Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
Recent news from Harvard: (1) Harvard, under a lot pressure from both the government and internal constituencies, released a lengthy report about antisemitism at the university since October 7. It’s pretty devastating, and pretty much should shame all those who have been claiming that complaints about antisemitism there have been exaggerated “Zionist” propaganda. (2) There’s … Read more
Aggressors on both sides of the civil war commit sexual violence against civilians Duria, 37, was traveling on public transportation in Khartoum, Sudan, in January 2024 when a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldier stopped the vehicle. After confirming Duria had no passport, he accused her of being a military spy. He then forced her to … Read more
The genuflecting yellowbellies of the Cowards’ Caucus in Congress—which is to say, Republicans as a whole—have groveled mightily in seeking to curry favor with Donald Trump and have, subsequently and ironically, done Trump no favors. John Thune, the Republican leader in the Senate, seems determined to follow the worst examples set by his predecessor, Mitch … Read more
AMERICANS HAVE expressed distress over the demise of manufacturing in this country for as long as I can remember. Often that distress has been reflected in popular culture. In “My Hometown,” a hit from his blockbuster album “Born in the U.S.A.,” Bruce Springsteen lamented the economic decline of small-town America and the disappearance of working-class … Read more
Dangerous policies, incoherent ideas, and amoral politics. The Democrats have responded to their repudiation by the voters by tripling down on the toxic ideas and preposterous policies that make sense only when one remembers that, as DOGE has exposed, in the end, they are patent grifts, opportunities for enriching themselves and their plutocratic, corporate globalist … Read more
After President Trump deported some gang members to El Salvador, a number of members of Congress have followed along fighting to secure their freedom. Some have vowed not to leave until they bring an MS-13 gang member back home. It seems like there’s a deal that could be struck here. While no one wants MS-13 … Read more
How does one export the Arab-Israeli conflict to the West on terms that are pro-Palestinian? This question underscores a critical issue: while many in the West are engrossed in resolving the conflict, they often fail to recognize that a viable solution is unattainable as the conflict itself frames Israel as guilty of crimes against humanity. … Read more
A new law in Colorado frames abortion as a cost-saving measure — a chilling milestone in the logic of utilitarianism. Here’s a fact for people looking to move to Colorado. It’s one of the main reasons why some people might wish to live there, especially if they happen to be poor and pregnant. Which means, … Read more
Amazing as it is, people continue to have things to say about Andrew Tate. When he first surfaced on Twitter a decade ago, his open celebration of materialism, his rigid, over-the-top application of “red-pill” principles, and his hatred of women made me think his was a parody account, some smart aleck exaggerating the worst of … Read more
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that marks his most decisive attack on the civil-service system so far. The order, “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,” ended collective bargaining for unions across most of the federal government. These unions have been a millstone around the neck of the government and taxpayers for … Read more
What a bunch of buffoons. If men could actually die of shame, then Donald Trump’s economic team would be toast—instead, it is only their reputations that have been buried. As I have been writing for some time, Donald Trump’s most fundamental character flaw—his laziness—has been his country’s saving grace, at least at times. Trump is … Read more
Hamas has quietly removed thousands of names from its official casualty reports in Gaza, prompting fresh scrutiny of the accuracy of the death toll figures that have been widely cited by media and international organizations since the start of the Palestinian terrorist group’s war with Israel. An analysis, conducted by Salo Aizenberg of the US-based … Read more
Frank Dikötter is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who has recently returned to the United States after living in Hong Kong since 2006. In this provocative conversation, Dikötter challenges the prevailing narrative about China’s rise. Drawing from his latest book, China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower, Dikötter argues that the Chinese … Read more
If you want to understand the dilemma of today’s Democratic Party, have a look at this comic book called Racial Capitalism and Prison Abolition. Thanks to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, this comic book, or its close equivalent, will soon be forced on Minnesota’s students. Because Walz has just added an “ethnic studies” strand to his … Read more
Trump cannot tolerate the idea that he’s wrong about tariffs (or anything else). As a result, when reality proves him wrong, he will not confess error and embrace free trade. I mean this is the guy who tried to float the idea that the Access Hollywood tape was faked. He’ll say the price increases are … Read more
Bishop Joseph Strickland invited priests this month to join a “prayerful community” of fraternity, while criticizing Pope Francis for apparently failing “to reject the siren call of sodomy.” The invitation came in a letter distributed by the former Bishop of Tyler, Texas — given to priests who attended a March 19 gathering of Catholics at … Read more
The war against Catholic traditionalists has done terrible damage to the Church Pope Francis began regularly using a wheelchair in public in 2022, around the time he stopped celebrating Mass in public. On 14 February he was admitted to the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome. His end grows nearer. Faithful Catholics seem increasingly anxious, less … Read more
In Newbury, a fibreglass effigy of Paddington Bear was torn down by two drunken RAF engineers. For once, this was an act of vandalism the police would prosecute — though of course CCTV footage and the severed head of Paddington sticking out of a car boot made it just easy enough for the modern British … Read more
You’ve got to admit, the hundreds of brave Palestinians who publicly protested the Hamas-led regime in the Gaza Strip this week “have a point.” They are “civically engaged,” indignant over the war and its consequences. It’s fair to say that they face “a humanitarian crisis” and “they have every right to be heard.” Indeed, “These … Read more
It is a security cock-up of monumental proportions. We now know that a dozen senior Trump administration officials, including national-security adviser Michael Waltz, vice-president JD Vance and defence secretary Pete Hegseth, were using Signal, a commercial messaging service, to discuss the plan to launch airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels earlier this month. This in itself … Read more
The ‘gee shucks’ routine was precisely that: a routine. But what excuse did the press have to play along? America’s weirdest governor re-emerged on the national stage last week to re-energize the floundering Democratic Party and help “fill the [leadership] void.” However, rather than galvanize his colleagues, Walz, who waves hello with both hands, mostly … Read more
Weeks after Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, we are now receiving frequent and unsettling reminders that neither of our major political parties has a monopoly on anti-Zionism or antisemitism. Over the four years of Joe Biden’s presidency, we devoted a significant amount of time and attention to the growing animosity toward Israel on … Read more
The Islamic Republic of Iran is at an impasse. Its leaders cannot change; the public already has. . . . Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, once quipped that the revolution is not about the price of melons. The mullahs never understood economics. Their attempt to reconcile the requirements of the private economy … Read more
Does Donald Trump want to be a superhero because he’s an authoritarian or is Donald Trump an authoritarian because he wants to be a superhero? I typically approach his gambits as fascist strategic ploys aimed at consolidating power under the executive branch. Everything I mentioned above can be analyzed that way. He’s going easy on … Read more
A few days after the anniversary of Oct 7, the New York Times reported that Columbia University Apartheid Divest officially endorsed terrorism against Jews and withdrew an apology by one of its members for threatening to kill Jews. Over the past weeks, the paper and the entire Democratic Party, including 103 members of Congress, the … Read more