Globally Rational

You are browsing the archives of 2008 July.

//People have a variety of reasons to choose McCain (or Hillary) over Obama.  Some are fairly legitimate (although I disagree with most of them); some people liked the idea of a woman running the show, some people think that McCain’s low-level military experience gives him an advantage, and some people think that McCain’s Senate experience […]

Popularity: 46% [?]

//For those of you who haven’t heard, Alberto Gonzales was recently accused of discriminatory hiring/firing practices during his tenure as US Attorney General.  Let’s skip the irony in the fact that Gonzales was probably never would have gotten his job in the first place if it weren’t for the Bush Administration’s attempt to bring some […]

Popularity: 28% [?]

//I’m surprised that there has been very little activity on the blogosphere concerning the potential of nuclear energy as a key stepping stone in the path to energy independence.  Even many environmentalists are opposed to the idea, since they don’t seem to realize the fact that nuclear energy is, in fact, completely clean and free […]

Popularity: 28% [?]

//Which comes first in a country: the immigrants or the economic success?
It’s like the chicken-and-egg paradox. If there was no promise of success, then immigrants wouldn’t come; meanwhile, if there were no immigrants, there wouldn’t be enough people to succeed (in cosmopolitan countries like the US). Of course, there are exceptions to the rule… China […]

Popularity: 26% [?]

//I’ve noticed that people are completely willing to accept Einstein’s theory of relativity, but many people refuse to accept Darwin’s theory of evolution.  The most interesting thing about this is the fact that relativity is a very complex idea that can only be truly fathomed by people with a deep understanding of mathematics and physics; […]

Popularity: 25% [?]

//Humans have done more disgusting things than what I can even begin to fathom. The worst part about this is the fact that we let it happen not because of malicious intent, but because of irrational submission. Much of the German population - as well as a substantial part of the rest of […]

Popularity: 22% [?]

//A few months ago, John McCain proposed a gas tax holiday (and Hillary Clinton backed it avidly), despite the disagreement of many economists.  I later mentioned that I think it might actually be a better idea (for a variety of reasons) to actually increase the taxes on gas rather than to decrease them.  I suggested […]

Popularity: 24% [?]

//Make no mistake; I am a staunch supporter of a universal healthcare plan for Americans. It’s about time that we caught up with the rest of the developed world (and much of the developing world) in providing health coverage to our population, particularly to children who would otherwise go without receiving care for problems […]

Popularity: 26% [?]

//I’ve been asked questions like “where are you from?” many times. Every time, it’s clear to me that the inquisitor wants to know what country I was born in. I refuse to succumb; it’s not that I have any lack of respect for my background, but I just don’t understand why the person has to […]

Popularity: 24% [?]

//Based on the reactions to the article I wrote yesterday, I came to the realization that people don’t really understand anything about the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in northwestern Pakistan.  People blame the Pakistani government for not doing enough to restrict extremist activity in these areas and they suggest that local authorities should do something […]

Popularity: 25% [?]