When George Orwell wrote 1984, the technology to implement the sort of surveillance state he feared didn’t yet exist. It still didn’t exist when 1984 actually rolled around; a person might be forgiven for having assumed at the time that the relevant tech would stay uninvented for the indefinite future.
Just over two decades later, we [...]
Guantanimo prisoner, whose case had already been dismissed in 2006, is back on trial under the Military Commissions Act.
But Hamdan’s central question remained: “By what law will you try me?”
The judge responded with the only answer he could: The military commissions law passed by Congress in 2006.
“But the government changed the law to its advantage,” [...]
One of the more common reactions I get from people newly learning that I’ve lived in Japan is “I wish I could do something like that.” It’s actually not all that hard; all you need is a bachelor’s degree, some patience during the application process, a few thousand dollars to get you over there and [...]
My entire stay in Japan originated because of my interest in Japanese. It wasn’t a particularly serious interest at first, but I discovered somewhat to my surprise that I really liked studying that language. It was only natural that once I actually got to Japan, I continued my studies, even though it meant paying almost [...]
Politics has never been my thing. I know how I stand on the various issues, but I just don’t care enough to go searching through the huge number of potential candidates to find the one who most closely represents my views; I certainly don’t care enough to volunteer my time on behalf of any one [...]
When leaving Japan, I sold off my monitor. This was a bit of a gamble, but I knew that it would be expensive to ship, and hoped to be able to get something new and better. It turns out to have paid off; I sold the old one for a good price, and bought a [...]
My trip home from Japan was completed almost exactly 48 hours ago now. Aside from the colossal ineptitude of Liberty Airport (Newark, NJ), my trip was fairly smooth and easy. I’ve spent much of the last two days burning through the backlog of novels which were waiting for me here, visiting various relatives, and generally [...]
David Brin proposes A Democratic Contract with America. It’s a stance I think deserves wide viewing.
Once you get past May in Japan, the humidity index climbs to about 90% and remains at no less than that level for the next three months. Thus, it’s only ever worth riding a bicycle for pleasure at night; it’s just as humid, but at least it’s cool.
I was riding about earlier tonight, exploring the [...]
I can trace my roots back to immigrants if I go back five generations. Despite that, only my mother and grandmother can speak French (their ancestral tongue), and it was a second language for both of them. Every one of us speaks English as our first and primary language.
My great-grandfather on my mother’s mother’s side [...]