Monthly Archives: March 2009

Israel, gentile & Jews

Posted on March 27, 2009 by David Hume

A good point in regards to attitudes toward Israel and anti-Semitism broadly understood was brought up in the post below. How about attitudes toward Israel as a function of politics?

Posted in culture | Tagged | 11 Comments

Who is for the Jews? Left or Right?

Posted on March 26, 2009 by David Hume

Over at Red State Erick Erickson implies that the Left is anti-Semitic by way of the JournoList story: It makes for an interesting conversation. Apparently, many of the lefties don’t much care for Olbermann either. And they hate Marty Peretz, … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

When liberals discover the utility of custom & tradition

Posted on March 26, 2009 by David Hume

There is a clip of a recent bloggingheads.tv between Matt Yglesias and Mark Schmitt which is rather amusing, as they express a rather conservative sensibility:

Posted in politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Muddle to the Right?

Posted on March 25, 2009 by David Hume

I’m reading Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World right now. I’ve not read Ferguson before, and I have to say he’s a rather good prose stylist. Though dense with data & concept The Ascent … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, politics | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Blasphemy!

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

In an era when some (rightly) worry that blasphemy laws may be being reintroduced under the guise of prohibiting speech that gives ‘offense’, here via the New York Times is a reminder that the original approach lingers on in America … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Environmentalism as Religion

Posted on March 21, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

I’ve long thought that some aspects of modern environmentalism (particularly many of the attitudes and beliefs associated with, to use the shorthand, ‘global warming’) are in a good number of respects ‘religious’. Here (via the Daily Telegraph) is a story … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 21 Comments

Miscellany, March 20

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Walter Olson

Pareidolia is “that phenomenon wherein people see things that aren’t there because human brains are wired for pattern recognition”. Children see animals in the clouds or letters in a pile of sticks; adults are likely to see images fraught with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Watching the Door

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Bradlaugh

My review of Kevin Myers’ book, which I mentioned in a previous post, is now online at Taki’s Magazine.

Posted in culture, history, politics | 1 Comment

Book Learnin’

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Bradlaugh

By way of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, I reviewed Kevin Myers’ memoir of the Northern Ireland troubles, Watching the Door, for Taki’s Magazine. (Review not yet posted.) I noticed the following curiosity on p.159, though I didn’t include it in my review. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 21 Comments

The UK Today

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Writing in the London Times, Dominic Lawson interviews a Muslim woman who converted to Christianity: Hannah’s description in the book of the moment when her “community” discovered the “safe” home where she had fled after becoming an apostate is terrifying. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments