Islamic “extremists” versus Jewish “extremists”: Hamas and Islamic Jihad want to drive Israel into the ocean, but the Jews are extremists too. They want to keep their homes!

“Canada has all but wrapped up its search through cattle country for mad cow disease without finding any cases beyond one confirmed in May, but its biggest export market, the United States, is not ready to lift a ban on Canadian shipments” Odd that! Where are your friends when you need them?

Canada's Trudeau invented multiculturalism as a clever trick to dilute Quebec secessionism.

We know from recent radio interviews (here and here) with Jerzy Zubrzycki, influential Australian immigration policy advisor, that the Whitlam govt used Canadian multiculturalism as a "model" for Australia's policies. Zubrzycki also reveals that besides Canada, another model, not publicly discussed, was 16th century Poland's Zlota Wolnoscz ("Golden Freedom") period. The subsequent history of Polish ethnic relations is hardly inspiring and probably indicates why the pioneer advocates of multiculturalism were not prepared to expose their model to public debate.

There are some skeptical comments about the inevitability of democracy here. It is certainly an undoubted historical fact that the normal human method of government is a tyranny of one sort or another. I myself think that it is only the temperament of a few closely-related races from the fringes of Northwest Europe that makes lasting democracy possible. And I don't think Iraq will surprise me.

It sounds like special pleading of the worst kind but it does seem that fox-hunting is good for the fox. For a fuller account of the fox-hunting issue see here.

Cecil Adams, author of THE STRAIGHT DOPE column has some clear thinking about DDT here. He says that Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” was not quite a pack of lies.

Michael Darby writes about the heartless bureaucrats who are supposed to be in charge of child welfare. Shooting would be too good for most of them.

Chris Brand notes that rising educational expenditure in the USA has been accompanied by falling educational standards.

I have recently noted on PC Watch that politically correct language can have the reverse effect to that intended.

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