16 July 2015
This is a great point about Iran's official anti-Americanism
Steve Coll:
Max Fisher
The United States faces, in the Middle East, many Sunni Arab countries with elites that are pro-American and populations that are deeply hostile, whereas in Iran it faces elites that are mostly hostile — or require hostility to maintain their power — and a population that is really ready for change.In other words, America's Middle Eastern allies are mostly countries where authoritarian rulers impose deeply unpopular pro-American policies. Our greatest enemy is a country where authoritarian rulers impose unpopular anti-American policies. It doesn't sound like a situation that's particularly stable, either for us or for the Middle East itself, and indeed it's not.
Max Fisher
15 July 2015
14 July 2015
13 July 2015
10 July 2015
09 July 2015
08 July 2015
07 July 2015
06 July 2015
02 July 2015
01 July 2015
30 June 2015
29 June 2015
26 June 2015
25 June 2015
24 June 2015
23 June 2015
22 June 2015
19 June 2015
18 June 2015
17 June 2015
16 June 2015
15 June 2015
12 June 2015
11 June 2015
10 June 2015
09 June 2015
08 June 2015
05 June 2015
04 June 2015
03 June 2015
02 June 2015
01 June 2015
29 May 2015
28 May 2015
27 May 2015
The surprising economic principles behind car seats, email scams, and Japanese driving habits
Robert Frank on why allegedly Nigerian email scammers are using the same tired story they did when the scan was run through the mails.
26 May 2015
25 May 2015
For the love of God, rich people, stop giving Ivy League colleges money
"The New York Times' Robin Pogrebin describes Schwarzman's contribution as an "act of philanthropy." It is not. Sure, it's not the absolute worst thing one could do with one's money. I suppose it's a bit better than literally piling $150 million in dollar bills together in one location and then setting them on fire, insofar as building performing arts center employs more people than assembling a massive money pile would. It's definitely better than using the money to set up a private island upon which to hunt man for sport."
...
"But it's not philanthropy. It's not helping people who need help, and it's obscene that Schwarzman is getting a massive tax write-off for it. Giving to Yale is not an act of altruism. It's a gigantic, immoral waste of money and it's long past time we started treating it as such."
22 May 2015
Jeb Bush embraces the narrative of Christian victimhood
If you grew up with your religious beliefs being the default setting for society at large — when it's your prayers being said in public schools, when only people who share your religion are elected president, when your holidays are everyone's holidays — then a growing inclusiveness can feel like an attack on you. It seems like you've lost something, even if you can't admit that it was something only you and people like you were privileged to possess.
Paul Waldman
Paul Waldman
20 May 2015
19 May 2015
18 May 2015
15 May 2015
14 May 2015
13 May 2015
Americans Get Free Trade's Dark Side
"Essentially, Mankiw is telling you that you don’t believe the simple truth because deep down within you lurks a xenophobic socialist. Call me crazy, but I don’t think this is a beneficial, constructive way for economists to engage with the public."
Noah Smith
Noah Smith
12 May 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)