Dive into the archives.
- nope, at long last, he had no decency
No shortage of recent conservative writers—Ann Coulter, of course, comes to mind—have tried to give Sen. Joe McCarthy partial credit for his hunt for Communists in all corners of public society; it turned out that there were Communists in government, after all. Not so fast, says author Ronald Kessler: The FBI agents who actually chased [...]
22 Apr 2008 
History, Politics; 
no comments. 
permalink
- another step “backwards”
My dear friend Shruti Rajagopalan writes in the WSJ Asia about the Indian Supreme Court ruling on caste-based quotas in higher education. For those unfamiliar with the matter, it’s definitely worth a read. The prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management were some of the last bastions of meritocracy left in India, [...]
21 Apr 2008 Economics, Society (or "the social"); no comments. permalink
- shocking revelation: maoist thugs not in it for the proletariat
Sit down for this one. Are you ready? The Naxalites, the Maoist butchers of eastern India, are racking up substantial profits from their plunders: According to a media report of April 9, 2008, the annual ‘extortion’ by the Maoists is a whopping Rs.1,000 crore (Rs. 10bil = $250m). A former official of the Intelligence Bureau [...]
21 Apr 2008 Politics; no comments. permalink
- about right
Probably why I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Jewish faith: Happy Passover “Summation of every Jewish holiday: they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” – Karol Sheinin
20 Apr 2008 & Cetera; no comments. permalink
- links for 2008-04-18
Slate: Why do so many pro baseball players have August birthdays? The law of unintended consequences strikes again. (tags: interesting health sports statistics) The Economist, mournfully, on London’s mayoral election. Sick of polarized election debates? Wishing for a post-partisan world of happiness? Watch London and see what happens. It’s Pop Idol for Politicians. You really [...]
18 Apr 2008 Uncategorized; no comments. permalink
- on elevators
An eight-page article at the New Yorker on elevators does not sound interesting, but it really is. Learn about how responsive those door close buttons are and about the latest in smart-elevator technology, and read of Nicholas White’s 41-hour elevator ride. Frightening video evidence of that ride is also available. You can be assured I [...]
17 Apr 2008 & Cetera, Technology; one comment. permalink
- links for 2008-04-15
WSJ: On the alleged engineering shortfall in the US As usual, the statistical decline of the US is much exaggerated. (tags: statistics education india asia) Slate: Game theory explains dinner-party dates. (tags: women economics society) WSJ: Health insurance companies as mafiosos Joseph Kellerman makes an interesting case for returning to the days before everyone was [...]
15 Apr 2008 Uncategorized; no comments. permalink
- links for 2008-04-13
WSJ: Negotiation as an alternative to net neutrality While all the online and tech celebs are busy looking for net neutrality legislation, Comcast and BitTorrent actually accomplished something useful. (tags: tech government regulation) The Agitator: So About That Tree of Liberty… I’m not a huge TJ fan, and I find flash mobs to be evidence [...]
13 Apr 2008 Uncategorized; no comments. permalink
- why The Movement makes me wildly uncomfortable
Will Wilkinson posts on why one ought to pick anyone but Thomas Jefferson in Radley Balko’s Founding Father poll, and the commenters let loose a flood of verbal diarrhea: FatDrunkAndStupid April 9th, 2008 06:27 11 I’d also take exception to the idea that Jefferson’s position on slavery was worse than Hamilton’s on the Central Bank. [...]
13 Apr 2008 History, Politics; no comments. permalink
- links for 2008-04-12
DNA India: Karnataka Congress Party promises low-cost rice and free TVs to distract from inflation fears So Congress’s brilliant policy is to distract from inflationary pressure by. . . introducing inflationary measures. (tags: india economics government stupidity leftists) DNA India: Celeb adoptions fuelling baby dumping So much for “raising awareness” of conditions in the less [...]
12 Apr 2008 Uncategorized; no comments. permalink