurricane as the “most expensive ever,” as though there’s some worsening trend in hurricanes, without putting it into context. Yes, hurricane damage will increase in the future, but not because hurricanes are getting worse, or more frequent. It’s because the value of the property at risk continues to increase. Fortunately, so does the general wealth of the society, though we do need to solve the moral hazard of subsidizing people who choose to live in hurricane-prone areas. But selfishly, I hope not before I sell the house in Florida.

Technology and Society

Interview with Land Speeder Manufacturer

The Star Wars land speeder is scheduled to head into commercial production in 2008 or 2009. It looks more like a flying saucer than a roadster. It uses ground effect. Safer and simpler than a helicopter? Stay tuned.

Here’s a brochure, a spec sheet, and a FAQ.
I asked Bruce Calkins, press contact at Moller about it.

Transterrestrial Musings: Is it street legal?

Bruce Caulkins, Moller International: It falls into a new category. While no one has claimed it, it remains to be seen who will want to regulate its use.

Continue reading Interview with Land Speeder Manufacturer →

Administrative

Eudora Problem

Is there an expert in the house?

Somehow, I did something to screw up the scoring system for the junk folder. All of my perfectly good emails are coming in with a junk score of 100, which means that I never get any email in my Inbox (spam, on the other hand, gets much lower scores, since 100 is the highest possible one). I always have to go to the Junk folder after downloading, and tell Eudora that they’re not junk, to transfer them into the Inbox, but it never seems to learn. Anyone have any idea what the problem might be?

Popular Culture

Wolverine Faux Pas

I’m a faithful Wolverine, but I think that the response from Lloyd Carr and the others to Jim Harbaugh’s accurate comments is ridiculous. Note that none of them actually deny the allegations (because they know they’re true). They’re just upset because he’s perceived as being “disloyal.” I think that Michigan does as well to uphold academic standards as any program with their kind of record, but the notion that they don’t coddle the athletes academically is ridiculous. It’s unfortunate that this perception carries over to the athletes that are true scholars (and Michigan has many of those as well–I attended engineering classes with some football stars during my time there), but sometimes life isn’t fair.

They would have been better off not responding at all, since he certainly didn’t intend it as a specific slam at his own school, so much as the system in general. He was merely using Michigan as an example with which he was intimately familiar. In fact, you could replace the word “Michigan” in his comments with almost any other program, except perhaps Stanford, but then, they don’t win nearly as many football games.

Political Commentary

Legislative Privilege?

I’m not a constitutional law expert, but this seems strange to me:

Jefferson argued that the first-of-its-kind raid trampled congressional independence. The Constitution prohibits the executive branch from using its law enforcement powers to interfere with the lawmaking process. The Justice Department said that declaring the search unconstitutional would essentially prohibit the FBI from ever looking at a lawmaker’s documents.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected that claim. The court held that, while the search itself was constitutional, FBI agents crossed the line when they viewed every record in the office without giving Jefferson the chance to argue that some documents involved legislative business.

How does that work? What’s to keep the Congressman from arguing that all the records had to do with legislative business, and not allowing them to see anything? The real issue here, since they at least ruled the raid itself illegal, is whether or not the trial judge will throw out the untainted evidence.

I wonder if Justice will appeal?

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!