More from me (if you can face it) over at Business and Politics.

On Iran – who is weak and strong in the Negotiations between Iran/USA/Russia/China:

It all boils down to a simple proposition: you don’t win more in any negotiation than your objective strength deserves.

In a struggle between a lion and a hyena, different sorts of strength (physical power, agility, guile, deviousness) all come into play.

And on a more metaphysical level, what does it mean to say that resources are ‘finite’?

Is "Toyota’s stuck throttle … a metaphor for our greedy, addictive, all-consuming, cancerous so-called civilization"?

Er. No.