Two Views on Torture
Andrew Sullivan quotes George Orwell on why torturing our enemies is morally repugnant, tactically ineffective, and politically unwise.
Computer Waste
Corrupted PC's Find New Home in the Dumpster - New York Times
On a recent Sunday morning when Lew Tucker's Dell desktop computer was overrun by spyware and adware - stealth software that delivers intrusive advertising messages and even gathers data from the user's machine - he did not simply get rid of the offending programs. He threw out the whole computer.
Puh-leeze. The ultimate in waste in the SUV society. And why was a Ph.D. in computer science using a computer without an antivirus program?
Passing Grade?
New York law examiners have raised the bar on this month's bar exam, prompting the state bar association to create a panel to investigate whether the exam really measures lawyer competence.
The article notes that it is remarkable that it is the New York Bar Exam is coming under scrutiny, since New York has devoted unusual attention to its admission process. (The article also points out that New York is unusual in that a quarter of the candidates are educated abroad, but cites no correlation to rising scores.)
Vive La France!
Bastille Day is as good a point in history as any to mark the moment that Europe entered the modern age, for better and for worse. A mes amis français, salut!
Blue Books
Powell's Books is 100% Blue.
We Stand With Them
My sympathies, condolences, and solidarity go out to the British people today. Clearly the people who perpetrated the monstrous crime of bombing civilians on the tube and the buses do not understand that no trait is more British than fortitude in adversity.
Today, Judy Miller Is My Hero
Reporter Jailed After Refusing to Name Source - New York Times
WASHINGTON, July 6 - Judith Miller, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, was sent to jail on Wednesday after a federal judge declared that she was "defying the law" by refusing to divulge the name of a confidential source.
Folklife Festival
One of the many curious facts that I learned at the Oman pavilion at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was that the Sultan of Oman has a bagpipe band. Rachel, meanwhile, was more interested in joining the traditional musicians as they danced the qasafiya.
Oppressed Christians
Andrew Sullivan summarizes the Air Force Report on religious coercion at the Air Force Academy. Somehow it does not appear that Christians are the are the people at risk of oppression in modern America, despite the rhetoric of the Republican Party.
More on How Blogging Will Get You Fired
Workplace Fairness: today's workplace: it's everyone's job
Workplace Fairness explains how your Blog can get you fired, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Another Perspective on Amnesty's "Gulag" Comment
We Are Our History -- Don't Forget It
Gelernter's own place in history is perhaps most secure because he is a well-known victim of the Unabomber. I do not agree with his ultimate implication that Kennedy's aggressive anti-Communism somehow justifies our intervention in Iraq, but I agree with his argument that it is impossible to have an intelligent discussion of the issue without an understanding of history.
Blogging FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
USA Today points out that employers are desperate to control blogs. They are torn between fear that out-of-control bloggers will alienate customers or spill trade secrets and greed over the prospect that they can manipulate bloggers to promote their products.
Revisionism
We hear a fair amount about historical revisionism to justify national crimes in Japan and China. We hear less about the same thing here at home. Scary stuff.
Where is SuperNanny When You Need Her?
Bedtime battles: How to nip them in the bud
If you're like most parents, you're all too familiar with this scenario: You put your 2-year-old to bed at 8 at night, hugging and kissing him and wishing him sweet dreams. It's been a long day, but still the dinner dishes await, you have bills to pay, the dog needs to be walked and the cat fed, and you haven't had a spare moment to put your feet up. But instead of spending the rest of the evening catching up on your chores and clocking some precious time with your partner, you're in and out of your child's room, cajoling him to sleep. He finally nods off — about three hours after he first went to bed.
It is no wonder that SuperNanny is so popular.
Outing Granddad?
The Washington Post suggests that the revelation of Mark Felt's secret role in the Watergate scandal may have been a self-serving decision by his family:
Watching W. Mark Felt appear alongside his daughter and grandson on Tuesday to affirm that he was Deep Throat, one could be forgiven for suspecting that he was not the driving force behind this very public admission. Smiling like an eager-to-please child, his pajama top tucked poorly into mismatched bottoms, the 91-year-old looked like a man who no longer made many decisions for himself. Any evidence that he was once among the nation's most powerful lawmen was long gone. The two faces framing his, however, seemed to be very much in charge. His attractive, determined daughter Joan and his clean-cut, law student grandson, Nick Jones, positively glowed with purposefulness. It was hard not to think that they were the ones behind the revelation, not the shaky figure clutching the walker.
It is a very poignant picture.
Sticks and Stones
Rights Group Defends Chastising of U.S. - New York Times
LONDON, June 3 - An official of Amnesty International said Friday that the term gulag in its annual report to describe the United States prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was chosen deliberately, and she shrugged off harsh criticism of the report by the Bush administration.
Good Eats
Good cooking is its own reward. That's why Alton Brown is my new hero.
Deep Throat Unmasked
I feel a little conflicted about learning the identity of Deep Throat. Part of the romance of the Watergate story was the secret identity of Woodward and Bernstein's confidential source, and the world seems a little plainer and less mysterious now that he has revealed his identity after 30 years. However, perhaps in the waning years of his life, it is fitting that he be honored for his role.
Road Less Traveled
Halley Suitt on the price of living on your own terms.