The latest psychology strikes a blow against reality TV, but it shows some evidence in favor of what we’re doing at the Junta. From the journal Psychological Science: Well-Being Is Related to Having Less Small Talk and More Substantive Conversations Is the happy life characterized by shallow, happy-go-lucky moments and trivial small talk, or by …
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Zimbabwe
I’m not usually for moral relativism, I’m more of a universal values man myself, but I think you gotta cut Morgan Tsvangirai a break when it comes to his remarks on gay rights, which seem to be more in line with Mugabe than the rest of the world. Tsvangirai has suffered greatly and is a …
The Costs of Jihad (like freedom, it ain’t free)
In a rare glimmer of good news out of the wasteland of Somalia, it looks like Al Shabab, the brutal Islamist group trying to take over Somalia, is losing ground. Props to Jeffrey Gettleman on actually being brave enough to report from Mogadishu. I noted at the end of the story that Shabab is having problems funding their …
The New Office
Do any of the following describe you and your job? have a long commute to an office where communication is mainly by email and phone most in-person communication consists of long meetings that accomplish little it’s hard to find time for tasks that demand dedicated attention; too many interruptions in the office manage/report to people …
Chinese Exceptionalism
Almost daily I read things about China that make me shake my head. Sometimes I find myself doing so in admiration for the Chinese. They have really moved forward quickly on creating a green-tech sector in the country, for instance. But most often I am shaking my head in dismay. Whether it’s the ethnic genocide …
China tilts the balance and gets a free ride
Reading this story in the business section of the NY Times about Saudi oil production and Chinese consumption, I was struck by a few things. I think it’s interesting to follow the diplomacy that Saudi Arabia is engaged in to put pressure on China to support increased sanctions on Iran. Saudi Arabia is promising China …
Intifada III?
Pretty unhappy about the news out of Israel lately. Briefly, VP Biden was in the region to try to get talks between the Israelis and Palestinians moving again and was greeted by an annoucement that new building would start on Israeli settlements in contested east Jerusalem. I don’t want to summarize all the history, but Israel …