Monthly Archives: January 2011

Evolution and the culture wars

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: the Right has a similar elite vs. populist chasm as the Left when it comes to some non-economic issues. In this case it is evolution, where many elite conservatives have presumed … Continue reading

Posted in culture | 40 Comments

“The Worse the Better”

Cross-posted over at the Corner: In a long and interesting post over at the London Spectator Alex Massie thinks aloud over where the Egyptian revolution might be going. Agree or disagree, it’s all worth reading, but this caught my eye: … Continue reading

Posted in politics | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Monkey Business

The self-righteousness oozing out of Bill Maher on the clip from his show linked to here by the Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen was neither a new phenomenon nor pleasant to watch. On the other hand, the comments from Republican congressman … Continue reading

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They don’t have oil and nuclear weapons

A friend of mine asked what I thought about the protests in North Africa. I’m busy with some scientific issues and problems now, so I haven’t devoted much attention to them. All things equal I support a democratic government over … Continue reading

Posted in culture | Tagged , | 15 Comments

The Contradictions of Multiculturalism

Via Andrew Sullivan, an intriguing (and very lengthy) discussion in Eurozine on multiculturalism, much of it from contributors coming (I’d guess) from a leftish point of view, something which makes it all the more interesting. This (from Kenan Malik) caught … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

Here Come The Bolsheviks

Count me unsurprised by this: Tunisia’s underground Islamic movement has emerged at the forefront of nationwide protests against its leadership and appears set to emerge as the strongest political force in elections. Al-Nadha is lead by the London-based exile Rachid … Continue reading

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Sherry Rehman

Via the Guardian, another story that only should only increase fears for the future of Pakistan: All Sherry Rehman wants is to go out – for a coffee, a stroll, lunch, anything. But that’s not possible. Death threats flood her … Continue reading

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The Jews did not invent modernity

Glenn Beck’s Jewish Problem: It’s become clear to me that the Fox commentator Glenn Beck has something of a Jewish problem. Actually, he has something of a modernity problem, and people with modernity problems tend to have problems with Jews, … Continue reading

Posted in culture | Tagged | 22 Comments

Europe, the big five

The New York Times Magazine has a Europe-themed edition. I thought it would be interesting to look at the five big Western European nations in Google Data Explorer.

Posted in data | Tagged | 3 Comments

After the revolution

Here’s an interesting point in relation to Tunisia: …The protesters came together after circulating calls to rally over social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Many were unemployed college graduates, and they angrily demanded more jobs and denounced what they called … Continue reading

Posted in politics | Tagged | 5 Comments