BC:04-17-09

April 16th, 2009 5:26 am
Retrospective Iraq
Michael Totten interviews Thomas Ricks about his new book. Michael writes:

April 15th, 2009 1:30 am
I dreamed a dream
Didn’t expect that, did you? Video at Fausta’s Blog

April 15th, 2009 12:58 am
Iran, Texas and other interesting stuff
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita predicts Iran’s future. A 20 minute YouTube video. De Mesquita asserts that Ahmadinejad is on way down, but also claims that the equilibrium in Iraq is only marginally susceptible to US influence.

April 14th, 2009 7:50 pm
Getting to Zero
Czech journalist Milan Vodicka explains in a guest editorial in the NYT why he is skeptical about Barack Obama’s plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

April 14th, 2009 6:45 am
Culture post of the day
Phil Spector’s conviction started a cascade of free association and so here’s the trivia question of the day. What song has made it to the top of the charts one decade after the other under different covers? In the 1990s, it hit the top of the British charts when it was sung on a drama series. Elvis Presley sang it six weeks before his death. The most famous version is by the Righteous Brothers, but it was really performed only as a solo.

April 13th, 2009 6:29 pm
As the world turns, and turns
Two news stories illustrate how the law of unintended consequences operates in public policy. The Daily Mail describes what happens when not enough resources for treating mouth disease are coupled with increased funding for tooth extractions. Amy King from Plymouth provides the headline: ‘I couldn’t find a dentist… Now, aged 21, I’ve had to have all my teeth removed’. It makes some sort of sense. No teeth, no problem.

April 13th, 2009 2:57 pm
“You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling”
Just in. Music legend Phil Spector has been found guilty of murder.

April 13th, 2009 2:41 pm
Bangkok
Michael Yon talks about the situation in Thailand. There are several other resources which readers might use, one is the ever useful Jotman, who gets around the region a lot.