Archive for 2010

TEA PARTY MOVEMENT taking over the Texas GOP? “In the past, these conventions have been about social conservatism. Now the passion and dialogue is driven more by fiscal issues.”

FOR EUGENE AND SASHA VOLOKH, a big anniversary.

CHINA BUYS CAMBODIA. “China aspires to be a world power. It’s understood that China cannot do this alone. Even the mighty United States has allies it depends on. Who can China depend on? Not a lot. In fact, China has a rather disturbing roster of friends. There’s Pakistan, a corrupt nation, always on the verge of falling apart and one of the few remaining sanctuaries for Islamic terrorists. China is also cozy with North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, pariah nations all. So China has been forced to improvise.”

LOVE HORMONE CAN ALSO LEAD TO WAR: “Oxytocin has received much attention for boosting social bonding and cooperation, but it also appears to trigger defensive aggression against outsiders who might threaten an individual’s social group, psychologists say. That indicates the hormone has a much more complex role in social dynamics than just encouraging humans to make love and not war.”

UPDATE: Robert Crawford emails: “So the ‘brotherly love’ hormone may also be connected to violence? Why am I reminded of the movie Serenity? What did Joss Whedon know, and when did he know it?!” Beware the Reavers!

HOW TO peel a peach.

A WHILE BACK, I had a post on the Monster powerline network adapters. I’ve now used ’em for a couple of other places in the house where the wireless is shaky, and they work great. A bit pricier than wireless, but extremely easy and they just plain work.

MIDGET SUBS: Tiny terrors?

MERELY HUMAN? That’s so yesterday. And not in the Hillary Duff sense.