Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2726

The Tablet's Smears

Ken Silverstein notes who helps fund a magazine that baselessly calls critics of Israel's policies "Jew-baiters." No big surprise. He makes a good point here on tarring bloggers with the views of some commenters:

Smith, of course, neglects the fact that the Talkbacks of the Israeli online news media are among the most vicious, disgusting, racist and genocidal I've ever come across. Does this mean that we should accuse Haaretz, Ynet and Maariv of favoring the views of their readers? If so...

On Journo-List: One More Time

Fallows and Crook say the "scandal" is silly. Clive:

The idea that 400
journalists, academics and assorted hangers-on could plot to do
anything, even if they agreed they wanted to, is laughable.

Jim:

In the other listservs I know -- about China, software, aviation, defense, cybersecurity, etc -- some people's careers could be gravely damaged if their least judicious single sentences were used against them out of context years later. I really, really hate to see that done to young people now...

Quote For The Day

"You know, physically, he was just a pussy," - Mike Tyson on Che Guevara in Details magazine.
















Tyson (film) - Mike Tyson - Recreation - Humor - Todd Phillips

History In Argentina

Here's the moment when freedom and equality became real for gay and lesbian Argentinians

:

Sad, isn't it, when the rest of the world leads America on the advancement of human freedom and equality?
















United States - Gay Lesbian and Bisexual - Lesbian - Liberty - Arts and Entertainment

The Rules Of Conversation

Scott Adams supplies them:

A conversation, like dancing, has some rules, although I've never seenthem stated anywhere. The objective of conversation is to entertain orinform the other person while not using up all of the talking time. Abig part of how you entertain another person is by listening and givingyour attention. Ideally, your own enjoyment from conversation comesfrom the other person doing his or her job of being interesting. If youare entertaining yourself at the other person's...

Malkin Award Nominee

''The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over. The proposed 'Cordoba House' overlooking the World Trade Center site -- where a group of jihadists killed over 3,000 Americans and destroyed one of our most famous landmarks -- is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites,'' - Newt Gingrich, conflating all American Muslims as Islamists, and ignoring the many...

Mr. Hacker Goes To Washington

Clay Johnson wants web developers to run for Congress:

Great developers are systems fixers and systems hackers. There is nosystem more ripe for elegant process hacks than the United States Houseof Representatives. Put a developer in Congress, and they'll startexposing data on their own. They'll build systems to make it so theycan hear from their constituents better. Just as Ted Kennedy had hisstaff make the first Congressional website, a developer in Congress will seek to use new technology...

Chart Of The Day

Information Is Beautiful illustrates the cognitive surplus:

I was listening to writer Clay Shirky talk about cognitive surplus – the idea of spare brainpower in the world's collective mind just sitting there waiting, wanting, to be harnessed. He had a stand-out statistic that snagged my mind. I thought I would visualise it.

clayshirky - cognitivesurplus - Information is Beautiful - Search - WWW

The Persistance Of Technological Gaps

This is a jarring thought:

A paper by Diego Comin, Erick Gong, and myself was just published in the American Economic Journal
We collected crude but informative data on the state of technology
various parts of the world in 1000 BC, 0 AD, and 1500 AD.

1500 AD technology is a particularly powerful predictor of percapita income today. 78 percent of the difference in income todaybetween sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe is explained bytechnology differences that already...

Police State Watch, Ctd

Glenn Reynolds defends the right to photograph the police:

In Britain, the country's police chiefs'association is attempting to educate officers about the rights ofphotographers. So far, nothing like that has happened in the U.S.,but it should. Trying to block photography in public places is notonly heavy-handed and wrong but, thanks to technology, basicallyuseless. With the proliferation of cameras in just about everydevice we carry, digital photography has become too ubiquitous tostop...