Category Archives: Commentary

Oh! Never Mind!

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rice worker

I like to think I am a rational person and that I make decisions based on evidence.  So this item by the Knight Science Journalism Tracker worried me:  “Big media splash over claim of lead in rice; barely a ripple when claim is withdrawn.  http://bit.ly/15F9rVg ”

From Time magazine to Science Daily, the media reported that troubling amounts of lead were found in rice.  But the results could not be replicated.  The original researcher found his equipment was giving bad numbers and withdrew his results (kudos to him!), hardly anyone reported that retraction. Continue reading →

More on a Marshall Plan for the Middle East

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RF_alum’s recent post  on a Marshall Plan for the Mid-East got me thinking.  A prosperous Western Europe has, I think, been good for America and good for the world.  A peaceful Europe has certainly been better than another World War.  Entrenched hatreds have faded (though not vanished: look at Cyprus).  But if the French and the Germans can become partners, surely there is hope for other long-standing enemies.

Morocco-school-Merzouga (350x233)

Children in classroom: Dmitri Markine Photography

RF_alum quotes a key concept:  “What was needed to prevent future wars was not just military strength, but also economic well-being, which included the provision of fuel, food, and other necessities of life for the people of those nations that had suffered most during the war.”  This observation would seem to apply to the Middle East as well as it did to post-WWII Europe and to tribal and insurrectionist groups as well as to countries.

Of course, America faces different challenges in our dealings with Middle Eastern countries Continue reading →

Marshall Plan for the Mideast

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The commentary posted last week titled “Egyptian Turmoil” suggested that private American citizens with substantial resources should consider replicating what Herbert Hoover and other private citizens accomplished with what the American Relief Administration (ARA) did in Europe and Russia after World War I in the Mideast. “Famines were killing millions of people, The ARA set up a system of import and distribution that was feeding over ten million people a day in just the Soviet Union.”

I just finished reading “Partners in Command” about George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower by Mark Perry, and have another suggestion that I believe is worthy of consideration. Europe was in desperate shape from the devastation of World War II. Marshall said, “What was needed to prevent future wars was not just military strength, but also economic well-being, which included the provision of fuel, food, and other necessities of life for the people of those nations that had suffered most during the war.” Continue reading →

Egyptian Turmoil

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The world is watching nervously as millions of Egyptians continue their protests in Tahrir Square after the military announced that Mohamed Morsi is no longer President of Egypt. There is another gathering of Muslim Brotherhood supporters of Morsi. Some of them are pledging to “fight to the death” to prevent Morsi’s ouster. The U.S. apparently had not anticipated this turn. Ambassador Anne Patterson had said the U.S discouraged the protests and President Obama had refused to withdraw support of Morsi. The White House is now stressing “…that it does not support any particular party in Egypt, but rather the democratic process Continue reading →

AARP Opposition to Changes in Social Security

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The AARP organization is asking for people to sign a petition addressed to President Obama and their representatives in Congress to not change the way the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are made for Social Security. President Obama has said he would be willing to accept using what is called the “chained” consumer price index to calculate the COLAs in the future.

cpi-basketI’ve read a few descriptions of why the COLAs should be changed. One is that retired people don’t have some of the expenses involved in standard inflation calculation. For example, retired people typically aren’t looking for a new home, so an increase in the price of housing doesn’t need to be used to calculate their new benefit. Another reason is that people can shop around and buy a less expensive substitute. An AARP explanation of chained CPI gives the example that if beef prices go up people can buy more chicken.   Continue reading →

Killing or Capturing bin Laden

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An article in the October 2012 edition of the ABA Journal titled “Detention Dilemma” describes legal problems created by continuing to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. One very interesting part of the article is an argument whether “…the balance between gaining detainee intelligence and the high cost of defending detention decisions has precipitated a shift away from detentions and toward targeted killings.” The article then says, “Taking the judge at her word–that the high court hinted at the need for more killings–would be profoundly unsettling.”

The official policy seems to have accepted the “hint” given by the high court. We are killing terrorists with drones instead of trying to capturing them. Another point for that argument is given by the accounts of the night bin Laden was killed. Those accounts lead me to believe there was no intention of taking him captive. He was said to have been killed when he raised a hand and his rifle was nearby. Continue reading →