Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 08/06/2008
by Eric Martin Colin Thomas-Jensen at the Wonk Room reminds us that tomorrow marks the ten-year anniversary of the US embassy bombings in Kenya. Three al-Qaeda operatives, thought to have had a hand in those attacks, have been active in...
Foreign Policy Watch (Free subscription) | 08/06/2008
GUEST COLUMN: Eric Martin is an attorney, working and practicing in NYC. He has written about foreign policy, with a focus on the Middle East, for various venues over the past five years. ________________ The following bit of argumentation , tendentious as it is, comes from Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack. Considering the authors, and the subject matter (Iraq) it shouldn't surprise me, but Stephen...
Grasping Reality with Both Hands (Free subscription) | 08/06/2008
Eric Martin sends us to Clive Crook, who points out why real economists don't let their friends support Republicans anymore. Eric: > Obsidian Wings: Magically Delicious: Remember, Clive Crook is a conservative-leaning economist: Clive: > It is worth remembering where the blame for this neutering of fiscal policy lies: squarely with the Bush administration. At the start of this decade, the budget stood...
Boardgame News (Free subscription) | 08/06/2008
by Andrea “Liga” Ligabue & W. Eric Martin Publisher & Designer: Massimo Pesce Players: 2-6 Ages: 8+ Playing Time: 30-45 minutes Release Date: Just Released The Palio di Siena (known in Italy as Il Palio) is a crazy horse race that takes place twice a year in Siena on July 2 and August 16. Ten of the 17 Contrade (or city wards) are represented in the race: the seven that were left out of the previous...
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 08/05/2008
by Eric Martin The following bit of argumentation, tendentious as it is, comes from Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack. Considering the authors, and the subject matter (Iraq) it shouldn't surprise me, but Stephen Biddle's byline appears on the same piece,...
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 08/04/2008
by Eric Martin Remember, Clive Crook is a conservative-leaning economist: It is worth remembering where the blame for this neutering of fiscal policy lies: squarely with the Bush administration. At the start of this decade, the budget stood in surplus...
Boardgame News (Free subscription) | 08/04/2008
By W. Eric Martin August 4, 2008 Publisher: Bézier Games Designer: Ted Alspach Players: 3-8 (see below) Release Date: Spiel 08 Price: $80 (for all three Bézier AoS expansions) Two of the smallest states in the union come into their own in this expansion that features Vermont on one side of the gameboard and New Hampshire on the other. Vermont , for 3-5 players (optimally 4), is a nasty piece of work,...
Boardgame News (Free subscription) | 08/02/2008
By W. Eric Martin August 2, 2008 Publisher: Willow Tree Games Designer: Joe Davis Players: 2 Ages: 7+ Playing Time: 30 minutes Rules Language: English Price: $25 Links: Version played: Production copy Times played: Three Anyone who’s ever walked within a hundred yards of an abstract strategy game will instantly peg Octego for a member of the genre. In case the Octego name – blocky and regular and conceptual...
Boardgame News (Free subscription) | 08/02/2008
Randy Pausch, a professor of human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University, died on July 25, 2008 after living for two years with pancreatic cancer. Pausch spent most of his career working on virtual reality systems – as well as ways to make it easier for people to learn how to program computers, such as the Alice educational software package – but he’ll most likely be remembered for “The...
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 08/01/2008
Hosted by Eric Martin I know I missed out on the previous Dark Knight threads, but I finally went to see the flick on Tuesday night so I'll offer my day-late, dollar-short observation: I walked out of the theater feeling...
Steam Powered Opinions (Free subscription) | 08/01/2008
The Wall Street Journal article that I blogged about earlier is getting extensive coverage all over the liberal blogosphere. Matthew Yglesias , Kathy G , Kevin Drum , Ezra Klein and Eric Martin all offer their thoughts on Wal-Mart's tactics, the Employee Free Choice Act and the status of the labor movement. I'll update with further links as they arise.
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 08/01/2008
by Eric Martin Seriously, this country needs at least 8 years of Democratic leadership to even begin cleaning up the mess the GOP has made. There will be pushback of course: Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it has held...
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 08/01/2008
by Eric Martin So in addition to being too popular, too charismatic and too eloquent to be President, Barack Obama is apparently too physically fit as well. Those are some serious drawbacks. If we can confirm that Obama is also...
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 07/31/2008
by Eric Martin If John McCain were a woman, the pundits would incessantly discuss his unseemly ambition, his lust for power, his cold, calculating willingness to say and do whatever it takes, to compromise any principle, in order to win....
Obsidian Wings (Free subscription) | 07/31/2008
by Eric Martin More like this please. When they hit you, hit them back harder: You know, I might just end up going bankrupt, but this fool is willing to put his money on the proposition that the American people...
