Yes, I believe it was Duncan Black — better known as the blogger Atrios — who came up with the Friedman Unit, or as Atrios likes to put it, the "FU."
Great points about Friedman. How any clear-thinking person could consider him a foreign policy savant is beyond me. Some teachers even require their students to read his books — unironically. For the definitive takedown of Friedman, check out Matt Taibbi's review of "The World is Flat" here. Taibbi is the best of the young political journalists trying to make sense of where this country is going and why.
Compare Friedman to a real foreign policy expert such as Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan. Our own David Boyle, Class of 2006 and co-founder of the Online Gargoyle, is currently working as Cole's assistant on the latter's blog, Informed Comment.
Friedman Unit
Yes, I believe it was Duncan Black — better known as the blogger Atrios — who came up with the Friedman Unit, or as Atrios likes to put it, the "FU."
Great points about Friedman. How any clear-thinking person could consider him a foreign policy savant is beyond me. Some teachers even require their students to read his books — unironically. For the definitive takedown of Friedman, check out Matt Taibbi's review of "The World is Flat" here. Taibbi is the best of the young political journalists trying to make sense of where this country is going and why.
Compare Friedman to a real foreign policy expert such as Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan. Our own David Boyle, Class of 2006 and co-founder of the Online Gargoyle, is currently working as Cole's assistant on the latter's blog, Informed Comment.