Andrew Sullivan points out the way that the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation” was viewed half a century ago – before Cheney, Rumsfeld and “24” turned torture into a spectator sport. Money quote: Critics will no doubt say I am accusing the Bush administration of being Hitler. I’m not. There is no comparison between the political…
Read More "Verschärfte Vernehmung"Back in February I mentioned a cool Mac application called DotMatrix by B-L-A-C-K-O-P, ((They also have this neat free screensaver, BlackenedPixels, which turns the screen black and then tries to power down the displays. I have a PB15″ with a Samsung SyncMaster 940MW on the DVI port. BlackenedPixels was able to power down the internal…
Read More More DotMatrixMust-watch video: David Weinberger, talking about the ideas in his new book Everything is Miscellaneous. (Hat-tip to my Sun buddy, Paul Lamere.) UPDATE: The Prologue and Chapter 1 of the book are now online.
Read More Weinberger on "Everything is Miscellaneous"Poland to probe if Teletubbies are gay: Poland’s conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees as homosexual propaganda to the small screen on Monday, taking aim at Tinky Winky and the other Teletubbies. Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told a local magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBC…
Read More Falwell's legacy of stupidity and bigotryRegular readers of my blog will remember that a couple of years ago we were discussing the supposed “conversion” of the English philosopher Antony Flew. Here’s how I summarized it a year ago: The Anthony Flew brouhaha Of all the subjects I’ve blogged on, the one that has generated the most discussion is the sad…
Read More The longest running soap opera in the philosophy of religionWithout any real competition from Ferrari, today’s Monaco Grand Prix was a chance for McLaren to put on a splendid show, and they did. Alonso drove beautifully, and Hamilton continued the unprecedented string of performances that are causing people like Jackie Stewart to tip him for true greatness. They lapped all their rivals up to…
Read More Great Monaco GP; shame about the post-race nonsenseFrom TPM: As if the dynamic of the conflict wasn’t complex enough, U.S. troops are now interceding in a gunfight between Iraqi Interior Ministry forces and employees of U.S. private security firm. Great. Words like “incompetence” and “quagmire” seem pathetically inadequate.
Read More Just when you think it couldn't get any worse….Mark Vernon has posted an excellent piece on the state of philosophy today. I won’t try to summarize it, because he covers a lot of ground, and I couldn’t do him justice. Moreover the picture is, at times, downright paradoxical. For example, Martha Nussbaum believes that philosophers are doing good, relevant, accessible work, but it…
Read More The state of philosophyCharlie Rose interviews Christopher Hitchens about Iraq, religion, and Jefferson.
Read More Hitchens at his best, and his worstHerewith a handful of pics taken when I was back in Massachusetts last weekend. They show Tommy at Children’s Hospital, visiting the Franklin Park Zoo, and playing in the local park (when the sun finally came out on Sunday).
Read More For friends and family