Linkage

A sidelight on the democratic peace thesis: Richard Nixon sabotaged peace talks with Vietnam; LBJ considered it treasonable.
I study group behaviour by looking at how individuals see groups. This Wired story talks about a different level of analysis: emergent behaviour from simple rules.
A long list of cliches that I hadn't realised were cliches, but now know I must avoid.
(Both the last via BoingBoing.)
The USA's oubliette. "In 2009, President Obama ordered that the prison be closed by the end of his first year in office. But the effort to wind it down collapsed as Congress, concerned about their own reelection possibilities some former detainees who were linked to terrorist activities, has imposed an increasingly steep set of obstacles to any additional transfers." This is why we don't let politicians decide who stays in prison.
PLOSOne about us. Political scientists, read and consider. And more about how it works.
Lastly: the meaning of Wivenhoe.