The Belmont Club: The Carnot Cycle of Violence Thomas Friedman makes the case that there is not now, nor ever likely to be anyone to talk to in Palestine, so why not give the whole thing away to the Jordanians? “If Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas does not get control over at least part of the West Bank soon, he will have no authority to sign any draft peace treaty with Israel. He will be totally discredited. “But Israel cannot cede control over any part of the West Bank without being assured that someone credible is in charge. Rockets from Gaza land on the remote Israeli town of Sderot. Rockets from the West Bank could hit, and close, Israel’s international airport. That is an intolerable risk. Israel has got to start ceding control over at least part of the West Bank but in a way that doesn’t expose the Jewish state to closure of its airport. “Radical pragmatism would say that the only way to balance the Palestinians’ need for sovereignty now with Israel’s need for a withdrawal now, but without creating a security vacuum, is to enlist a trusted third party—Jordan—to help the Palestinians control whatever West Bank land is ceded to them. Jordan does not want to rule the Palestinians, but it, too, has a vital interest in not seeing the West Bank fall under Hamas rule. “Without a radically pragmatic new approach—one that gets Israel moving out of the West Bank, gets the Palestinian Authority real control and sovereignty, but one which also addresses the deep mistrust by bringing in Jordan as a Palestinian partner—any draft treaty will be dead on arrival.” Friedman’s argument makes perfect sense. It’s logic is only marred by the fact that it misses the point. If Gaza were to become part of Egypt and the West Bank a part of Jordan, then the entire question of the "suffering of the Palestinian" people will be reduced to the mundane problems of providing schools, jobs, garbage collection, health service, etc. In short they will become problems of governance. The whole strategic purpose of Palestine is to create a place where normal life has stopped but the Struggle is endless. Such a Palestine by definition is place where no one is responsible for anything. Not violence, nor hate nor love. While "Palestine" exists an entire evil political industry, with all its intellectual suppliers, apologists and flacks, can continue to prosper. Palestine’s whole point is to create a region of lawlessness from which Israel can be blamed and Israel can be attacked. From one point of view the chaos in Gaza and the disorder on the West Bank is a feature, not a bug.

Oliver Kamm: "Indefensible, but…" Illeborg’s excited conclusion that "we [Danes] ought to have known better" illustrates a fundamental divide in liberal societies. There are those who believe that people’s deepest feelings and beliefs should be accorded respect, and those who consider that people’s deepest beliefs are fair game for hostile and derisive criticism. I am of the second camp.

lgf: Obama the Self-Proclaimed Messiah Obama the Self-Proclaimed Messiah Wed, Jun 4, 2008 at 8:41:41 am PST Last night Barack Obama broke all records for campaign promises, with one of the most over the top self-aggrandizing statements ever uttered by a presidential candidate. I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal. He’s going to heal the sick and make the oceans part. Ooohhkay.

Industry Canada involved in Wikipedia edit-war over Canadian DMCA - Boing Boing Prentice’s Wikipedia entry has been anonymously amended multiple times over the past week with regular attempts to remove any copyright criticism (as I post this there is no reference to copyright). The IP address of most of the anonymous edits trace back to Industry Canada.

Jac: Breaking the gender rules, again So I decided to post the reverse: What are the disadvantages of being a man? Both questions immediately began drawing a variety of thoughtful answers. Well, guess what happened. The website’s moderators deleted my question, but allowed the first question to stay.

Your Afternoon Chesterton | The Anchoress
“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.” - G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News 9/11/09

The Corner on National Review Online
Well, who’s laughing now? There is almost nothing whatsoever that is new about Barack Obama. He reflects no break with liberal orthodoxy, save perhaps at the flimsiest edges (and who thinks a President Obama won’t get rolled by a Democratic congress on things like teachers unions anyway). He is a Ted Kennedy liberal, a McGovernite, and the least triangulated politician we’ve seen in years. But he talks pretty. He sounds new. He certainly looks new. He’s the triumph of Lakoffian repackaging. And, so far, it looks like it will keep working. Congrats to Dr. Lakoff.

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Biopsy alternatives : Lifestyle News : The Buffalo News
Biopsy alternatives
Emerging technologies are reducing invasive surgical procedures
By Marie McCullough - PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Updated: 06/01/08 7

Credit Slips: Consumerism and the Environment: What Would Jesus Buy and Subsequently Throw Away? I used to have more expensive tastes, but realized that one thing they aren’t making any more is more hours in a day. It takes a lot of time to care for expensive stuff. Most things we buy will either end up (1) in our homes or offices where we must dust, move, organize, or otherwise take valuable time caring for, (2)in a landfill somewhere, or (3)in the used items market and then in someone else’s closet or home, after we paid retail for them. Since I don’t want to pay retail for something that ends up in someone else’s house, I see no alternative but to forego…even in the case of shoes.