European rightward turn and UN
Also from CFAM, a possible consequence of the (comparatively) rightward turn in Europe: European Rightward Tilt may Affect UN Business.
James Kalb
No to CDAW!
Action Alert from Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute: say “no” to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women! Just call W at 202-456-1111 and say into the recording “Mr. President, Un-sign CEDAW.” (CEDAW is pronounced See-Daw.) Also, email Colin Powell at secretary@state.gov and write, “Mr. Secretary, Un-sign CEDAW.”
Here’s … More ...
NYT columnist favors racial profiling
Worth noting: Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times comes out in favor of ethnic profiling. “Young Arab men are more likely to ram planes into nuclear power plants than are little old ladies, and as such they should be more vigorously searched.” It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Why special measures?
It’s an issue: We’re Losing Our Civil Liberties for Nothing. If enough was known pre-September 11 to stop the hijackers, why all the special measures to advance the “War against Terrorism”?
The reason, of course, is equality. If everyone must be treated the same, and odd behavior of conspicuous people overlooked because that would … More ...
The Upanishads
On reading the Upanishads: they have a certain prestige in the modern world because on their face they are philosophical speculations and not divine revelation. There is no irrationality in them, just profound thought about the most basic issues. The prestige and apparent rationality come at a price, however. As the most sacred scriptures of … More ...
PC kills
A good summary of the influence of political correctness on the events leading up to September 11: Stop frisking crippled nuns, by Mark Steyn.
Inclusiveness in Britain
It’s worthwhile looking at the details to see just how totalitarian “inclusiveness” is. Here’s an account of the specifics involved in the duty to promote race equality imposed in Britain by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
All public agencies, including colleges and universities, professional bodies, libraries and museums, have to do whatever they do … More ...
It’s good news week!
Good news all over:
- From America: Army pulling female soldiers out of units likely to be engaged in combat.
- From Canada: B.C. set to disband Human Rights Commission. I can’t believe there will be more than minor adminstrative changes, but still …
- From Europe: Door to EU is ‘closing’. EU expansion to
“America” as a religion
Is turning America into a religion the original sin of modern American conservatism? As a pre-1968 schoolboy I was taught faith in America. It wasn’t altogether clear what that meant, but it’s what I was taught and it’s what the revolution of the ’60s attacked. Popular American conservatism and neoconservatism are still mostly a defense … More ...
Roberts on Hoppe and Vanhanen
The ever-useful Paul Craig Roberts on a couple of recent books, one by Rothbardian Hans-Hermann Hoppe on monarchy and one by a Finnish Darwinian on ethnic conflict as genetic nepotism writ large. Libertarians and Darwinians can be single-factor ideologues, but they’re not always at their worst and there’s a lot to be learned from … More ...