"Success is constancy to purpose," was framed and posted on the wall of my dentist's office, back around 1962. As I recall, it was attributed to Disraeli. Now I know, some 45 years later, that he must have been citing a much earlier sage. Thank you Juan for this very useful history.
Daesh has beheaded and otherwise slaughtered so many real, living human beings that it is perhaps wrong to concentrate on the destruction of a mere building.
==========
No, it is not wrong to give equal weight to preserving history and to preserving human life. It is our ability to know history that makes us human.
Also, a moratorium please on use of the words "icon" and "iconic". To a millennial it seems anything older than they are is iconic.
The list of countries with single payer is very useful Juan.
On the subject of abusive monopoly corporations, there is Microsoft, with a near monopoly on software used in our workplaces. Each new operating system they put out is worse than the previous, and Microsoft tries to force adoption of the new systems.
Then there are applications software such as
Excel and Word, loaded with dysfunctional features which are not corrected in new versions.
Nationalize Microsoft? That will not be necessary if we can find a way to regulate them, to hold them accountable to users who need software we can work with, but who have few if any choices in the marketplace (because of Microsoft's monopoly).
A global population of 9.6 billion by 2060 is bad news for the planet, no matter what religions or ethnic groups comprise that population.
In 1911, the year my father was born, global population was only about 1.7 billion. It was not until 1927 that Earth's human population reached 2 billion.
Daring and bold, yes, but "his profound humanitarian side"? That might be valid, Juan, if you can demonstrate that none of Obama's numerous drone attacks have killed any innocents.
One of your best blogs, Juan. Just yesterday I was thinking that religion and militarism do not work together, by any standard of consistency. Now you give us the phrase "evangelical militarism" that states this hypocrisy perfectly.
The figure 7.4 billion for global human population is shocking, when I consider that when my father was born, in 1911, global population was around 1.7 billion. That was enough people to give us great works of art and music; enough scientists to build the foundations of modern physics, chemistry, and mathematics; and, sadly, enough soldiers to fight the Great War. Adding more people to the planet will not solve any problems; it will make all problems worse.
Regarding carpet bombing of civilian cities, most Americans are proud of what we and our allies did during World War II. That included the bombing of civilian cities such as Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. So Trump's moral compass is aligned with that of the average American, at least when it comes to bombing civilians.
How is the average US citizen going to get well enough informed about the mess in Syria in order to be able to make an informed choice regarding the Trump or Clinton foreign policy? That's a rhetorical question, obviously. There's no way to explain this to millions of voters.
To provide a frame of reference, a typical nuclear station provides about 1000 megawatts of power. So 2,500 megawatts is equivalent to 2.5 nuclear power plants. That's a lot of power.
I'm no classicist, but here's another quibble: of the some 90 naturally occurring chemical elements, the overwhelming majority were discovered by European scientists.
As for pacifism, it faces the moral challenge that St. Ambrose brought up, which is if you let a third party be killed when you could have stopped it, you are as guilty as the murderer.
====================================
I am not a pacifist, and I agree with this principle set forth by St. Ambrose. However, I have a problem with its application.
There is no way in hell that the US involvement in the Viet Nam war protected anyone.
During World War II we were fighting the murderous Hitler regime but we, or our allies, also killed thousands of innocents in places like Dresden and Hamburg, not to mention the firebombing of Tokyo to defeat Hitler's ally. (Or the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.)
And earlier, by sending a million troops to France in 1917 we brought about the humiliating defeat of Germany, which set the stage for the rise of Hitler.
In an age of total war, it is difficult to apply the Rule of St. Ambrose without in the process killing thousands of those we would save.
Daesh is using civilians as human shields.
==================================
For those of us who want there to be zero civilian casualties in any war, the human shield tactic is a serious problem. How do we defeat the enemy without killing or injuring innocent civilians, when civilians--including children--are being used by the enemy as human shields?
The only answer I see lies in foreign policy. A policy that requires our troops to be deployed overseas, in the belief that "it's better to fight them over there than over here", it seems to me, increases the risk of our troops facing situations where the enemy finds local civilians to use as human shields.
A non-interventionist foreign policy, one that does not require us to be the world's policeman, would reduce the probability that we would face enemies who use civilians to shield themselves from our bombs and bullets. If our Defense Department truly exists to defend us, here in the US where we live, and not to intervene in conflicts "over there", the chances of innocents being caught in the crossfire would be greatly reduced.
Amazing in a way that Turkey is a US ally; but then so is Saudi Arabia, and so was the Shah's Iran. And so was Batista's Cuba. (All friends, if not in formal alliances with the US.)
Thank you, Dr. Cole. Informed Comment is essential reading for me.
Rubio has spoken about his father being tortured in Cuba. I assumed he meant this was done by the Castro regime.
Now we learn that this crime was committed by the right-wing dictator Batista, who was overthrown by Castro.
It's disgusting that Rubio would so mislead the public, implying that his father escaped abuse by the left, Castro's regime, rather than abuse by the right, (that good old buddy of the USA) Batista.
The Democratic caucus in our precinct was a dysfunctional mess. Our precinct had 516 voters in a high school auditorium. That number was determined by our counting off, one by one. It is probably the only accurate count of the evening.
At the end, the precinct captain merely announced that there were 6 delegates for Sanders and 5 for Clinton. It appeared to us not to have been that close, but the number of voters for each candidate was never announced, nor was the process for assigning delegates explained. Talk about a lack of transparency.
The Republican caucuses in Iowa use a secret ballot, resulting in reasonably accurate vote counts for the respective candidates. The Democratic caucuses have no secret ballot. Why the difference? No one seems to know.
In any case, this is not the first time I left a presidential caucus feeling robbed. I would have guessed it should have gone 8 delegates for Sanders; 3 for Clinton.
This Iowa Caucus dysfunction is a symptom of larger, unresolved, problems with election procedures in the US, as was obvious in Florida in the 2000 election.
As a consumer of mainstream media news, I have been so poorly informed that I assumed BDS WAS directed against Israel, not just against businesses operating as squatters in the West Bank. With today's post I learn otherwise.
Excellent work, Dr. Cole. Unfortunately, universities can be some of the most corrupt of institutions.
In my state, we have Iowa State University, one of the original Land Grant colleges, with a major campus building named for Monsanto, a corporation known for bullying lawsuits against farmers.
I see no chinks in the armor of your arguments. Well done.
Good point about Syria: if there were any grounds for Netanyahu's outrage directed towards Iran, it would be over Iran's aid to the Syrian regime. But Netanyahu is silent on that.
There has been something very wrong about the US-Israel relationship at least since the attack on the Cole. I was a recent high school graduate then--a long time ago.
Maybe now there will be a healthier relationship, and some progress towards peace.
As of noon today, Central Time, the average donation to the current campaign for Informed Comment is about $68. That's quite a lot, and that's the average.
I think, Juan, that if you encouraged smaller donations, say, $10 or less, you would have a good response. You could state, "Any amount will be appreciated." Or, "Donate $5 today!"
The average donation as of this morning was over $77. That's quite a high number.
I think if you had a statement on your home page that small donations of $10 to $20 are greatly appreciated, you would soon reach your goal.
I'm sure there are many like me for whom the advantages of net neutrality/internet freedom were not obvious, until now.
Thanks, Juan, for this clear explanation of how replacing net neutrality with corporate privilege will stifle free expression of dissenting opinions.
This brief history of Puerto Rico since 1898 provides us with facts most of us were, at best, barely aware of. A shameful history.
The Central Intelligence Agency should change its name to Department of Defense Lite, if it intends to continue participating in war fighting.
"Success is constancy to purpose," was framed and posted on the wall of my dentist's office, back around 1962. As I recall, it was attributed to Disraeli. Now I know, some 45 years later, that he must have been citing a much earlier sage. Thank you Juan for this very useful history.
Daesh has beheaded and otherwise slaughtered so many real, living human beings that it is perhaps wrong to concentrate on the destruction of a mere building.
==========
No, it is not wrong to give equal weight to preserving history and to preserving human life. It is our ability to know history that makes us human.
Also, a moratorium please on use of the words "icon" and "iconic". To a millennial it seems anything older than they are is iconic.
The list of countries with single payer is very useful Juan.
On the subject of abusive monopoly corporations, there is Microsoft, with a near monopoly on software used in our workplaces. Each new operating system they put out is worse than the previous, and Microsoft tries to force adoption of the new systems.
Then there are applications software such as
Excel and Word, loaded with dysfunctional features which are not corrected in new versions.
Nationalize Microsoft? That will not be necessary if we can find a way to regulate them, to hold them accountable to users who need software we can work with, but who have few if any choices in the marketplace (because of Microsoft's monopoly).
A global population of 9.6 billion by 2060 is bad news for the planet, no matter what religions or ethnic groups comprise that population.
In 1911, the year my father was born, global population was only about 1.7 billion. It was not until 1927 that Earth's human population reached 2 billion.
Daring and bold, yes, but "his profound humanitarian side"? That might be valid, Juan, if you can demonstrate that none of Obama's numerous drone attacks have killed any innocents.
One of your best blogs, Juan. Just yesterday I was thinking that religion and militarism do not work together, by any standard of consistency. Now you give us the phrase "evangelical militarism" that states this hypocrisy perfectly.
The figure 7.4 billion for global human population is shocking, when I consider that when my father was born, in 1911, global population was around 1.7 billion. That was enough people to give us great works of art and music; enough scientists to build the foundations of modern physics, chemistry, and mathematics; and, sadly, enough soldiers to fight the Great War. Adding more people to the planet will not solve any problems; it will make all problems worse.
Regarding carpet bombing of civilian cities, most Americans are proud of what we and our allies did during World War II. That included the bombing of civilian cities such as Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. So Trump's moral compass is aligned with that of the average American, at least when it comes to bombing civilians.
This carefully considered tribute to Shimon Peres is Informed Comment at its best. Thank you, Dr. Cole.
How is the average US citizen going to get well enough informed about the mess in Syria in order to be able to make an informed choice regarding the Trump or Clinton foreign policy? That's a rhetorical question, obviously. There's no way to explain this to millions of voters.
Other than, "Avoid entangling foreign alliances."
To provide a frame of reference, a typical nuclear station provides about 1000 megawatts of power. So 2,500 megawatts is equivalent to 2.5 nuclear power plants. That's a lot of power.
What matters in this instance is how it looks. The timing of the cash transfer was very bad, making it appear to be a ransom payment.
I'm no classicist, but here's another quibble: of the some 90 naturally occurring chemical elements, the overwhelming majority were discovered by European scientists.
As for pacifism, it faces the moral challenge that St. Ambrose brought up, which is if you let a third party be killed when you could have stopped it, you are as guilty as the murderer.
====================================
I am not a pacifist, and I agree with this principle set forth by St. Ambrose. However, I have a problem with its application.
There is no way in hell that the US involvement in the Viet Nam war protected anyone.
During World War II we were fighting the murderous Hitler regime but we, or our allies, also killed thousands of innocents in places like Dresden and Hamburg, not to mention the firebombing of Tokyo to defeat Hitler's ally. (Or the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.)
And earlier, by sending a million troops to France in 1917 we brought about the humiliating defeat of Germany, which set the stage for the rise of Hitler.
In an age of total war, it is difficult to apply the Rule of St. Ambrose without in the process killing thousands of those we would save.
If Hillary would pledge to pardon, or grant immunity to, Edward Snowden, I would consider voting for her.
Daesh is using civilians as human shields.
==================================
For those of us who want there to be zero civilian casualties in any war, the human shield tactic is a serious problem. How do we defeat the enemy without killing or injuring innocent civilians, when civilians--including children--are being used by the enemy as human shields?
The only answer I see lies in foreign policy. A policy that requires our troops to be deployed overseas, in the belief that "it's better to fight them over there than over here", it seems to me, increases the risk of our troops facing situations where the enemy finds local civilians to use as human shields.
A non-interventionist foreign policy, one that does not require us to be the world's policeman, would reduce the probability that we would face enemies who use civilians to shield themselves from our bombs and bullets. If our Defense Department truly exists to defend us, here in the US where we live, and not to intervene in conflicts "over there", the chances of innocents being caught in the crossfire would be greatly reduced.
Bumper sticker from the past: I'm a child, not a choice.
Bumper sticker for today: I'm a child, not collateral damage.
It should be apparent by now that we can expect more of the same from Hillary.
Although not expressing it in a very civil manner, Squeaky is exactly right.
Can you say "constitutional monarchy"? There, now I'm not being very civil either.
Amazing in a way that Turkey is a US ally; but then so is Saudi Arabia, and so was the Shah's Iran. And so was Batista's Cuba. (All friends, if not in formal alliances with the US.)
Thank you, Dr. Cole. Informed Comment is essential reading for me.
It will be interesting to see if Fox and CNN report on this.
Rubio has spoken about his father being tortured in Cuba. I assumed he meant this was done by the Castro regime.
Now we learn that this crime was committed by the right-wing dictator Batista, who was overthrown by Castro.
It's disgusting that Rubio would so mislead the public, implying that his father escaped abuse by the left, Castro's regime, rather than abuse by the right, (that good old buddy of the USA) Batista.
My wife and I caucused for Bernie.
The Democratic caucus in our precinct was a dysfunctional mess. Our precinct had 516 voters in a high school auditorium. That number was determined by our counting off, one by one. It is probably the only accurate count of the evening.
At the end, the precinct captain merely announced that there were 6 delegates for Sanders and 5 for Clinton. It appeared to us not to have been that close, but the number of voters for each candidate was never announced, nor was the process for assigning delegates explained. Talk about a lack of transparency.
The Republican caucuses in Iowa use a secret ballot, resulting in reasonably accurate vote counts for the respective candidates. The Democratic caucuses have no secret ballot. Why the difference? No one seems to know.
In any case, this is not the first time I left a presidential caucus feeling robbed. I would have guessed it should have gone 8 delegates for Sanders; 3 for Clinton.
This Iowa Caucus dysfunction is a symptom of larger, unresolved, problems with election procedures in the US, as was obvious in Florida in the 2000 election.
As a consumer of mainstream media news, I have been so poorly informed that I assumed BDS WAS directed against Israel, not just against businesses operating as squatters in the West Bank. With today's post I learn otherwise.
I hope Trump reads this and uses these facts in his debate with Jeb over whether his brother, when president, "kept us safe".
It seems the most basic of common sense that those who are opposed to abortion would strongly promote contraception.
Excellent work, Dr. Cole. Unfortunately, universities can be some of the most corrupt of institutions.
In my state, we have Iowa State University, one of the original Land Grant colleges, with a major campus building named for Monsanto, a corporation known for bullying lawsuits against farmers.
McCain is wrong: Rand Paul just might be the best, not the worst, candidate. Of the Republicans, that is.
I see no chinks in the armor of your arguments. Well done.
Good point about Syria: if there were any grounds for Netanyahu's outrage directed towards Iran, it would be over Iran's aid to the Syrian regime. But Netanyahu is silent on that.
There has been something very wrong about the US-Israel relationship at least since the attack on the Cole. I was a recent high school graduate then--a long time ago.
Maybe now there will be a healthier relationship, and some progress towards peace.
As of noon today, Central Time, the average donation to the current campaign for Informed Comment is about $68. That's quite a lot, and that's the average.
I think, Juan, that if you encouraged smaller donations, say, $10 or less, you would have a good response. You could state, "Any amount will be appreciated." Or, "Donate $5 today!"
Tom,
Des Moines, Iowa