Monthly Archives: August 2012

Layers of difference

Posted on August 21, 2012 by David Hume

In The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order Samuel P. Huntington placed Russia in the “Orthodox” civilization, as opposed to the “Western” class. Over 20 years since the collapse of the Communist bloc I think one must … Continue reading →

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Left Smugness and Vocal Fry

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Bradlaugh

[I apologize for the long hiatus in posting.  I have been preoccupied with other issues.] I’ve been trying to figure out what I found so annoying about this gathering of atheists. A couple of things I can identify right away. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Awkward Questions

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Ten years after the publication of The Blank Slate, The Daily Telegraph’s Ed West asks some awkward questions: …The blank slate doctrine affects almost every area of our lives. Take, for example, recent moves in Ireland to set quotas on … Continue reading →

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Biter Bit

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Anthony Davies and Kristina Antolin, writing in the WSJ: The bishops dance with the devil when they invite government to use its coercive power on their behalf, and there’s no clearer example than the Affordable Care Act. They happily joined … Continue reading →

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Junk Science Watch

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Todd Akin lends an assist to the Democrats (the New York Times reports): KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In an effort to explain his stance on abortion, Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate nominee from Missouri, provoked ire across the political … Continue reading →

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Romney, welfare, and race

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Heather Mac Donald

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank thinks that criticizing rollbacks in welfare reform shows a suspicious preoccupation with race—to put the most generous interpretation on his words–or, more bluntly, makes one a racist: Events of the past few days make that … Continue reading →

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Locked-In

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

The Independent: The debate about assisted suicide has been reignited after the [English] High Court ruled that two men with locked-in-syndrome cannot be legally helped to die. Tony Nicklinson, 58, and a second man known as Martin, 47, mounted legal … Continue reading →

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Idiots

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-posted on the Corner: As a piece of political theater, the protest in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior has turned out to be an outstanding success, but that’s only thanks to the overreaction by the authorities. It’s safe to … Continue reading →

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Two Years

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-posted on the Corner: Two years: That was the jail term imposed on those three Russian ladies who performed under a name infinitely less obscene than their sentence: The Guardian reports: The judge said in the verdict that the three … Continue reading →

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Turning the Other Cheek

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-posted on the Corner: Tomorrow is verdict day for the naughtily-named Russian trio that staged a brief demonstration in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior (and have been jailed since March). The Guardian reports: Guards at the cathedral broke up … Continue reading →

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