Senator Patrick Leahy has handed Judge Roberts a copy of the ‘Bybee Memo‘ — aka the ‘torture memo’ which provided the legal wiggle-room for interrogation methods considered to run counter to the Geneva Convention — and has said that Roberts can expect to be questioned about it in his confirmation hearings.
“I want him to have [...]

I like to follow the robot news out of Japan; and there is news on this front today:
Japan is all set to introduce a child-shaped humanoid robot that can identify about 10,000 words and work as a house sitter.
Child-shaped! Priceless. But, the money quote comes from a company official at Mitsubishi-Heavy Industries Ltd., [...]

Writing in Parameters, Chris Zambelis details how the failure of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East has created a situation where freely elected governments there will inevitably be loaded, at least initially, with Islamic parties.

The failure of successive governments in the Middle East to meet the demands of ordinary citizens is central to the Islamist [...]

Greg, at Belgravia Dispatch, rips up the “flypaper theory” about Iraq. And he adds:

Thus the critical need for honesty and serious thinking and fortitude. The stakes are immense. Failure is not an option. And the chances of success will be bolstered if we have a President who appears, not a broken record spouting tiresomely the [...]

Thomas DiLorenzo says the Civil War was unnecessary. Peter Rinaldo says just about every war America has ever fought in has been unnecessary.
Jimmy Carter long ago pronounced the war to overthrow Saddam unnecessary. Of course, he also thinks the American Revolution was unnecessary.
Carter doesn’t go into detail about what he thinks makes for a [...]

Looks like it has indeed moved away from New Orleans a little, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hurting them and the others living around them. Sure, The Big Easy may not find itself under 29 feet of water when all is said and done, but even a quarter that amount would put a massive [...]

Or are they Donklephants at heart?
An interesting study that was just released suggests that most law professors are Democrats.
Here are some reactions around the blogosphere:
First, Ann Althouse:
For what it’s worth, I haven’t given any political contributions in a while, but when I did, it was to Democrats â€â€? mostly Russ Feingold. I’m actually surprised by [...]

Winston Smith at Philosoraptor points to this interesting article about a study to appear in the Journal of Advertising, on advertising to skeptics. Winston Smith remains skeptical about the findings.
Skeptics are not, however, immune from the influence of advertising. The researchers said that this finding may appear counter-intuitive, as many consumers are inclined to [...]

These are the numbers of visits for the month of August from our readers around the globe.
Apparently, we’re big in Japan!
United States - 67648
Japan - 2444
Australia - 2024
Canada - 1756
European Union - 1050
Hong Kong - 957
Great Britain - 713
Germany - 372
China - 268
Romania - 192
Italy - 165
Spain - 157
Slovenia - 125
Netherlands - 104
Sweden - 73
Macedonia [...]

Egypt won’t sign onto the nuclear test ban treaty unless Israel first signs onto the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
The refusal by Israel, which is believed to possess hundreds of nuclear warheads, to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has also made the Middle East more insecure, Ahmed Aboul Gheit was quoted by Egypt’s semiofficial Middle East News [...]

The Sunnis didn’t sign it, but the Shiites and the Kurds did. What does this mean for the country’s chances for Democracy? Since the Sunni population essentially has a veto on the document, we could see another draft of the constitution later on in the year.
From the Washington Post:
BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 — Iraqi leaders completed [...]

Michael Barone writes in US News & World Report that 2008 is shaping up to be the year where people are brought more towards the common-sense middle:
For 10 years American politics has been sharply polarized, with just about equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats arrayed angrily against one another. We have come to think of [...]

Hurricane Katrina has the potential to be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. The following is a possible prediction from a top hurricane expert.
This story from CNN about Katrina even likens it to the recent tsunamis.
“We need to recognize we may be about to experience our equivalent of the Asian tsunami, in [...]

It could still be devastating, but…
Hurricane Katrina edged slightly to the east today as it bore down on America’s Gulf Coast, providing some hope that the worst of the storm’s 150 mph winds might not directly strike low-lying New Orleans.
IOL: Hurricane Katrina edges to east

Even if you aren’t religious, please find some time to think/pray/send-good-thoughts for the people of New Orleans.
The whole city is being evacuated, due to the hurricane that threatens to destroy the city.
From the Wash Post, comes news about Hurricane Katrina:
All lanes on interstate highways in the New Orleans area were given over to outbound [...]

UPDATE: September 1st, 8:57 am CST
A website, Katrina Connections, has been put together to reunite victims of the disaster with their loved ones. Please visit there as well, but feel free to post in the comments section below or in the other post I reference right below this one.
UPDATE: August 31st, 6:14 pm CST
Click for [...]

Donklephant contribtor, Michael Totten holds out hope, but there seems to be little.
I heard broadcasters on the radio this evening say that tens of thousands could die, that New Orleans skyscrapers could topple, that much of the city could be completely destroyed and lost forever. God I hope they’re wrong.
I hope they’re wrong too.

From this month’s Foreign Affairs comes an amazing article about the realities of winning the Iraq war:
“Despite the Bush administration’s repeated declarations of its commitment to success in Iraq, the results of current policy there are not encouraging. After two years, Washington has made little progress in defeating the insurgency or providing security for [...]

Mister Snitch writes:
Accused of changing the rationale for ‘his’ war, and hounded for mismanaging it. Derided as an uninspiring public speaker. Belittled as an idiot. Blamed for dividing the nation. Charged with incompetence in his administration. Accused of trampling on the Constitution. Engaged in censorship and manipulation of the press. Mockingly compared with lower primates. [...]

I know that sometimes certain posts can slip through the cracks, so I’d like to point out some you may have missed in the past couple weeks.
Poverty Bites
Eden Again: Good News Out Of Iraq
Finnish Line
Gandelman To Kerry: “If It’s Broke, Do Fix It.�
Fischer-Tropsch + Coal = The Solution To Gas Prices?
A Centrist Thought
It’s The Accuracy [...]