We recently learned that Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) suggested amending a bill that approves the building of the Keystone pipeline and abolishes the corn ethanol mandate. This is a very unwise proposal. If Congress needs a face-saving way to approve the Keystone pipeline, it should be … More >
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Albena Azmanova said:Thank you for raising the issue of respecting sensibilities. This is of greater importance, and more help, than trying to adjudicate the right boundary between free speech and hate speech. I am no specialist on the matter, but I will draw on something a wise friend observed recently: Islam is more ... More >Why should we believe the scientists about climate change? Nobody — not even any individual scientist — understand all the details of the 1552-page “summary” of climate science by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). So why buy into the idea that tiny amounts of gases from beneficial energy production can cause … More > Just before the holidays I had coffee with Anne, an ex MBA student running a fairly large product group at a search engine company, now out trying to raise money for her own startup. She had an interesting insight: existing content/media companies were having the same problem as hardware companies … More > January 21 is the anniversary of the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v Wade, striking down restrictive abortion laws across the US. At the time I was the Medical Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London. I still remember a surprised phone call from New York. My friends and … More > The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has an unusual way of doing business. Most state and federal regulatory agencies prohibit private, closed-door discussions with interested parties about contested matters (ex parte communications). Even though it makes decisions affecting the welfare of Californians and the disposition of billions of dollars, the … More > Upon arrival last week at Berkeley (I am a visiting scholar on a sabbatical leave) I was baffled by the silent campus. While the world was awash with “I am Charlie” protests in defense of free speech and condemnation of violence, the university that gained its fame as the cradle … More > Today, it’s hard to imagine the world without the internet. PewResearch Internet Project reports that the internet is used by 87% of American adults, up from 14% in 1995. Apart from changing the way how people communicate, connect, or acquire information, the internet has also changed our shopping habits: with … More > The Pew Research Center published some intriguing polling results on energy issues just before Christmas. Americans have clearly noticed falling prices at the gas pump, but only half realize that U.S. oil and gas production has soared. So far, the changes haven’t affected policy views: a large majority favors expanding … More > In March 1914 Parisian socialite Henriette Caillaux calmly walked into the offices of the great Parisian newspaper Le Figaro and shot editor Gaston Calmette dead for defaming the reputation of her husband, politician Joseph Caillaux. Her sensational murder trial mesmerized France during the months before the outbreak of World War … More > |
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