Category Archives: Social values

Coffee Break: All War All the Time, AI on the Loose, and Hope for Muscular Dystrophy Patients

Part the First: War Begets War, A Conversation.  Daedalus hosted a conversation among Robert Jay Lifton (1926-2025), Neta C. Crawford, and  Matthew Evangelista last year.  It was preprinted recently in The MIT Press Reader.  I immediately noticed the participation of Robert Jay Lifton.  Back in my dark ages, when the university had a University Bookstore […]

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Notes on the American Justification for the Ramadan War in West Asia of 2026

Why is the United States at war with Iran in 2026?  Several excuses have been used by the current administration to justify the spiral of conflict and ratchet of escalation over the past five weeks.  These include but are probably not limited to: Iran exports terrorism across the globe. Iran is not a democracy and […]

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Coffee Break: The Fallacy of ESG, Baseball, Deep Education, and More AI Follies

Good afternoon.  Time for a break.  Given the wall-to-wall coverage by Yves and others here, nothing explicit on this Good Friday about the Ramadan War in West Asia.  Instead, herewith a few reflections during holy season of the three great Abrahamic traditions. Part the First: Ethical Capitalism?  Some argue about whether business can be ethical.  […]

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