Current Affairs

As the first wave of the Eurabian Civil War [http://www.radioblogger.com/#001126] enters its tenth day, it might be a good time to re-read Theodore Dalrymple's prophetic (2002) piece, "The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris." Link [http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_4_

This is Kafkaesque. No, it's just stupid. The paternalists are concerned that the warning stickers on prescription drugs don't give us enough information and may prompt people not to read the full instructions. Can a ban against those efficient stickers be far behind? NYT Link [http:

To quote (roughly) a line from Jurassic Park: "You were so concerned about figuring out if you could, you forgot to ask if you should." That might be a big part of this polling figure: > Another interesting poll result from the University of Virginia . . . has to do

Helping Africa's gay problem. WaPo this morning implicitly rejoices in Namibia's new openness to homosexuality [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102301163.html] : > Un-African. Un-Christian. Anti-family. Witchcraft. > In many African countries, being gay is considered all of those things. It

JPII cautiously predicted a bright future for the 21st century. Among popes, he was the most pacifistic. Perhaps a new study supports his hope and his pacifism: > Widespread fears about a world in a perpetual state of war are unfounded, a study says today. It emphasises that the number

> Sen. Chuck Schumer yesterday blasted a major international drug company for "putting profits ahead of world safety" – demanding it suspend its patent on a drug that has proved successful in fighting deadly bird flu. . . > "Roche is putting its profits ahead of world safety and I

Nazis gather to protest against inner-city gangs. What could possibly go wrong? > A crowd protesting a white supremacists' march Saturday turned violent, throwing baseball-sized rocks at police, vandalizing vehicles and stores, and setting fire to a neighborhood bar, authorities said. . . > At least two dozen members of the

This strikes me as a classic case of consumer advocacy scare tactics: > A requirement of the new bankruptcy law that sends Americans into credit counseling before they can erase their debts is drawing criticism from consumer advocates, bankruptcy lawyers and financial educators, who are concerned that the creditors are

From the files of Dr. Obvious: An excerpt from a story about three white New Orleans cops beating a black man: > Although the [police] spokesman denied race was an issue, the fact that Mr Davis was African-American and the police were mostly white may result in accusations of racism.