HOT5 Daily 11/20/2010

1. "Obama's Peace Process to Nowhere" Nowhere except maybe to harming our relationship with Israel for the benefit of our enemies.

Representative Sample: Obama's departures from sensible policy would be easier for him to defend if the return were sufficient. But the premise of the U.S. offer -- that within 90 days the Israelis and Palestinians can conclude a preliminary agreement on borders, rendering the settlement issue moot -- beggars belief.

2. "NO CHANCE FOR A NEW START" There's no need to rush into a treaty just so the president can claim a largely meaningless foreign policy accomplishment.

Representative Sample: Obama’s unseemly haste in this regard has more to do with politics, his own miserable standing in the polls, and his desire to make history rather than satisfying even those GOP senators who would be inclined to vote for New START.

3. "The Economist on the Austrian School of Economics’ Relevance in Explaining the Current Crisis" Links to a good article. It's always useful to point out that there are economic perspectives other than the Keynesian one that is often rammed down our throats as if it were the final word.

Representative Sample: policymakers seem to show a lot less interest in the economic ideas of the “Austrian school” led by Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, who once battled Keynes for intellectual supremacy. Yet the more you think about recent events, the odder that neglect seems.

4. "My own contribution to the War on Christmas" X-mas cards with an evolutionary theme.

Representative Sample: It's two graphics.

5. "The Pleasure and Danger of Augmented Reality" I remember when this was merely science fiction.

Representative Sample: Augmented reality adds an information layer on top of everything in front of your eyes. How? By making you wear glasses that have tiny video cameras in them. These cameras “see” the world on your behalf and livestream it to the inside of your glasses. You feel like you’re watching the world through transparent glasses, but in fact you’re seeing a movie of the scene in front of your eyes.

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