Hating Gore Given they seem
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Hating Gore
Given they seem to share at least some of the same sentiments on a war with Iraq, will Chris Matthews be able to say something good about Al Gore? I’m betting not, but let’s watch and see him avoid the issue!
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Dershowitz and Summers on Israel
Dershowitz and Summers on Israel
Dershowitz writes for the Harvard Crimson today and hits a
home run. I hadn’t commented on Larry Summer’s speech concerning anti-semitism at Harvard.
It was excellent. Taking Israel to task for its abuses is the right thing to do. I think as a special friend of the United States we should give them special attention when they don’t live up to their ideals, just as we should give ourselves special attention when we don’t live up to our ideals. However, putting those abuses in context is critical. Israel is a democracy that respects humans as individuals. It isn’t perfect, but it is a hell of a lot better than any of its neighbors–even the moderate neighbors such as Jordan. Failure to distinguish between the relative levels of oppression is nothing short of stupid.
Perhaps there is another explanation besides anti-semitism, but it is pretty damn hard to imagine what. Suggesting a university should disinvest from Israel before other countries is absurd and I find Dershowitz’s idea quite good. Invest relative to their human rights record and that is fair. Then see how Arab governments come across in comparison. Arabs and Muslims are good people who are saddled with horrible governments for the most part. Comparing those governments to the Israeli government is absurd though.
Rifkin on Alt Energy Jeremy
Rifkin on Alt Energy
Jeremy Rifkin was on Diane Rehm today (fortunately he talked a lot so she couldn’t). He is also interviewed in Salon today and has some very intelligent things to say about hydrogen power. For those who haven’t been following this issue, it is a good primer.
He brings up BP/Amocos efforts which is an interesting point. Non-American companies are investing in the future, American are trying to drill in delicate ecosystems. Just who is going to do better in the long run?
Eric Zorn, and more on
Eric Zorn, and more on the Nicarico case
A new web site (at least to me) by Eric Zorn is up. I found it while reading his new column about Birkett’s slowness in indicting a man for the Nicarico murder all the while still trying to insinuate Cruz was responsible. If that is the experience he is bragging about as a prosecutor, hasn’t Illinois had enough prosecutorial abuse?
Ryan needs to get a
Ryan needs to get a clue. While the entire system has problems and Devine and Daley should be taken to task, Ryan’s abuses in the Cruz case are horrific. In general, I see Ryan as a not-to bad guy, but that case was a travesty of justice and it was his fault.
Ummm.can Harvard get its acceptance
Ummm.can Harvard get its acceptance letter back.
Via Tapped is another example
Via Tapped is another example of the politicization of science under this administration.
The statistics division isn’t perfect, but it is damn good. If this is related to 2nd Amendment concerns, as I suspect it is despite any claims made by the administration, this is ugly.
This article is a good
This article is a good example of why most in the US have oversimplified the Israeli-Palestinean conflict. Israel is a special friend of the United States, as it should be. Our friends can make mistakes and they have repeatedly done so. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t support them and guarantee the continued existence of the Israeli state with our military. We also have a responsibility to call them out when they do wrong.
The major problem with our policy combined with Sharon is that it gives extremists every incentive to continue bombing. Extremists don’t want a land for peace deal–the want the destruction of Israel. Hamas and others see the way to the destruction of Israel starting with no peace and constant war. By refusing to negotiate when Hamas or other extremist Palestinean attacks, Sharon has created a situation where extremists get exactly what they want. Isn’t that rewarding terrorism?
What is Sullivan reading? His
What is Sullivan reading? His recent post on Dubya and the Young is near delusional. He tries to claim the young are backing the GOP in huge numbers. There is a 7 point difference for those in their 20s, but that isn’t a huge difference. More importantly, he misses that the genders are mirror images of each other and as much support as there is for the GOP amongst men, the Dems pick up the same percentages from women.
Here is the breakout.
The Times has a good
The Times has a good article on nuclear proliferation that points out our abysmal spending on it. Just remember kids, the President had to be shamed into even that amount by Gephardt, Lugar and Nunn. File under: The adults are back in charge.