Regulation is an effective check on avarice only if it is adversarial. We don't need regulator that can "work with" the regulated.

Shostak's article explain why the discovery of an organism that has Arsenic in its DNA is important.

This is not an analysis of the problem or a prescription. It is a call to arms.

I don't know what the youth of today is coming to. You would think this story would get old after 25 centuries. Still, its appeal to the over 35 crowd seems eternal.

It struck me as little more than name calling. It may be satisfying to shout Lair, Lair! or Idiot!, but it doesn't advance understanding or conversation.

For a short article it tried to cover to much ground. So, it didn't cover any of it very well.

Mr Stewart assumes that the recession ended some time ago, and that recovery has occurred. The NBER defines a recession as a "significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales." The conditions to declare an end to the recession do not seem to have been met. At least the NBER doesn't think so. From reading his column, you would not suspect that such doubts existed.

This is not journalism, it is evangelism. There is need for passion in the world.

"Credit card debt drops to lowest level in 8 years". The story right next to it on Breaking Business is "Credit card rates hit highest level in 9 years". Could there be a relationship here?

This is a layman's summary of a somewhat technical article found in the Mar. 5, 2010 issue of Science Magazine. As such, it helps advance public understanding of state of art in fusion power generation.

Taking a couple of data points and extrapolating them to the future of the Republican Party is a little overblown.

There seems to be a growing separation between American Jews and the Israeli government. What is going on? This article tries to provide some answers.

It starts with an anti-corporate bias and then tailors the article to fit that bias.

This is opinion and speculation. I would like to see what they actually have on these folks.

Brooks' has a nostalgic view of the "Protestant Establishment". You know, back when people knew their place. Still, his critic of merit is worthy of discussion.

The article is well written and brings up points that are not often considered. The lack of hyperlinks to sources of quotes and data undermine the article's credibility.

There is already a general confusion between the ideas of weather and climate. This article adds to that confusion.

This article is an OK first cut on a story. In a sense, that is what newspapers do, an OK first cut.

I am always uncomfortable accepting data and data interpretation without a link to the source data. Still, this is a thought that merits further consideration.

Moore distills a very complex issue into half a dozen paragraphs and a graphic. He does this without introducing serious distortion.

Nothing new here, but the various stamps of authority (MIT, National Academies, etc.) may bring it to the attention of decision makers.

This article compares Google's vaporware software (Chrome OS) to Microsoft's actual software (Windows 7). Let's hold off on this story until Chrome OS is at least in alpha.

This is more poetry than journalism. The argument is just an extended metaphor. Social Networking doesn't need this intellectual baggage.

The article was a very brief overview of a complex problem.

This is sadly a common story. Perhaps the most important part of the story is that these practices are legal and unlikely to become illegal.

This integration of audio, text, interactive maps, photos and hyperlinks is journalism finding a voice in the current world.

This story may reflect the "feel" of Beirut, but it is a little too gonzo to accept as fact.

In an article that is highly hyperlinked, there is no link to the Science Magazine article on which it is based, and no date and page citation (Science 27Mar09, pp 1680-81). This may have been acceptable in days of print journalism, but it is no longer.

Clay Shirky is a true iconoclast. He examines the economics of publishing newspapers. He then explains why this economic model is broken beyond fixing.

Sadly, this would count as quality journalism. It is a collection of quotes and counter quotes. There is very little discussion of how we get from here (e.g. the XO computer) to the new design (and new price). In technology we see dozens of these vaporware projects come and go every year. They usually don't happen.

Why do we have to go to Israeli newspaper to get alternative Israeli points of view? Why aren't articles like this one carried in American Newspapers? It might said that this piece is disrespectful, but the disrespect it engenders in me is for American journalism.

Not all journalism is news. The purpose of ed-op is to clarify issues or to plead a case. Mr. Safire always stimulates thought and often a smile.

Why don't US newspapers include articles from the Israeli press?

The writer has discovered that electrically powered devices use electricity. This is the style of reporting that gives environmentalism a bad name, by making it trivial. Scientific American was once a great magazine.

It is in the nature of ed-op pieces that they are too short to deal with complex problems. Still, Mr Krugman was able to at least point out the rudderless drift in economic policy caused by the power vacuum in Washington.

This is a very one sided piece. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is trying to present an argument that few have thought about enough. Much of the "stuff" in Iraq would be easier and cheaper to replace than to bring back. Marginal "stuff" (worn out tanks and helicopters) could be left behind to support the military of our "ally", the Iraqi government. So, one sided that it might be, the article gets you thinking.

The article is a little chatty and a little partisan, but a good read in a gossipy sort of way.