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Population: One

Aha moments

January 23, 2003
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OK, I think I figured this one out. And you thought I’d forgotten all about it…

Without further ado, the Population: One two axis predictive political graph.

Axis one is still freedom vs. safety. Which matters more in your personal calculus? Will you give up safety for freedom, or vice versa?

Axis two is privileged position vs. one among many. Do you think that your club/state/nation/special interest group has a privileged position vis a vis the rest of the world, for whatever reason? If so, perhaps you think God granted said status; perhaps you think it’s been earned by means of a sterling diplomatic record. The question is whether or not you think it exists, not why it exists.

The inspiration for the fine-tuning of axis two was Glenn Reynolds, who with a straight face recently commented on the resentments California arrogance engenders elsewhere. I think the parallel he’s making works in both directions, though.

The really important question

January 23, 2003
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Eric McErlain thinks Tampa Bay’s gonna win the Super Bowl. Might as well get my pick up to be mocked: it’s gonna be the Raiders. I even think they’ll beat the line.

Why? Because they have the team of destiny patina. They’re pissed off about the playoffs last year, the veterans know they need to get it done now or perhaps never, and the team is tight. Contrast this to the distraction Keyshawn is capable of causing. Check out his ESPN diary and tell me that isn’t someone who thinks he’s bigger than the team. Note that he didn’t mention his quarterback once. I hear Brad Johnson isn’t that bad a player.

That means that it’s up to Tampa Bay’s defense to make up for any problems on the offensive side, and that isn’t gonna be easy. Raiders win it going away.

Not Bruce Springsteen

January 22, 2003
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Al Sharpton is a demagogue of a fairly virulent sort, and I have little sympathy for him. However, the news that his offices burned down this morning is potentially very disturbing. According to Susannah of cut on the bias, it was a two alarm fire, which means it’s more than a cigarette in a trash can. It took out his civil rights group HQ and his presidential campaign HQ.

Five bucks says someone gets histrionic about this before all the facts are in. Ten bucks says the histronics get in the way of examining the facts.

Reform and relevancy

January 22, 2003
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It occurs to me that one of the large obstacles in the way of invading Iraq is the Security Council veto. It further occurs to me that the rationale behind the veto, that being the great power status of the Allied nations after World War II, is somewhat antiquated.

I don’t think any pro-war pundit can deny that the veto is tremendously frustrating. As so many have pointed out, it seems ridiculous that France can effectively stand in the way of UN action. That ability — the ability of one nation to unfairly stop debate in its tracks — prevents the UN from being effective. Again, many argue that the UN’s inability to press the issue of Iraq is ruining the UN as we watch.

OK. Let’s get rid of the veto. I won’t go so far as to recommend that the permanent members of the Security Council lose that status, but let’s get rid of the vetos and enable the UN to respond in a timely fashion without fear of being blackmailed by any single nation.

Nota bene: Russia has vetoed over 60% more resolutions than the next most frequent vetoer. Someone on NPR tonight was claiming that the US held the record. Incorrect; the link above has the real numbers.

Man of iron

January 21, 2003
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Apparently Robin Laws will soon be writing Iron Man. Yes, as in the Marvel Comics Iron Man. Tony Stark. Buh!

For those of us not versed in roleplaying games, Robin Laws has been an influential figure in the industry for the last decade or so. He contributed to the classic RPG Over the Edge, which found its inspiration in William S. Burroughs and David Lynch, an entirely new source of ideas for the roleplaying community. He went on to write GURPS Fantasy II, which kicked the normal fantasy RPG tropes in the balls and then went off to get drunk by itself on cheap tequila. With Feng Shui, he abruptly shed the “weird non-commercial designer” tag and demonstrated his ability to write sound mechanics that actively support a game’s genre. Since then he’s worked on Star Trek, various White Wolf games, and whatever else caught his interest.

I look forward to his foray into the world of comics.

Edit: minor correction. Apparently he’s a five issue fill-in writer, and no permanent writer has been announced. Still!