About the contemporary
traffic in human beings.
Views of
poverty in the US: To stay out of poverty in America, it's necessary to do three simple things, social scientists have found: finish high school, don't have kids until you marry, and wait until you are at least 20 to marry. Do those three things, and the odds against your becoming impoverished are less than one in ten. Nearly 80 percent of everyone who fails to do those three things winds up poor.
People in Oslo wanted to have a march commemorating the anniversary of
Kristallnacht. To do so with symbols such as Stars of David was, apparently,
far too inflammatory. Isn’t it good to know that six millions Jews did not die in vain, that contemporary Europe is such a bastion of moral courage.
Italian
popular views on gay marriage.
The murder of Theo van Gogh has
changed views in the Netherlands. Link to his last film
here. Meanwhile,
alleged defenders of free speech want you to know van Gogh provoked violence. A Dutch blogger responds to
those who "understand" the violence.
Hitch asks who is really fighting murderous religious fanatics and who is
making excuses for them. Via
kenshi. Norman Geras asks for a little
self-reflection.
Dubya-voting ‘red States’ are
more philanthropic than the Kerry-voting ‘blue States’.
Why the Dems need to
get serious on national security. Why the Dems
can’t think straight about such matters.
An
amusing take on Dubya’s use of ‘mandate’.
Modern American democracy is not really like the Athenian original: perhaps one should
call it an isonomy.
Virginia Postrel has a
simple electoral principle. This election, like previous ones, was
decided in the centre. Arguing that Dubya
did not do unusually better among Hispanics.
Johann Hari argues it is time for Britain to say sorry for the
Dresden firebombing of 1945.
Vatican
reactions to Arafat’s death.
France now has its
own foreign intervention.
Johann Hari confronts
what do you say to someone whose grandmother is in Fallujah? How to use
Iraqi oil to defeat the insurgency. Is the Fallujah operation
by the manual?