Unqualified Offerings

Is Gregg Easterbrook being super-deadpan here, or clueless?
The NFL must be wary of tolerating this sort of thing on the part of coaches. If any coach can say, “I don’t like it here anymore and therefore don’t have to honor the promise I made by signing a contract,” how will players be prevented from saying [...]

Good stuff from John Snead:
The new BSG is essentially a good show. However, when watching episodes like the most recent one, Black Market, it helps me to remember that the vast majority of the characters were not the best at what they did (at least prior to the death of their entire civilization). The crew [...]

While it is interesting, I am posting this simply because it amuses me that for the first time I remember, a story refers to a trial balloon that actually is a TRIAL BALLOON.
I am easily amused.
John Cole

UPI reports that a Saudi national security bureau predicted the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections back in December. Interesting reading, but is there really such a mystery here? Electorates that feel besieged turn right-nationalist. We’ve seen this recently in Israel (since the second Intifada began), the United States (the elections since the September 11, [...]

Hamza Hendawi of AP writes about trends toward self-segregation among Shiite and Sunni in the New Iraq. It’s something to keep an eye on, but it must be said that
* For whatever reason, most of Hendawi’s informants are Shiites. There’s brief mention of issues involving Sunni neighborhoods in Basra but no quotes;
* There’s [...]

You need to be reading Leon Hadar’s Global Paradigms blog every day.

Iraq Invasion: A Text Misadventure. Excerpt:
> STAY COURSE
The situation in Iraq deteriorates.
Some insurgents arrive.
There is a small number of insurgents here.

> STAY COURSE
The situation in Iraq deteriorates.
>STAY COURSE
The situation in Iraq deteriorates.
Some insurgents arrive.
There is a medium number of insurgents here.
>STAY COURSE
The situation in Iraq deteriorates.
An election year arrives.
Via Anyway.

On Ford vs. Toyota:
Maybe the job we need to be outsourcing the most urgently is “CEO.”
The Infamous Brad.
Remember, kids, being a libertarian does NOT mean mindless worship of actual existing corporate executives.
Via Chad Underkoffler.

Whoah! The Kingpin of Crime! (The Daredevil movie version.)
I quite liked tonight’s episode, thought it a real return to form. How you feel probably depends on how you feel swallow a heapin’ helpin’ of unforeshadowed backstory. I thought they got away with it. And the political economy of it made at least a modicum of [...]

Juan Cole’s thesis statement isn’t quite right:
The stunning victory of the militant Muslim fundamentalist Hamas Party in the Palestinian elections underlines the central contradictions in the Bush administration’s policies toward the Middle East. Bush pushes for elections, confusing them with democracy, but seems blind to the dangers of right-wing populism. At the same time, he [...]