Saturday Linkage

16 February 2013, 1303 EST

Grumpy Cat Valentine

Belated Valentine’s from the Duck of Minerva.

  • Brad DeLong wants Cosma Shalzi to figure out what the Chelyabinsk meteorite strike means for policy: “What should this piece of information do, decision-theoretically, to change our view of the situation we find ourselves in?” I’m not a statistics whiz, but I’d say: probably nothing. There’s no indication (yet) that the strike is inconsistent with current risk assessments of such events. What it might change is the politics of asteroid early-warning systems and research into ways of defending earth against heavenly aggression.
  • North Korea warns China of another test?
  • This piece on recent comments by PLA Senior Colonel Liu Mingfu came with the tweet (I paraphraase): “and Beijing wonders why China has no significant allies.” Apologies for not being able to find the intermediary.
  • Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims responsibility for anti-Shiite bombing in Pakistan.
  • Karzai bans Afghan troops from calling in NATO airstrikes.
  • The mood in Cairo.
  • Kahl, Dalton, and Irvine have a new CNAS report on whether Iranian proliferation will cause Saudi Arabia to go nuclear.
  • Anna Borshchevskaya on the upcoming Armenian election.

And also:

  • Brendan Nyhan slams journalists who get all hot and bothered over US third-party movements.
  • Steve Walt on the uneven quality of academic writing. Chris Zorn tweets an example of excellent, if overly verbose, academic-ese.