What were the Soviets thinking?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 30, 2009 · 1:44 PM PDT

2009/10/30 · 13:44

The issue of trust is one that is central to politics, but often seems to get left out political philosophy. Our decisions of who to trust and how we can trust them depend on what we expect to occur if others get a power advantage over us. Conversely, this influences how we use our power when we gain advantages over others. All of this is of course based on our experiences*, and cannot be fully encapsulated in an ahistorical philosophy.

During the much of the Cold War, the balance of power was actually a balance of terror--the strategy of nuclear deterrence known as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Read More

What happened at Pitt (G20 arrests)

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday September 26, 2009 · 7:55 AM PDT

2009/09/26 · 07:55

I'd like to think that the G20-inspired protests are over, but I can't say for sure. Last night's events seem to have had a life of their own (from what I've read). Anyway, I'm pretty sure that there will be legal and political repercussions for the city police and some university students.

Basically, it all started when the G20 heads of state gathered for Thursday's dinner at Phipps Conservatory (map), on the edge of the campuses for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The road from Pitt was blocked by a fence erected just before a bridge (over Boundry street).

I've pieced together this series of events based on photos, videos, published reports, and second-hand oral reports:

More below the fold. Cross-posted at FreedomDemocrats

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 26, 2008 · 12:20 PM PDT

2008/10/26 · 12:20

McCain: We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama's relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.

McCain made this serious accusation during the third presidential debate. It has also been propagated by television advertisements, and extensive editorializingby Obama's opponents. However, if we look into the specific accusations against ACORN (let alone the actual evidence), they do not add up into the grand conspiracy theory that McCain is promoting.

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 23, 2008 · 12:46 PM PDT

2008/10/23 · 12:46

In yesterday's commentary on Marketplace, Robert Reich articulated some thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head since the government started bailing out financial firms: Maybe 'too big to fail' is just 'too big':

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday October 22, 2008 · 8:02 AM PDT

2008/10/22 · 08:02

The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an engaging book about an important topic. However, if a reader who is familiar with the topic(s) will not find any new ideas.

This book is about risk management; specifically, how to deal with the risks arising from unpredictable events. To examine this issue, Taleb crafts a narrative that surveys a number of intellectual fields, including probability theory, complexity theory, epistemology (empiricism and philosophy of science), cognitive psychology, and social psychology. For a systematic summary, see Wikipedia.

The most striking thing about this book was Taleb's prescience with regard to the recent financial crisis. This book was published in April 2007, but Taleb (who made his "f*** you money" during the stock market crash of 1987) asserted that modern financial risk-assessment is total bullshit, and that when some unpredictable disruption occurs, the structure of the financial system will cause cataclysmic failure. Oh boy, was he right!

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday June 04, 2008 · 4:23 PM PDT

2008/06/04 · 16:23

Frederick Douglass' autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, is one of the best books that I've read and deserves to be read once, if not repeatedly. It provides a well-written perspective on how slavery impacted Americans, and displays the perspective of one of America's heroes. Furthermore the Narrative itself is of historical interest because of the role it played in the abolitionist movement.

While pondering Douglass' words, I realized that this book illustrates two sides of the revolutionary-era maxim "Live Free or Die".

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday March 30, 2008 · 10:21 AM PDT

2008/03/30 · 10:21

My sources in the High School underground inform me that the illicit candy market is booming.

Details below the fold...

Poll

5 votes Show Results

Do you want some candy?

5 votes Vote Now!

Do you want some candy?

I need sugar and cafiene to make it through class.

1 vote

Schoolwork makes me depressed. Give me that candybar.

1 vote

Candy is for losers.

2 votes

I don't get sweet off of my own stock

0 votes

Yum.

1 vote

Iowa and NH: don't limit your options!

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday January 02, 2008 · 5:50 AM PST

2008/01/02 · 05:50

On NPR I just heard an interview with a citizen who worried that it was not worthwhile to caucus for Bill Richardson since he was unlikely to win anyway. While this consideration may be valid in a regular election, I think it is totally invalid in the Iowan caucuses.

The argument is below the fold.

Poll

13 votes Show Results

What strategy are you using at the Iowa caucus

13 votes Vote Now!

What strategy are you using at the Iowa caucus

Vote for favorite candidate

7 votes

Vote for favorite candidate among front-runners

6 votes

Vote for favorite minor candidate

0 votes

Don't vote

0 votes

Pick a candidate at random

0 votes

Follow the lead of your friend/spouse/dog

0 votes

Have a cynical new year!

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 01, 2008 · 8:21 AM PST

2008/01/01 · 08:21

Mike Huckabee tells us not to be cynical.

But we should be cynical--reasons (and a comedic treat!) below the fold:

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 19, 2007 · 8:46 AM PST

2007/12/19 · 08:46

This was written as outreach to readers of Freedom Democrats and Swords Crossed, some of whom dismiss the risk of climate change. Republished here for those who are interested.

When dealing with an issue like greenhouse gas-induced climate change, productive discussion needs to stay focused on the practical questions: what is the general nature of the risk, and how can we mitigate the risk. Discussions of climate change often become sidetracked by non-productive investigations into the detailed nature of the risk, which are often initiated by individuals who are afraid that general recognition of risk implies that particular strategies/policies must be adopted. I hope to keep this discussion on track by starting with these two declarations:

We don't know exactly how the climate will respond to our greenhouse gas emissions, and it doesn't really matter.
There are many different strategies available to us.

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 15, 2007 · 1:40 PM PST

2007/12/15 · 13:40

I've long awaited Bill Richardson's turn to express his views in Foreign Affairs magazine. Here it is: A New Realism. My favorite passages are beneath the fold.

Mike Huckabee's essayis published in the same issue. While Huckabee is a novice in comparison to Richardson, he's being taken to task by Romney for being critical of Bush's foreign policy. I guess in Romney-world our foreign policy should be determined by partisan loyalty. What a schmuck.

Excerpts from Richardson's article below the fold:

Poll

29 votes Show Results

Who has the best foreign policy agenda?

29 votes Vote Now!

Who has the best foreign policy agenda?

Richardson

18 votes

Clinton

0 votes

Edwards

0 votes

Obama

3 votes

Kukinich

5 votes

Gravel

0 votes

A Republican

2 votes

They're all great

1 vote

They all suck

0 votes

Internet software: power to the people

AdamR

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 10, 2007 · 5:09 AM PST

2007/12/10 · 05:09

The Internet revolution continues as new tools are developed to enable everyone to access information and contribute their thoughts for consideration by others. Two new systems have caught my attention: Wikileak and CruxLux. Descriptions below the fold... Read More

Poll
9 votes Show Results
Do these look promising?

I like CruxLux

I like Wikileak

I like them both

I like neither

9 votes Vote Now!
Do these look promising?

I like CruxLux

2 votes

I like Wikileak

2 votes

I like them both

3 votes

I like neither

2 votes

Newer
Older

RSS

What were the Soviets thinking?

What happened at Pitt (G20 arrests)

McCain's ACORN conspiracy theory

Why is our government creating cartels?

Books: The Black Swan; The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Live Free or Die: a tribute to Frederick Douglass

Call me "the Candyman"

Iowa and NH: don't limit your options!

Have a cynical new year!

The risk of climate change, and its implications

Richardson's Foreign Affairs essay

Internet software: power to the people