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December 05, 2006
THE NATIONALIZATION OF PHARMACEUTICALS...
...has been proposed as a cost-cutting measure. Tonight's guest, Richard Epstein, shows--in this recent op-ed from the Financial Times--why this gambit won't do as well as simply allowing unimpeded operation of market forces.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)
THE INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT OF EPSTEIN'S NEW BOOK...
...is to be found in "classical liberalism," a tradition he explains and supports in an earlier work that is reviewed here.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)
A HORRIBLE STOIRY FROM OUR HOME TOWN...
...leads in today's Chicago Tribune and here--with all its implicit demonstration of a legal system gone grossly dysfunctional--it is.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
JIHADIST IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES...
...and thus, says Dan Pipes in this op-ed from the New York Sun, the ultimate solution to Islamic terrorism is Islamic reform which should be supported, aided and encouraged by all possible means and by those within, and beyond, the Muslim world.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
REFLECTIONS ON POLITICAL MURDER IN LEBANON...
...are offered by David Ignatius, who has seen a number of his Middle Eastern friends cut down in the streets of Beirut.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:32 PM | Comments (0)
WHY AND HOW THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP IS WRONG...
....is the burden of this anticipatory rejection of their report by Kristol and Kagan of the Weekly Standard. The issue is simply and strongly drawn: Baker and company favor "staged withdrawal" while K and K favor sending in more troops now!
Posted by Ext720 at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
WHAT IS AMERICA'S MORAL DUTY IN IRAQ?
George Will has written a riveting and deeply disturbing response to that question. This one is a "must read!"
Posted by Ext720 at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK OF THE YEAR...
...in our opinion was Mark Steyn's America Alone, which examines the worst case possibilities in the coming Islamification of Western Europe. Strangely, the book has hardly been reviewed and, inevitably, one wonders why. An exception is this perceptive and appreciative review from the Weekly Standard. The full audio of our discussion with Steyn can be heard here.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:29 PM | Comments (2)
WHAT LUDWIG REALLY MEANT...
...remains at issue in the confraternity of Wittgenstein enthusiasts. Indeed, some of them tend to argue that he meant nothing beyond asserting that "meaning" is meaningless. A useful attempt to unravel some of this inversion is provided here at the Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)
THE IDEOLOGIZATION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES...
...is reminiscent of life under communism. That is the most pointed conclusion that the author of this excellent article from First Things draws from his close examination of the intellectual career of former communist, Lesek Kolakowski.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)
THE PRODUCTION OF SCAPEGOATS...
...has become the major "industry" in the "banlieux" of French cities and the suburbs of English ones. So says Bernard-Henri Levy, who explains in this lecture delivered last week in Toronto, how european anti-Americanism is fitted into the pattern of Islamist violence.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)
THE DECLINE OF FRANCE...
...in the wake of Islamist violence and demographic predominance is the subject of an important new book by David Pryce-Jones. This recent review from an English literary journal is accurate as far as it goes. For much more, here is the full audio of our recent discussion with Pryce-Jones and Roger Kimball.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
MEANWHILE BACK ON (AND OFF) BROADWAY...
...the American Theater has its odd--and sometimes--startling moments. Brooke Allen, a writer whose essays on other writers we have long enjoyed, here takes on the mantle of drama critic and offers illuminating discussions of three plays now running in New York.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:24 PM | Comments (0)
THE BEST BIG BAND BLUES...
...ever performed was that supplied by the Count Basie aggregation. In this generous sampling don't miss Basie Power, Blee Blop Blues, Don't Cry Baby and (essential!) Stormy Monday Blues.
Posted by Ext720 at 03:22 PM | Comments (1)