Wednesday, February 5, 2003

Meanwhile, on the Korean Peninsula... 'A Sea of Fire,' or Worse?. The North Korean nuclear crisis is far more perilous than many people realize. By Nicholas Kristof. [New York Times: Opinion] Do you see any sign of a strategy for how to deal with it? I sure don't. 8:08:57 PM    comment []  trackback []

Surprise me George Bush, Multilateralist?. There remains a slim chance that President Bush could emerge as a historic figure in the United Nations' evolution toward enduring significance. By Robert Wright. [New York Times: Opinion] It's an odd perspective to take on this most unilateral of adminsitrations. But here is always the possibilities that all of Bush's cowboy-style sabre rattling [Inapporpriate Mixed Metaphor Warning] could actually lead to "regime change" without war. The first President Bush dusted off and put to use United Nations machinery that had lain dormant for most of the cold war. His son might yet sustain the United Nations' evolution toward the powerful instrument of peace it was originally meant to be. This would rank as one of the great paradoxes of presidential history. But if Nixon could go to China, President Bush can go through New York Let's see if he'll get as noble around those other "go it alone" issues, like the Kyoto Treaty. 8:05:40 PM    comment []  trackback []

Barlow on "Total Information Awareness" and other dangerous myths Mother Jones interviews John Perry Barlow. [Scripting News] 4:40:59 PM    comment []  trackback []

Transcending ideology What is the feature of government -- all government -- that transcends ideology, culture, race, gender, national origin and WMD? That lazy good for nothin' Jon Carroll takes on The Department of Energy, NASA and the FBI -- so skilled at investigating everything but their own culpabilities -- and the intrinsic CYA nature of bureaucracy. Don't you love bureaucracies? Public or private sector, their primary goal is the same: cover their backsides. It's as though the organization were a living entity, a queen bee that required constant feeding by its swarm of drones. Its purpose is to survive. Sometimes honey gets made too, but that's largely an accident. 8:46:02 AM    comment []  trackback []

Cutting budget deficits and pollution The Green Watchdog 2003 report details how the state could realize over $1 billion in General Fund savings this year alone -- the "polluter pays" fees -- while protecting critical environmental protection and social programs. State Controller Steve Westly announced his support for the "polluter pays" philosophy behind the report. 8:09:25 AM    comment []  trackback []