SPIDERS AND WATER: Two random links to things I haven’t read (entirely) yet! First, “Spiders,” a terrific comic about one possible alternate-future scenario for the war in Afghanistan. Haven’t finished yet, but it looks really, really interesting. Plays on all kinds of relevant themes–dynamist war being the most obvious one. The view of Islam seems a bit simplistic, but whatever. Go read it! –uh, when you’re done working, that is.

And the New York Times has been running front-page stories on the world’s water crisis. The Times, predictably, thinks the free market is the problem. Here’s a chapter (in PDF format) from Sustainable Development: Promoting Progress or Perpetuating Poverty?, which offers a very different take on the role of property rights and markets. You can get the whole book here. (Edited to add that I haven’t even started this one yet, but it is vouched for by Someone Who Should Know, so it is likely to be well worth your time.)