Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

We now have the definitive word on the current status of the Japanese nuclear reactor problems. Things are getting better but they could get worse. Isn’t that the way life always works? So how about better? Japan took a step toward possibly getting its nuclear disaster under control Sunday as electricity to power some reactor…

Glenn’s link to this discussion of a New York Times assessment of Holocaust-denying Islamist Yasir Qadhi (“the new face of ‘moderate’ American Islam”) just stuck in my craw yesterday. Not just because Yasir Qadhi is anything but a moderate, but because of the pattern it represents. The New York Times has pattern of whitewashing radical…

Given what has happened in Japan so far and what I expect in the near future what do I think the future of nuclear power looks like? Kaput. For the near future. The way out? We need some new designs tested to destruction. At least 100,000 operating hours after design approval. All open source so…

Yep. The Fukushima reactor #4 may be in the process of an accidental restart. — Reactor No. 4 – Under maintenance when quake struck, no fuel rods in reactor core, temperature in spent-fuel storage pool reached 84 C on Monday, fire Tuesday possibly caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, fire observed…

Funny thing is that it looks a bit like a pipe too. Cross Posted at Power and Control

Eric was discussing how vocal opposition to a political position (where most people have no opinion) can lead to support for the opposed position. There was a link in something Eric quoted to the “disturbingly amoral network of fundamentalist operators” which led me to this review: Sharlet’s discoveries dramatically challenge conventional wisdom about American fundamentalism,…

Joel Kotkin discusses the Regressive Progressives in a video interview with Instapundit. Towards the end of the video they discuss for a moment this book: Sprawl: A Compact History The book discusses the virtues of Sprawl. Here is a review I thought interesting: I have always been, and will continue to be, a city boy…

While I continue to have reservations about inviting the government into people’s private lives, more Americans than ever are supporting same sex marriage — to the point where today’s headline proclaims a “milestone.” More Than Half of Americans Say Gay Marriage Should Be Legal More than half of Americans say it should be legal for…

This is sickening. Some cowardly anonymous hard core Commies (of course they would deny that’s what they are, and they would doubtless call me a “red baiter” for calling them Communists) have threatened Ann Althouse for courageously daring to cover and criticize the ongoing occupation of the State Capitol. Via Glenn Reynolds, who does not…

They are dancing in the streets of Benghazi. Shortly before midnight, the streets of Libya’s de facto rebel capital, Benghazi, were quiet, nearly deserted. A few minutes after midnight, tracer bullets and celebratory machine-gun fire were racing into the air from every direction and residents piled into their cars for a massive street party. In…

Take a look at this headline (found at Drudge) and the first two paragraphs of the piece: ‘Biblical Exodus’ From Africa Feeds Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric… As boats carrying hundreds of Africans set sail for a better life in Europe, they were met on Italy’s Lampedusa island with two words by a 5-foot, 8-inch blonde: go away.…

I was reminded yesterday that today would be Saint Patrick’s Day, but this morning I forgot, so I didn’t put on any green like we’re all supposed to. Maybe I will later, but green is just not “my” color. At least, not to wear. I love the greening of the outdoors that will start occurring…

An earlier email exchange with M. Simon over stuff I hate to argue about got me thinking about the people who claim to have found God in a sugar cube (as the result of ingesting LSD). Are they hopelessly deluded fools?  Because of underlying assumptions, analyzing this problem is difficult. However, it strikes me that…

The situation in Japan is dire and besides reactors out of control the logistical situation is not so hot either. Fuel and heating oil are in short supply. The food situation is not looking so good either. Nearly a week after the disaster, police said more than 452,000 people were staying in schools and other…

As many have said, Christian is the new gay. Stuff like this is becoming all too predictable. A Christian couple facing a foster parenting ban because of their views on homosexuality were told by a court yesterday that gay rights ‘should take precedence’ over their religious beliefs. Owen and Eunice Johns heard that their values…

Ulsterman and his secret source are back. So you think President Obama should be impeached? Impeached? -Expletive- no. That’s too good for him. President Obama should be arrested. What’s that word you used a while back – sedition? Well there you go – that pretty much sums up this whole stinking cesspool of a White…

A man who appears to be a genuine sicko is facing imprisonment for telling depressed people that they should kill themselves, and giving them specific instructions on how.  FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — Freedom of speech is no defense for a former nurse who engaged in “lethal advocacy” when he encouraged an English man and Canadian…

Zero Hedge has an article up by a person who has close contacts with Japan. Especially in the financial markets. I just got off the phone with several frightened, somewhat dazed survivors of the Japanese earthquake who work in the financial markets, and I thought it important to immediately pass on what they said. Some…

I was watching a Pajamas video about the future of Libertarianism and it got me to thinking about Libertarian foreign policy (broadly – non-interventionism). And that got me thinking deeper. As I see it Libertarians are a huge failure when it comes to Foreign Policy. I think it is because they are uncomfortable with power…

Sara Hoyt talks to Instapundit about There’s No Such Thing as a Benevolent Dictatorship. Sorry – subscription only. And no – I don’t get a cut for subscriptions.