As we hurtle to the end of the semester, here are some stories for the week that caught my eye: Felix Salmon on why wonk bloggery is the future of journalism From Kyle Dropp and co-authors, Americans who can't find Ukraine on the map are more likely to support...
This was a momentous week with the announcement of an interim deal on Iran's nuclear program. There were some critics to be sure of this effort, but I for one am hopeful that the six month effort to...
The annual climate negotiations are going on at the moment in Warsaw, Poland. For long-time observers of the process, they have a Groundhog Day-esque quality to them. Every year the same issues seem...
This week, more news from the relief effort and typhoon Haiyan and how the events in the Philippines threaten to overshadow the on-going climate negotiations in Warsaw. The Security and Relief...
A new military study concludes that drone strikes are more deadly to civilians than those conducted by manned fighter craft. Keep in mind, however, that fighter pilots are the traditional elite in the USAF and the rise of drones and drone pilots has generated a lot of internal politics. More important: there's no indication that the study controlled for the kinds of missions being carried out by drones and by strike aircraft. Speaking of drones, here's Maj David J. Blair (Georgetown ABD) and Capt Nick Helms on "What's at Stake in the Remote Aviation Culture Debate." Cheryl Rofer is firmly in...
Hi Duck friends. Here are some links to start your week... Liao Yiwu served four years in prison for reciting his poem "Massacre" in memory of the 1989 Tienanmen Square protests. Â His horrifying prison memoir reminds us that "China remains a prison of the mind: prosperity without liberty." Â More importantly, the memoir show the ways in which the Leninist-capitalist Chinese system of government and economy is replicated inside the prison. Â The poet's memoir is a portrait of China painted in shit, but it is a rather telling portrait nonetheless. Mong Palatino argues that the trans-boundary...
Robert Lieber takes another swing at the declinism debate. Kyrgyzstan moves forward on evicting the US from Manas. US suspends Bangladesh's trade privileges. China shifts policy on the Dali Lama. Also commits combat troops to Mali. David Schorr on nuclear zero. And also: Kindred W. takes on Dan Drezner's critique of the foreign-policy commentariat. In case you missed it, the next stop for the giant yellow Duck is... Pittsburgh.
What can I say? It was a good week in the US for gender minorities. (On the other hand, this new list of "most influential people in armed violence reduction" includes only 25 women.) In other lighthearted nerd fare, this inspired the scientist in me who must complete the method(ologie)s appendix for my new book on human security issues by 5pm or (spontaneously com)bust. About that: here is a neglected human security threat I did not think to focus on in my book: mega-solar flares. Earth beware. Speaking of things cosmic, data streaming back to Earth from Voyager I is changing everything...
Paypal has just launched PayPal Galactic "to figure out what currency can be used and how commerce should be regulated off Earth" once all the space travel and tourism picks up."  More from MercuryNews.com:  "...serious challenges such as space law -- an uncertain legal area still in its infancy -- concerns about pollution and the lack of government regulations could slow the commercialization of space, said Jill Tarter, of the SETI Institute." ICRC releases its first position paper on Cyber Warfare. ICG's latest report on Syria:  Syria's Metastasising Conflicts Egypt is unraveling and...
Aside from some abortion rights Texas senate filibuster coverage, this week's morning linkage is all about climate change and President Obama's Tuesday speech at Georgetown University. The announced plan aims to use existing executive branch authority, including the EPA's ability to regulate pollutants under the Clean Air Act, to initiate measures to control carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases. This move obviates the need for additional legislative action, which isn't going to happen with this Congress. Beyond the headline announcement for new controls on power plants, the plan has a...
Collection and promulgation of links today was interrupted by my daughter's minor sports injury. For all ten of you who care: my apologies. Go read Cherly Rofer's Edward Snowden timeline. Or about a nearby star "crowded with super-Earths." Or focus on today's gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Or about the game that's stolen my partner. Or something. Just so long as you change your profile image to an equality sign. Cause that will totally impact tomorrow's decisions. That's all, folks.
Hey.  Here's your linkage... Data Mining No, I don't care where Snowden is going next... but I am happy to see that Hong Kong used the opportunity to request clarification about US hacking of their computer systems. (h/t E. Webb) Drones Paradoxically, there's something about James Bridle's outline of a reaper drone on the steps of the Corcoran Gallery that makes the idea of drones more tangible and murderous. Of course, the drone pilots actually spend much of their time being bored.  Luckily, Jerry Falwell's Liberty University is willing to supply thousands of "Christ-centered aviators" to...