I had the honor on Monday of Blogging Heads with Professor John Mueller, Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies at the Mershon Center at THE Ohio State University. The topic was Mueller’s latest book, Atomic Obsession, which argues that the historical importance of nuclear weapons has been overstated, and that the threat of a nuclear terrorist attack is wildly implausible:
Mike Goldfarb and I have fun re: missile defense. Here Mike insists that Obama will pay a price for killing the Eastern European system, and I disagree:
Had a good diavlog on Friday with Rachel Kleinfeld of the Truman Project. This clip focuses on the problems that the drone war in Af/Pak presents for a progressive security policy:
….and regarding the hat:
One thing I love about Rob Farley is his totally guileless, weirdly stylish stylelessness. Just look at that hat. That thing has no business outside of Boca city limits, or on a head with hair, but Farley couldn’t care less. He’s is a man who knows how to dress not cool, without trying to be cool, which is itself pretty cool.
Seth Jones and I talked about his book Graveyard of Empires last week on Bloggingheads:
…sadly, I forgot my hat in Cincinnati. Hopefully I’ll have an appropriate substitute by the next Bloggingheads.
I had the same thought as Jason Zengerle; inviting Iranian diplomats to the July 4 embassy picnics was potentially an intelligence gathering opportunity. This appears not to be the case, however.
Also, this is the nicest thing that Ann Althouse has ever said about anyone associated with LGM. An attempt at engagement to end the longstanding rift between our two peoples? Or unwelcome interference in LGM affairs?
Last week I spoke with Vanda Felbab-Brown of Brookings about gangsters, pirates, insurgents, and weak states. Here we talk a bit about the violence of the Mexican drug cartels:
Vanda also has a paper on the Mexican drug cartels from Brookings that’s worth your valuable time.
Galrahn and I sat down last week and diavlogged about all things maritime. He’s our discussion of the “rise” of Chinese naval power:
We also talk about piracy, Robert Gates, and public relations. Check it out.
Watch Frum claim that the West Bank is not under occupation, and then watch Frum get his ass handed to him. In addition to the substantial portions of the West Bank that are literally being occupied by Israelis right now, the West Bank as a whole is almost entirely under Israeli military jurisdiction, and Palestinian political authorities are sharply circumscribed in their range of action.
…the war may not have had the desired effect on Kadima’s electoral prospects:
The first polls taken after the cease-fire took effect indicated that the Right in general and the Likud in particular had been helped by the war.A Channel 2/Ma’agar Mohot poll predicted that the Right-Center bloc would win 65 seats and the Left-Center bloc 55. A Channel 10/Dialog poll put the divide at 64-56. The first poll predicted a 31-23 Likud victory over Kadima, while the latter said Likud would win 29-26.
That said, I don’t know what the polls prior to Operation Cast Lead indicated.
Paul Campos, Above the Law 2011 Lawyer of the Year
Erik Loomis, HNN Cliopatria 2011 Best Series of Posts
