Comments for Graeme Wood

Comment on The Card Trick that Stumped Houdini by Cha

Cha — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:11:14 +0000

Very easy to figure out aclautly, but very nice effect.Take the 4 jacks and 4 aces and face down stack them: Jack, Ace x 4, Jack x 3Take that stack and turn it upside down, put it on the bottom of the deck using a pinky break. When putting the first 4 black cards on the deck, hold them spread out and not directly on top, so they can’t see you pulling those 8 cards from the bottom of the deck. Flip them all over on top of the deck and square them up quick so no one sees the extra cards.

Comment on Far-Future Shock by Megy

Megy — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:11:27 +0000

Uniqueness = superiority?If there is still any doubt, that Foxman’s cocnept of Jewish uniqueness implies Jewish/Israeli superiority, here is a quote by David Ben Gurion: My cocnept of the messianic ideal and vision is not a metaphysical one but a socio-cultural-moral one I believe in our moral and intellectual superiority, in our capacity to serve as a model for the redemption of the human race. The intellectual superiority’ of the Jewish people is a matter of empirical evidence or not. I don’t doubt it. But the moral superiority’? The above quote, including , is from Arthur Hertzberg and Aron Hirt-Manheimer, Jews The Essence and Character of a People’, HarperCollins 1998, page 17 Note, the authors of the book quote Ben Gurion in the affirmative, they don’t criticise his statement. They write, He [Ben Gurion] was leading his people, through Zionism, to be a moral example for all of humanity , same page.

Comment on Iran Bombs Iraq by Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:56:47 +0000

Turkey’s potential for cuinasg trouble is why we must keep them in our orbit. They are not as bad as Russia as an ally,’ but, yes they do not match others in their cooperation.I’d like to know what the Sunni Arabs think of the Turks now, I have now real sense of it. (I know the Syrians are no fans, but might make common cause against the Kurds).Actually, after a while this looks like a patchwork mess thought up by some clever strategic game designer (or bad imperial treaty).

Comment on 6 Baby Names You Probably Shouldn’t Give Your Kid by Kon

Kon — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:09:18 +0000

Adolf is actually kind of a cool name I think.. Though yeah, it would cause iesuss. But I mean, C’mon, someone else has already had to of named their child Adolf. Maybe eventually it’d be less, oh I don’t know, scary-sounding ? So when you all hear about a new Adolf That’d be me. On another note on FaceBook a guy is trying to get 500,000 fans in order to name his son Batman.. But I heard it was popular in New Mexico? Is that true?!?

Comment on The Las Vegas Treat by Auth

Auth — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:35:25 +0000

The Texas Democrat Party, or whatever the full name for the party here is, has been fiintghg to keep DeLay’s name on the ballot for months now. It’s only now received national attention for some reason. Yes, the reasoning is very obvious, but don’t forget that DeLay’s old seat is in an area of Texas where Sheila Jackson Leigh is constantly voted into office. DeLay’s old stomping grounds are a bit more educated, true, but there’s something odd in the water in the Houston area.My opinion of why Texas Democrats want DeLay on the ballot isn’t to remind people DeLay is a Republican, but rather because we all know some people will vote for DeLay not knowing he’s not actually running which will diminish votes for whomever the Republican Party is supporting. Just like how the Democratic Party fought tooth and nail to get Ross Perot on the ballot and Republicans supports Ralph Nader’s election bids the Democratic Party in Texas wants the same to happen with DeLay’s old seat.At lesat that’s my two cents.

Comment on Notes from the First-Class Car by Milorad

Milorad — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:27:59 +0000

I would agree religous peploe are either brought up that way or else convert later. What other alternatives are there? But I think you are making some interesting assumptions:RiseYes, this is the normal way to experience religion, and the religious views of the parents will inescapably effect the children. It is a tragedy when fundamentalists merely indoctrinate (as opposed to educate) their children. I hope I am not guilty of that. But this is equally true of atheists or anyone else who has an opinion on anything. Don’t think that simply waiting until your child is 18 and then suddenly being able to choose from a clean slate’ is possible. By that time TV and their peers will have induced them into the semi-coma that modern adults have become accustomed to. True religiosity is a feature of almost all cultures. It is atheism that has arisen relatively recently, which is one of the reasons that culture in the full sense is declining. Baptism or its equivalent is a perfectly normal procedure. To make it a crime would be equivalent to making the religion itself a crime, for it is the natural expression within a family. Indoctrinating a child with atheism can be just as dangerous fundamentalist atheists (like Dawkins) abound. It is really a kind of anti-religion, and has its own set of beliefs and justifications of a particularly damaging kind on society.FallYes, it is difficult to change religions (or pick or drop one) because very simply it is difficult to move between cultures. Ask anyone who has married someone of another race. Religion is not just a matter of a few beliefs so memorise and be able to spit out when required, but much deeper than this. At least true religion!Regarding your analysis of religious motivation:I agree that tragedy can often be the spark for religious feeling. The adage that there are no atheists in foxholes is probably reasonably true. But that should not cast aspersion on the person who is seeking existential answers and finds that religion provides them. The motives vary enormously in my own experience. It is far too simplistic to assert that it is a way to absolve themselves of responsibility. Even in the case that the disaster is their own fault, often it is a way to take full responsibility in a way that could otherwise be impossible.People in difficult circumstances often turn to religious because it is frequently amongst these peploe and only here that true charity can be found. While governmental social services can be a help they are normally completely functionary a totally non-human way of relating to another human being. But if you think that Mother Teresa, say, was simply out to convert poor innocent Hindus by saving them from starvation, you clearly don’t know much about her.Finally I would like to add that of course peploe in a difficult situation will be curious about the motives driving someone willing to go out of their way to help. Would you simply prefer Mother Teresa to have stayed indoors or pretended that actually her faith had no part of her interest in the sick and dying? People in hard circumstances need more than logical premises ! But charity is certainly more convincing yet, because it is real and not just in the head.Finally, I would like to add that there is another signficant (and rising) type of convert: one who is intellectually dissatisfied with the atheism, or better, agnosticism of the age. These are peploe who have no particular emotional or physical difficulty, but grapple with the ultimate questions of life, existence, death and eternity and are not content to accept the dogma (that is all it is) that the universe (and therefore their life) is simply a meaningless accident.

Comment on Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 by Viraldi

Viraldi — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 03:41:13 +0000

I’m glad you held him to such light. I came across your name from having chosen to summarise one of your past articles for my college assignment.

Comment on About me by A Pandora for narrative nonfiction: Byliner.com launches with high hopes and a sleek site » Nieman Journalism Lab » Pushing to the Future of Journalism

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:02:11 +0000

[...] Tayman said. For instance, one of the site’s highlighted “emerging writers” is Graeme Wood, a contributing editor to The Atlantic who also freelances for several other publications. On [...]

Comment on The Egyptian Revolution’s Coming Second Act by Bay Sweetwater

Bay Sweetwater — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:48:02 +0000

The Egyptian revolution, then and now, is far more than a carnival. People threw away their fear, and have fought and died for a chance at freedom. Harvard and Global Voices discuss what fueled it all. http://youtu.be/PPGu0IskH8Y

Comment on Can you win the Medal of Honor for jumping on a mango? by Steve Stibbens

Steve Stibbens — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:28:43 +0000

I know a fellow who, inVietnam, fell on a live grenade that rolled out of an ammo dump but it failed to detonate. He got a commendation medal for attempting to save lives around him.

Comment on V. S. Naipaul in Africa by Seth

Seth — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:13:36 +0000

Best served by looking for an anthropologist, huh? Got any recommendations?

Comment on Let’s Harvest the Organs of Death-Row Inmates by brandon s

brandon s — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:06:20 +0000

i believe that we should harvest the organs of deathrow inmates. The death of someone that is already dying could save the life of 12 other people who still have their life ahead of them.

Comment on Joseph Kony’s Hike to, and from, Hell by Peter

Peter — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:50:13 +0000

For an in-depth look at Kony and the LRA, see the book, First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Comment on Dangers in Arabia Felix by El Oso » Archive » Getting to Know the Good, Bad, and Ugly of Azerbaijan

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:20:46 +0000

[...] future destinations and the experiences that may lie in wait. Yemen – despite Graeme’s recent talk of impending implosion (more from Tarek Amr on Global Voices) – is still high on my list, and I feel fortunate that [...]

Comment on Does Bob Dylan Talk Like a Finn? by David Sasaki

David Sasaki — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:26:23 +0000

Oh man – the cyberhipsters are gonna have so much fun making a mashup of those two.