Reason versus emotion? It’s a false dichotomy
With its elevation of intuition over reason and the unconscious mind over rational thought, David Brooks’ new book is an explicit attack on Enlightenment values. It’s time we defended rationalism and passion.
Read my review of The Social ...
Libya: moral blackmail trumps political debate
In his address to the nation, Obama cynically elevated the moral imperative over ‘nasty’ political criticisms.
Read my spiked article in full here.
On Obama’s Libya speech: moral blackmail doesn’t trump politics
President Obama’s address to the nation on Libya last night was lengthy, but it did not really put to rest the many questions that have been raised about the military intervention in that country. We are still not clear about the mission and the endgame, why Congress was not ...
This week’s articles of note
“Down the rabbit hole,” The American Interest, by Adam Garfinkle
“Taming Leviathan: a special report on the future of the state,” The Economist
“‘Earth Hour’ won’t change the world,” USA Today, by Bjorn Lomborg
“Superficial & sublime?” The New York Review of Books, by Garry Wills [Review of All ...
Video of the Babe
The New York Times reports today on the discovery of rare film footage showing baseball great Babe Ruth in 1927. Found in a basement in Illinois, the film shows Ruth ”in his prime and shot from close range, sitting atop a pony ...
No panic over nuclear power in the US
The Pew Research Center finds that 52 percent of Americans are now opposed to the increased use of nuclear power, up from the 44 percent opposed before the radiation leakages at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant.
These numbers ...
The “Arab context” argument
Marc Lynch, professor at George Washington University and blogger for Foreign Policy, is one of the more thoughtful commentators. He has expressed reservations about the West’s intervention in Libya, but ultimately supports it.
In his post today, Lynch highlights the “Arab context”, which he says “is essential for understanding the logic ...
Benghazi billboard says it all
Apparently, not every Libyan rebel was asking the West to send in its military.
The idea behind the war on Libya: R2P
The policy underpinning the UN declaration on Libya is “responsibility to protect”, otherwise known as R2P. UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon called the authorization an ” ‘historic’ affirmation of the global community’s responsibility to protect people from their own government’s violence.”
According to Josh Rogin’s account of “how Obama turned on a dime ...
So it begins: West appears to kill Libyan civilians, Arab League bails out
The mission said to “protect” civilians looks like it has done the opposite. Libyan state TV has reported that 48 civilians have been killed. The Arab League and Russia are among the first to denounce the bombings. Of course, it is always possible that the Libyan regime is inventing ...
