In the middle of his rant (and I'd recommend this for a more intelligent assessment of the Afghan situation) Pepe Escobar lets this out: As for the "Pak" (Pakistan) component of AfPak, it is pure counter-insurgency (COIN). As such, His Master's Voice has got to be Central Command commander and surging General David "I'm always …
Book Review: John Stott’s Basic Christianity, and Where Was I When This Was Being Passed Out?
This book review is a little different than some of the other's I've done lately. Not only is Basic Christianity well known (it was first published in 1958, I read the 50th anniversary edition) but reading it brought up some thoughts and emotions that I'd like to spend time on. But first the book itself: …
China Pulls the Plug on U.S. Loans
Or at least it looks that way: China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already "canceled America's credit card" by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world's largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more …
The Non-Issue of Torture in the Bush Administration
I've about had enough of the blather (especially from my Christian colleagues) about the whole business of torture during the last administration. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the Obama Administration's reasons for shying away from prosecution are entirely practical. They are as follows: Prosecuting one's predecessors makes it easier to …
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The Downside to the Anglican Covenant
Well, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is kicking off its quadrennial meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. (I wish my church would have the good sense to have its General Assembly in Jamaica, but I digress...) One of the items on the agenda is the decision to send the latest draft of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant …
The IRS Rewards Corporations For Not Being American
Abu Daoud challenged me on the whole business of people and businesses fleeing the UK on account of rising taxation. I answered that, but now on this side of the pond we have this: Code Section 162(m) limits the deduction for compensation paid to certain highly paid employees of publicly held corporations to $1 million …
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Capital Flight: The UK Leads the Way
Being the darling of America's elites will probably not be much of a warning to us about this: The British budget last Wednesday did very little to rectify that country's yawning fiscal deficit, but what little it did was almost entirely at the expense of the country's high-income earners, those making over 150,000 pounds (US$210,000). …
Islam vs. the Atheists: The New Competition
The juxtaposition of two posts deserves note. First, this one from Abu Daoud about Our Islamic Future (it's the YouTube video below): The second comes from the New York Times (HT to Titusonenine): More than ever, America’s atheists are linking up and speaking out — even here in South Carolina, home to Bob Jones University, …
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Forrest Mims, Creationist, Featured in True Maroon
The current edition of True Maroon, an online magazine for and about Aggies, features a piece (in video and text) on Forrest Mims III '66, science writer and researcher. In November 2008, Discover magazine named him one of the "50 Best Brains in Science." But all was not so rosy for Mims. As the text …
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Book Review:J.I. Packer’s Affirming the Apostles’ Creed
J.I. Packer is one of the most eminent writers and theologians in the Anglican world. His claim to fame was sealed by his being defrocked by Michael Ingham, the revisionist Bishop of New Westminster whose sanctioning of same-sex blessings predates the American's ordination of V. Gene Robinson.  It's one of those things that, if he …
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Positive Infinity 