[ While I am somewhat skeptical of the more neurochemically reductionistic elements of Shermer’s theory and would prefer a more qualified identification of trade as a trust-generating “engine,” I am extremely sympathetic to the material on the evolution of cooperation and the moral imperative to “expand the tribe.” Thanks to Bill Bryant of Oklahomans for Global Solutions for forwarding this article. –BL ] June, 2004 | Science and Theology News by Michael Shermer In Rob Reiner?s 1992 film A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson?s character — the battle-hardened Marine Col. Nathan R. Jessup — is being cross-examined by Tom Cruise?s naive […]
Daily Archives: June 27, 2004
6 posts
[ According to the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 appears to have been motivated in part by opposition to U.S. support for Israel against the Palestinians. In related news, the Commission also reports bin Laden links with Iran: In relation to Iran [a sponsor of anti-Israel group Hezbollah], commission investigators said intelligence “showed far greater potential for collaboration between Hezbollah and al Qaeda than many had previously thought.” (Washington Post, 25 June) –BL ] June 25, 2004 | The Forward [New York] by Marc Perelman In an interim staff report released last week, the presidential commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks shed […]
[ Cronkite reports on recent high-level talks at which ideas about U.N. reform are being floated — on setting up an effective system to respond to the need to protect human rights, on ways of dealing with anti-democratic members, on proportion representation, and even on Security Council reform. –BL ] 13 June 2004 | Denver Post by Walter Cronkite New life is being breathed into the United Nations. The organization that is the world’s best hope for a lasting peace seems to be relevant again, having been consigned to irrelevancy a year and a half ago by George Bush and much […]
by Brendan Lalor Comedy Central’s Daily Show with John Stewart has a number of seriously great Bush videos on its website, including the following: click Bush vs. Bush click Stephen Colbert Faces the Imaginable try these, including A-Boo Gareff They are damning and often funny.
by Brendan Lalor The Bush Administration is quick to oversimplify insurgent elements in Iraq through demonizing its opposition with slogans such as “anti-democratic extremists,” “enemy insurgents,” and “terrorist killers.” These propagandistic tendencies of the Bush Administration make it all the more important for the American public to guard against such unsubtle and premature characterizations. The Asia Times has reported an apparently extensive network composed of mostly native Iraqis opposed to the occupation. These forces claim that they aim to expel the U.S. and set up a secular democracy. If correct, it would be a complete mischaracterization to lump such a […]
by Brendan Lalor Christopher Hitchens has given Michael Moore a beating for his new film, Fahrenheit 9/11, often disingenuously — as when he points out that Moore complains that, on the one hand, Bush failed to send enough troops to Iraq, and, on the other hand, Bush should not have sent any troops. Isn’t Moore entitled to oppose sending troops at all, but then complain that if troops are being sent, Bush had better send enough? As David Edelstein properly argues, Fahrenheit 9/11 must be viewed in the context of the Iraq occupation and the torrent of misleading claims that […]