Links 6/9/14 compact version

Politics: 

In thinking about IS (ISIL/ISIS), a throwback to 2013 and "What could have been done differently in Syria?" and Slate on whether the US could have acted differently in Iraq, the question of whether IS is a rational actor, and an alliance against IS is emerging (will it soon include Bashar al-Assad - Iran is already in?). 

Moralizing rhetoric also defines groups on the basis of their tactics rather than their goals. However appalled we might be by a group’s actions, our objective should always be to understand our enemies as they do themselves: in this case, a highly organized insurgency with specific strategic objectives.

This last aspect is particularly important because the discourse of “evil” can create a slippery slope in which almost any countermeasures become permissible to stop the advance of the threat.  

NY Times: The Problem With ‘Evil’, August 22, 2014

Brookings with a very interesting article on the law and policy implications of "Our Cyborg Future". 

Rolling Stone on the precarious situation of teenagers cast out by religious families after coming out as gay. 

Dossier on the political connections of Austria's most successful free daily newspaper, Heute. 

Pop Culture: 

Dissident on the films of Rian Johnson. 

New Blonde Redhead!

A remastered version of Sleater-Kinney's seven records (the set is called Start Together) will soon be released. JFC. If someone was wondering what I desperately want for Christmas and my birthday.