Marginal Revolution says: In Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations, David Warsh notes in passing a bizarrely ironic use of markets by the Soviet KGB. It is 1984: The Cold War is entering its climatic phase. There are war fears at the highest levels of government. In London, KGB agents have been directed to track…
Read More Market, market, market…whoopsMore than two years ago now, I poured scorn on the Grauniad for running ads for an evidently fraudulent anti-allergy gadget whilst also running Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column. A taste: Which is all very good news for little “James”, the emetic blond child whose likeness takes up one of those two pages with the…
Read More Time is on my sideI am No.1 and No.2 on Google for “compulsory voting, is there a pint?”
Read More Great Search Request!Which story is the satire? Northern Irish, Serbs, Hutus Granted Homeland in West Bank, or Umm Alquwain, the smallest of the emirates, was the only one to bother to appoint voters. An elected legislature chosen by an appointed electorate? Surely not. Not even Austria-Hungary did anything that weird. (Although, present-day Dubai and Vienna circa 1900…
Read More Spot the DifferenceRemember how Viktor Yanukovich and his party were standing up to Teh Neoliberal US Imperialist NATO Consensus? Them, decadent rock music and their US publicists, apparently.
Read More Anekdot!Remember all the waffle about Iran supposedly arming the Sunni insurgents (despite it being wildly contrary to Iranian interests)? Well, I think it may be gradually turning into a case of being right too early. Not that the New-Old Iraqi Army is getting arms from Iran, but that somebody may be trying to build up…
Read More Timing is everythingDoes Operation HERRICK, the British-led expansion of ISAF to southwestern Afghanistan stand a chance of success? What is “success” anyway? Just as importantly, does it stand a chance of disaster? Well, the deployment is now well under way, as the 16AAB less two infantry battalions and plus assorted DFID and NGO civilian personnel establishes itself…
Read More AfghanitasticJohn Reid thinks the Home Office may have to be abolished. Just like me. See, Justin? He does actually acknowledge the existence of reality, unlike other potential Home Secretaries such as Hazel Blears.
Read More Reid: Home Office is brokenRacial profiling will save us from terrorism. Look at this post from Chirol. All we have to do is lock up everyone who looks like an engineer from Intel, and we’re done. Source: here. Go read, as they say. Interestingly, he was actually an engineer before taking up terrorism. And it’s amusing that the leaderless…
Read More Racial ProfilingYou can find my comment here.
Read More If it’s Greek-Turkish dogfight you’re after