USS Zumwalt and US Militarization (Eugenio Battaglia, Italy, 04/16/14 4:05 am) A very good post from David Krieger (15 April). To David's points we could add the declaration of Jimmy Carter at the presentation of his new book A Call to Action. The old President sta ... more

USS Zumwalt (Miles Seeley, USA, 04/16/14 3:47 am) I know nothing about navies and ships, but I must say that the USS Zumwalt (Eugenio Battaglia, 14 April) is the coolest-looking vessel I have seen. I don't know what its mission will be, ... more

Xenophobia on Rise in Russia: *NYT* (Paul Levine, Denmark, 04/16/14 3:26 am) The latest news from the Kremlin is not reassuring. What do our Russia experts think? ... more

Remembering Bill Ratliff (Istvan Simon, USA, 04/15/14 2:10 pm) I am deeply saddened by the news of Bill Ratliff's untimely death. Bill was a wonderful friend and I greatly enjoyed his company, boundless energy, and lively conversation every time we met. ... more

Remembering Bill Ratliff (Siegfried Ramler, USA, 04/15/14 1:58 pm) Just a few days ago I sent an e-mail message to Bill Ratliff, asking him to speak to a delegation of Chinese scholars visiting the Stanford area.  I am now shocked by his sudden passing. He ... more

Discussion on NSA and Surveillance (Alan Levine, USA, 04/15/14 12:40 pm) Many thanks to John Recchiuti (15 April) for calling attention on WAIS to the debate I hosted on the NSA that was shown on C-SPAN last night. I thought it was a great debate, worthy of national attent ... more

Remembering Bill Ratliff (Charles Ridley, USA, 04/15/14 8:20 am) I am stunned and shocked to learn of the death of Bill Ratliff. Our friendship dates back to my early days at the Hoover Institution. In recent years we have met for lunch once a month at a nearby T ... more

USS Zumwalt (David Krieger, USA, 04/15/14 5:54 am) In response to Eugenio Battaglia (14 April), my first thought in seeing the USS Zumwalt is: How does such a ship provide for the defense of the country? I can imagine how it contributes to ... more