HOT5 Daily 5/19/2010

1. "The Price of Pearls: How Can I Listen if You Won’t Hear?" Excellent points that are apparently lost on Obama.

Representative Sample: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed did not murder Daniel Pearl because he was a journalist. He murdered Daniel Pearl because he was a Jew. An infidel, like you and me

2. "For Once AP Gets it Right" The miserable failure of the drug war.

Representative Sample: Throughout its history drug prohibition has been an immoral, violent, and costly failure. It simply does not accomplish its stated purpose of preventing people from using illicit drugs while at same time it vastly increases the harm caused by the use of those drugs. Now the Associated Press is finally acknowledging these already well known facts in a scathing indictment of the war on people who use certain kinds of drugs.

3. "Red Generals Demand Revival Of The Red Army" Interesting quick look at the current state and outlook for Russia's military forces.

Representative Sample: Kornukov joined many other critics who bemoan the sharp decline of the Russian defense industry, and the departure of its best people for the more lucrative civilian sector. Because of this, Kornukov believes that Russian military technology is now 25-30 years behind the United States

4. "Pakistan's India obsession" It would be nice if they were half as worried about fighting the Taliban.

Representative Sample: the lack of strategic thought on display here is quite amazing. Here you've got an impoverished, dysfunctional country next door to one of the most dynamic economies on Earth, and it can't imagine a paradigm in which India is an economic partner and an ally, not a threat.

5. "The Best Case for Atheism" Interesting argument.

Representative Sample:the real problem with God is -- It cannot really be explained, it cannot be proved, it fits nicely into a human strength for creating imaginary characters, it is deeply undermined by the problem of indiscriminate evil, it is not the best explanation for anything, and it’s the most improbable cause of observed reality.

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