Chirac on Iraq

A recent PBS show on British PM Tony Blair noted that then French President Jacques Chirac, a former soldier in Algeria, predicted the following for an invasion of Iraq.

1. War is a pretty nasty thing.
2. You will not be welcomed.
3. There will be a civil war.
4. A Shiite majority is not the same as a democracy.

Seems like he did pretty good with that crystal ball.  But what do the French, with their fries, know.  Speaking of  what you'll have with that, the congress critter who got the "freedom fries" nonsense going is now leading the push to get out of Iraq on the Republican side of the aisle.

'Freedom Fries' Lawmaker's U-Turn - BBC - 13 June 05

"A pro-Iraq war US congressman who campaigned for French fries to be renamed "freedom fries" is now calling for US troops to return home from Iraq.  Republican Representative Walter Jones is to introduce legislation demanding a timetable for the withdrawal."

Chirac on Iraq

A recent PBS show on British PM Tony Blair noted that then French President Jacques Chirac, a former soldier in Algeria, predicted the following for an invasion of Iraq.

1. War is a pretty nasty thing.
2. You will not be welcomed.
3. There will be a civil war.
4. A Shiite majority is not the same as a democracy.

Seems like he did pretty good with that crystal ball.  But what do the French, with their fries, know.  Speaking of  what you'll have with that, the congress critter who got the "freedom fries" nonsense going is now leading the push to get out of Iraq on the Republican side of the aisle.

'Freedom Fries' Lawmaker's U-Turn - BBC - 13 June 05

"A pro-Iraq war US congressman who campaigned for French fries to be renamed "freedom fries" is now calling for US troops to return home from Iraq.  Republican Representative Walter Jones is to introduce legislation demanding a timetable for the withdrawal."

Survival of the Nicest

The neo-Darwinians are getting a lot of meme time these days.  As a counter-point, there are also neo-Kropotkinist types out there saying that cooperation is also valuable within an ecological context.  The old wolf pack vs. lone wolf argument expanded on.

Probably the most noted voice in this regard is one Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin.  He's a evolutionary biologist at the University of Louisville down in Kentucky.  A recent book is "The Altruism Equation: Seven Scientists Search for the Origins of Goodness" (Princeton, 2006).  His website also has PDF files of many of his articles. 

The 11 November 06 issue (pp. 56-7) of New Scientist also had an article by him called "Survival of the Nicest".  The introductory stub of it can be read on the New Scientist website. 

I see he also writes for the Huffington Post.  Someone to help take up some of the slack for the loss of Stephen Jay Gould perhaps?

Survival of the Nicest

The neo-Darwinians are getting a lot of meme time these days.  As a counter-point, there are also neo-Kropotkinist types out there saying that cooperation is also valuable within an ecological context.  The old wolf pack vs. lone wolf argument expanded on.

Probably the most noted voice in this regard is one Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin.  He's a evolutionary biologist at the University of Louisville down in Kentucky.  A recent book is "The Altruism Equation: Seven Scientists Search for the Origins of Goodness" (Princeton, 2006).  His website also has PDF files of many of his articles. 

The 11 November 06 issue (pp. 56-7) of New Scientist also had an article by him called "Survival of the Nicest".  The introductory stub of it can be read on the New Scientist website. 

I see he also writes for the Huffington Post.  Someone to help take up some of the slack for the loss of Stephen Jay Gould perhaps?