My brother-in-law has never flown in an airplane. He’s terrified of the idea. But he’s a big fan of driving. It’s basically useless to tell him the statistical reality that flying is probably safer than driving: In absolute numbers, driving is more dangerous, with more than 5 million accidents compared to 20 accidents in flying. […]
Continue reading →A recent article in the basically useless Daily Mail reported that 66 “ISIS operatives” have been arrested within American borders on suspicion of terrorist activities. The Drudge Report was of course quick to mention that some purported Syrian refugees had been arrested. Thanks, Drudge. But the real surprise here is that most of those arrested, […]
Continue reading →If the aftermath of 9/11 taught us anything, it is that centralized governments slouching toward totalitarianism never let a crisis go to waste. And, in a corollary, citizens are far more credulous and trusting when they have just experienced a trauma. So, in the wake of the Paris attacks, it doesn’t surprise me at all […]
Continue reading →A day after ISIS operatives killed over a hundred people in Paris, the French military dropped some bombs on Raqqa, Syria—the de facto capital of the Islamic State. The attack was mostly symbolic, as probably no ISIS agents were killed. But it signaled how the West would be dealing with ISIS. Unfortunately, it also signaled […]
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