This is just a note to myself that I've promised kingbee I'd revisit the question of women's rights in Afghanistan and Iraq, once the Iraqis have ratified their new constitution. He thinks women's rights have not improved, nor will they improve, as a result of recen U.S. foreign policy in these countries. I think he's being impatient, and that these things take time. I also think that over time, women's rights in both these countries will continue to improve, and that most of bee 's...

You ever notice in the anime things always seem to work out for Japan Neon Genesis Evangelion for example The capital of the whole angel super-conspiracy Japan Akira Bleeding edge of psycho-bioengineered supermen Japan Appleseed Ghost in the Shell Bubblegum Crisis Japan It's always Megatokyo this and Neo-Tokyo that and Ultra-Tokyo the other thing And okay here's what I've been thinking It's all coming true No seriously They've already got walking robots and prototype powered exosk...

The Founder and President of my company is uveiling a new product today. He's been working on developing this product for quite some time, and is incredibly enthusiastic about its potential. This product will require a "seed" database of opinions, prior to its public release. He has called a series of meetings, in which he hopes to motivate us employees, and encourage us to seed the database and stay actively involved with the product as it enters the world. This product is about as f...

I read The Corner , a Conservative group blog. I read it because it is equal parts relaxed and uptight, frivolous and serious, boring and interesting. I read it because it consists of constant interaction between several intelligent conservatives who agree on many things, and disagree on many others. I read it because it's a running commentary on current events. I read it because of the unique combination of Star Trek references and debate about the core principles of conservat...

I favor reparations, on the following basis: One, that reparations consist of restoring people to the state they'd be in if they'd never been enslaved: starving and dying in the pesthole that is Africa today. Don't get me wrong--slavery is some repugnant shit, and I'd never argue that a slave is better off than a free man, but... okay, I might argue that. Who's better off today? The descendants of the slaves in America, or the descendants of the West African tribes that sold them into sl...

The Democratic Underground has latched on to a "controversial" analyst's prediction that oil could rise to $100 per barrel by this Winter. "And George does nothing", they say. My prediction: George will continue to do nothing, and oil will not rise to $100 per barrel in the next six months. But that's just me.

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has finally spoken out about the "Downing Street Memo". http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050629/ap_on_re_eu/blair_interview Bottom line: “What people forget about that memo is that that (it) occurred nine months before the conflict. ... So whatever issues there were, we resolved them ultimately by saying we have got to give it one last chance to work peacefully.” Yes, that's right, sports fans: Even if the Bush Adminstration had already decided to ...

I've changed my mind about the Supreme Court decision to allow eminent domain seizures of private property for private development. So if you care about such things, here it is: I was wrong. Those of you who have been laboring over the past day to convince me to see things your way, have succeeded. Thanks! Edit: To clarify, in the comments to another article, I had been arguing that all SCOTUS had done was say that if a local government wanted to seize private property for private de...

The main problem with the Multi-Ethnic Workplace: Your co-worker's lunch always smells really good... to him . Chernobyl is open for business... as a tourist destination. So is an old prison in Sri Lanka. As usual, Lileks says it better than I ever could.

Everybody is talking about this like it's a case of criminal justice. It's not a case of criminal justice. It's a case of prisoners of war. These people were captured during combat operations or their aftermath, on or near a battlefield (allegedly--I'll come back to this in a moment). Since the dawn of history, Armies have recognized the value of detaining POWs for the duration of the conflict. Otherwise, they just return to the battlefield and continue making your life harder. ...

Behold the published agenda for my department's next "All Hands" meeting: Introduction - Department Director and Department Vice President (30 minutes) Work Simple Session - VP of Work Simple Department (2 hours) Strategic Direction - Department Director (45 minutes) Demand & Delivery - Director of ... Some acronym nobody can expand for me. (1 hour) Now, from the top: I'm sorry, but it shouldn't take thirty minutes of my life to say "Hello, I'm the director of this department,...

Taboos. Do we really need them? Does society really benefit from prohibiting things, even when there's no clear reasoning to support the prohibition? Are there certain activities which society should simply refuse to accept, regardless of the rational arguments for allowing them? Or would we all be better off if every form of behavior was permitted, leaving it up to each individual to decide for himself whether or not certain behaviors were constructive to himself and to his community...