Shatter the sacred icons my friends.  Read the interview.

The problem, of course, is that all of these national boundaries are completely arbitrary.  But they no longer FEEL arbitrary, and this creates all sorts of complication.

It’s a tension between what is most fundamental: nationality or ethnicity?  This is a huge issue in the Middle East and Europe, and it’s going to keep getting bigger.  So Turkey wants to repress the Kurds and Kurds in northern Iraq don’t really care about southern Iraq and also don’t care what Turkey wants.

Can you find all 12?

From Newsweek:

Sen. Barbara Boxer had been chair of the Senate’s Environment Committee for less than a month when the verdict landed last February. “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal,” concluded a report by 600 scientists from governments, academia, green groups and businesses in 40 countries. Worse, there was now at least a 90 percent likelihood that the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels is causing longer droughts, more flood-causing downpours and worse heat waves, way up from earlier studies. Those who doubt the reality of human-caused climate change have spent decades disputing that. But Boxer figured that with “the overwhelming science out there, the deniers’ days were numbered.” As she left a meeting with the head of the international climate panel, however, a staffer had some news for her. A conservative think tank long funded by ExxonMobil, she told Boxer, had offered scientists $10,000 to write articles undercutting the new report and the computer-based climate models it is based on. “I realized,” says Boxer, “there was a movement behind this that just wasn’t giving up.”

I just saw the movie.  I’m still in the initial thrill phase, but I’d say it’s the best action movie I’ve ever seen.  Certainly the best of the three.  See it.  Bring friends, family, pets.

This stuff is fascinating.  So–the United Arab Emirates does not want unions because of possible international pressure from India–but what else are multinational corporations?  Also, check out the quote  below–the same stuff we say about denying Mexicans their rights.  After all, they CHOSE to come here, right?

Faced with complaints about low wages and difficult work, Mr. Kaabi repeats a point often made here: Many workers face greater hardships at home for less pay. “We don’t force people to come to this country,” Mr. Kaabi said. “They’re building a whole new life for their families.” Some come from backgrounds so impoverished, he said, “they don’t know how to use the toilet; they will sit and do it on the ground.”

But Ms. Whitson of Human Rights Watch said, “That’s what exploitation is — you take advantage of someone’s desperation.”

FROM JEFF GUHIN

Check out this concert.

Oh–and no posts until Monday folks.  Rest on the Lord’s Day!  See you soon.

FROM JEFF GUHIN

From Ross Douthat, a fantastic discussion of the modern eugenics movement.

FROM JEFF GUHIN

I mean, didn’t somebody think, eventually, we were all going to realize collectively how dumb it is to pay for water?

In Europe, lots of Latin America–heck, all over the world–tap water is not for drinking, just for cleaning, showering, etc.  And here in America, it’s awesome!  Our taps are great!  And yet we pay for all this bottled water and then we use all these resources for plastic, and, well, bottled water obviously has something to say.

FROM JEFF GUHIN

This piece, circulated pretty widely, about a dance troupe of obese players, is really wonderful–even lovely.