I thought this comment by Paul Snively, which appeared on the recent thread about lying and WMDs, was well-put, and worth highlighting: Brief logic lesson: You cannot prove the negation of an existential quantifier in first-order logic given the open-world … Continue reading →
I was surprised to see this story in Wednesday’s Guardian. It’s about another intelligence leak–they seem to be quite popular nowadays, don’t they? But this one, unlike the others, isn’t about a failure of the Bush or Blair administrations, and … Continue reading →
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has suffered an extremely massive cerebral hemorrhage. It sounds as though it might not be survivable, or, if it is, he is likely to be profoundly disabled. The AP article describes the stroke as the … Continue reading →
This Boston Globe AP article tells a story that would have been hard to believe, even if it had been about a dog. But a cat, making a 9/11 call to save its owner? And yet that seems to have … Continue reading →
I’ve added a new blog to my blogroll (via Dr. Sanity). It’s called “Fire and Ice,” and it’s the blog of Michael Fay, the artist in residence for the US Marine Corps. You may say, as I did, wha??? There’s … Continue reading →
I’m taking the day off, just relaxing. At the moment I’m enjoying my new computer, which is finally connected and running. Once again, Happy New Year to you all–and see you tomorrow!
Continue reading →Don’t get me wrong; I do indeed enjoy a party, and hardly ever turn down an opportunity to go to one. But I’ve always seen New Year’s Eve more as a time for reflection and nostalgia than wild celebration, kind … Continue reading →
Why do I say this story’s got everything? Well, let’s see: (1) anonymous and totally unidentified sources as the conduit for all the information, check; (2) accusations of religious profiling, check; (3) vociferous Council on American-Islamic Relations protests, check; (4) … Continue reading →
So far, at least, the aftermath of the recent Iraqi elections seems to be–as Austin Bay writes–more jaw-jaw than war-war. If even Reuters says so, it’s good enough for me. There’s a lot of post-election sturm and drang, to be … Continue reading →
No, I’m not just being PC. Today is that rarest of days–both Christmas Day and Chanukah at the same time. So I get the opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday at once. I’m giving myself the gift of light … Continue reading →
Is the true meaning of these preliminary Iraqi election results unclear? You bet it is. The trends as they appear so far: a majority of the members of the new Iraqi National Assembly have religious ties– mostly Shiite (44%), but … Continue reading →
Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna has written a fascinating post comparing Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to Hitler. Oh, I know; it’s become downright fashionable these days to compare all sorts of world leaders to Hitler–particularly President Bush. But Ahmadinejad really … Continue reading →