I've been reading a lot of commentary from people inside, but mostly outside of India on how it is the Indian government's fault for their "stubborn" grip on Kashmir that led to the attacks. One can't help recall the people on 9/11 who snidely talked about the US getting "what it deserved" while most of us were trying to contact family members and friends who work or live in NYC. My friend lives in Mumbai along with his wife & two little kids and thankfully they were not hurt. Guess there...

The more personal terrorism against women in islamic societies:   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/opinion/30kristof.html?ex=1385787600&en=90f21da7451bdf81&ei=5124&partner=facebook&exprod=facebook

Your wives are a tilth for you, so go into your tilth when you like" (Sura 2:223; Shakir translation) Is that a clear indication that a man can demand sex whenever he wants it? Or is that a misinterpretation. I've trying to find a definitve answer but no one seems to have a certain answer to this. thanks to anyone with a final answer, grok

So my girlfriend and I have this friend - the kind you're glad has moved to California. And she is SO impressed by this guy who is against materialism, apparently he's so against it he doesn't buy posters or put up photos of friends and family. Then this girl - who uses her parent's credit card to go to France - is giving us a sermon against material wealth. We nod politely and then when we leave my girlfriend wonders how this idiot doesn't understand jetfuel is a material good. I actually...

My sister and I were discussing the ridiculous sham of the American autocompanies, and since people are worried about the workers she said why not let Toyota or another company still standing on its own merits buy up American auto? That way the workers will still have jobs but it won't cost us nearly as much. Never going to happen, and we didn't fully explore the consequences, but it was an interesting post-turkey idea...

Interesting article investigating both the placement of robot soldiers and the ability of robots to behave "ethically":   http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/25/america/robot.php  

This guy's done a pretty good job with annotating MIT's Algorithm video lectures, themselves a great resource for autodidacts: http://www.catonmat.net/blog/category/introduction-to-algorithms/page/2/   In general, here are some free science lectures on a range of topics (seemed a bit biology heavy last I checked):   http://www.freesciencelectures.com/

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/20/gromia-cambrian.html

I'd say Simarillion, some of Moorcock's novels (especially Skraeling Tree and War of Angels trilogy)...do the Dragonlance Chronicles count as epic?

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/11/19/gm-economy-autos-oped-cx_bm_1119mcgarvie.html   Are the automakers, not to mention the governor of Michigan, trying to scare the public much like Wall Street did into giving handouts?

Realizing the tax payer, not the investor, is held accountable, our friends are at it again: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_48/b4110036448352.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily  

Interesting. Guessing there's a counter argument to be made though...

Something I've been thinking about while looking at the ongoing debates on this site is what it means to be poor and how do we address the growing divide of rich and poor in America. I don't agree that people really choose to be poor, but I think there is a culture of poverty that many people end up caught in and conditioned into. There seem to immigrants who come here with little to nothing but manage to achieve a lot - but perhaps they had money/schooling in their home country that gave the...

Voting today was another reminder of how great America is. For all our disagreements, we CAN disagree. For all our fears, we are a country founding on the idea and hope of Freedom and Democracy. We are all lucky (dare an ardent secularist say blessed) to be here and we shouldn't ever forget the incredible hard work and sacrifice so many have given for this gift. Let's just take a moment to share in appreciation for the country we love.