Here’s an article that was sent to me by two people, both John Wendel and, about an hour later, by Mer. It’s about how the cuddly feelgood New Age version of the Dalai Lama is our fantasy creation. The “us” to whom I ascribe this “our” being, of course, the New Age feelgood-addicted West. I know John and Mer both very likely know that my own thinking on the issue of Tibet and the Tibetan government-in-exile (ie. the theocracy that was desposed by Chinese soldiers) is far from blind sympathy, but I did realize that perhaps many of the people …
Tag: politics
Human Cargo and the Limits of Domestic Security
AP Wire | 09/10/2003 | Man Charged for Shipping Himself As Cargo Yes, really. I found this on Epiphany in C. Here’s the thing. I wrote this article right after September 11th, arguing that the problem is, there are weak spots all over in the armor of the American system. I really do think they exist in such massive numbers that for the American government to find them all is impossible. Maybe with enough encouragement and publicization, enough cranks and loudmouths will think up the crazy things terrorists might do, and if the government listens to them (instead of arresting …
Smashing a Stupid Argument Against Gay Marriage
Gallamine.com – William Cox I was following one of the blogsnob links served up to my webpage when I came across William Cox’s page Gallamine. While looking about I came across a ludicrous little article on why banning gay marriage is just. So I posted the following comment there, responding to others comments and then to the article itself, and decided to reproduce it here because it’s long enough to warrant reposting and because I think I argue well.
Declinism and America
Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Ideas / That sinking feeling Is America on the decline? That’s the premise of the novel I am working on, but it’s not as if I came up with the idea. Here’s a fascinating article looking at the various theories alleging America is, or is not, on the decline. I agree with the final point, at least, which is: Maybe civilizations do not devolve, as theorists of decline fear, but rather evolve, as from Darwin’s tangled bank where there is no perfection, merely complexity and fluxand where there is always something growing where …
Why George Bush is a doubly a C*NT
The update first, so I don’t get a bunch of corrections. Yes, I checked with Myoung Jae and he’s pretty sure joji is a slang word for a boy’s naughty bits and not a girl’s naughty bits. So this story is slightly less funny. But I’m leaving it up since it still means George Bush is a dink and a p*ssy. And I am censoring this to avoid getting porno search freaks bombarding my site with complaints.
Letters to Bush
As part of a letter-writing lesson at the school where I was teaching until last week, my young students wrote to George Bush during the outbreak of the Second Gulf War. Recently, someone commented that he would like to see some of the letters my students wrote to George Bush. Now, they’re a bit dated, as they were written on March 22nd of 2003, but, I think they’re still interesting. Sure, some kids are only repeating (via translation) what they’ve heard from their parents, or on the news… but the anger they’re expressing is surprisingly strong considering how far away …
Games, Simulation, and Learning
The Adrenaline Vault | The Developers Corner This little blurb made me think of my sister’s job, teaching kids about what it means to be a refugee basicallyh by inflicting on them a slightly padded experience of being a refugee. It’s her comments about that which make me wonder about how effective electronic simulations can be for many many types of learning. After all, in games one can learn to shoot people to pieces, but I am not sure it’s so easy in real life. The visceral part is missing, and sometimes (often?) that is the most cruciual thing. Still, …
Rule of Law? Rule of Law? Oh, the Irony!
The Rise of the Russian Criminal State by David Satter Updated Link: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State by David Satter David Satter writes about the rule of law and its necessity in order for democracy and capitalism to succeed, something which, as the world knows, has not happened in Russia. He’s right, of course, Russia has become a horrible criminal state. But I couldn’t help reading the beginning of the article with a slowly mounting sense of irony. Consider this excerpt, from the middle section on “Kleptocracy in the Guide of Reform”: Perhaps more important than these economic features, …
Externalities, Intanglibles, and Democracy
Samizdata.net – Who should pay for the smell of lasagne? Interesting discussion of externalities, the commons, and payment systems. I made a comment and it’s worth seeing….
Shooting Fish in the Political Barrel
USS Clueless – The reaction Over at the USS Clueless, the Captain is busy bringing up the most idiotic examples of leftist criticism and smashing them down. Does anyone know the word “strawman”? It doesn’t just mean “imaginary idiotic argument”, it can quite easily mean “real idiotic argument not espoused by anyone who matters.” I know these ignorant rhetoric-spouting leftist whingers, believe me, and despite my sympathies (I dislike most of what they dislike, to be honest), they embarass me. But it doesn’t make Bush acceptable, or the situation in America or Iraq acceptable, either. However, shooting fish in the …