ELSEWHERE

Neurobiology says we need our mothers "Science now tells us without shadow of a doubt that mothers in constant contact with their babies are actually forming the baby's brain, particularly in the right hemispheric orbitofrontal cortex ... those cortico-limbic lobes and intricate connections which will determine his or her emotional well-being and sense of self for the remainder of his or her life."... The second discovery - and this is alarming for mothers who rely on child-care centres - is that this brain growth cannot be achieved by part-time carers. These carers can attend well to physical needs, but not to early brain growth. Science has also established that if this stimulation is not given and the cortico-limbic lobes are not developed, the individual will grow up seriously deficient in all those areas of self that make him or her respond to others in appropriate ways.

A powerful article by Ralph Peters on Front Page. Just one excerpt: "The silence of the Left in the face of uncomfortable truths is a hallowed tradition, of course, dating back to the earliest crimes of the Soviet Union. When the reality confronting the Left contradicts the theory, the theory must be preserved at any cost. And there's no sign of improvement, not a glimmer of the least scrap of conscience or integrity on the Left. It's all about revenge against a democratic system that gives a blue-collar worker a vote equal to that of a university professor's ballot, about hatred for the free market for providing better lives for the great majority while Marxism drowned in the bile of its victims. There's no one the new American Left so despises as the working man or woman who continues to believe in the United States. And it's about power. Had Bill Clinton invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam, the Left would have cheered their throats raw, praising him as one of history's greatest liberators. The rhetoric about Iraq isn't about justice, or the Iraqi people, or even about the horrors of war.... The great, unforgivable insult to the Left is that conservatives took the idea of liberation seriously and acted, while the Liberal-Arts faculty merely chattered about it"

A good comment on Leftist egotism from the inimitable Dalrymple: "Youthful egotism becomes the beginning and end of political wisdom. This attitude may mark the fundamental difference between the modern conservative and the modern radical: the conservative thinks he is a drop in a stream; the radical thinks he is, or ought to be, the stream itself."

French court upholds democracy: "The first gay couple to be married in France vowed Tuesday to fight a court decision that annulled their union and said any redefinition of marriage should be taken up by lawmakers"

Kerry soft on Iran: "The administration has two Iran policies, and the result has been a mix of good and bad. Kerry, by contrast, boasts a single, coherent, and-- to judge by the description of Teheran's activities in yesterday's report-- utterly delusional Iran policy".

UN Fenced out: "Given the institution's palpable bad faith, it is no surprise that Israel did not consent to be judged by the International Court of Justice. This U.N.-sanctioned court condemned Israel in absentia, ruling its construction of a security fence in what the ICJ refers to as 'the Occupied Palestinian Territory' contrary to international law. If 'international law' as interpreted by the United Nations means that a nation may not forestall mass murder, then this law is worse than an ass -- it is a monstrous absurdity rightly ignored."

Victory for Kerry good? Interesting point: "Even though he's a big-government man all the way -- could paradoxically be the most likely hope for curbing excessive government growth in the next four years. Why? The party stereotypes don't always hold up, and a Democratic president and a Congress led by Republicans creates a kind of institutional impasse that actually slows the momentum of government." [registration required, or use login "newsdigests/newsdigests"]

One of the great pleasures of the blogosphere is its diversity (No. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court I do not mean by that its blackness). I have just come across a blog that is primarily devoted to classical literature -- the literature of ancient Greek and Rome. He posts lots of stuff in both Latin and English so I enjoy seeing how far my limited knowledge of Latin gets me.

Interesting post about the possibility of Russian troops for Iraq at The Baby Seal Club

Randall Parker has lots of posts up about immigration. He is a careful reasoner and makes a pretty good case that the optimists have got it wrong about the present Hispanic influx into the USA.

Amusing: I note that a Green/Left blogger has just linked to my "Greenie Watch" blog. He seems pretty sensible for a Greenie but most of his blog is in Dutch so it is hard to be sure. His name is Roel Groeneveld so maybe he is only a Greenie because of his name. His surname translates as "Greenfield".

Dick McDonald has an amusing letter up from a senior citizen who is supporting John Kerry.

For more postings, see GREENIE WATCH and POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH. Mirror sites here and here

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Puzzle 1: Leftists always say that human nature is fundamentally good and that people can be trusted. So why do they say that whilst at the same time wanting to regulate everybody to death and take as many decisions and choices out of the hands of the individual as they possibly can? Easy: They say that about human nature because, if it is true, then THEY are good at heart and can be trusted -- and, given their destructive deeds, they need all the propaganda help they can get in that regard.

Puzzle 2: Why do "postmodern" Leftists make the strange claim that everything ever written has to be interpreted in terms of how it serves power? Easy: Because everything THEY say is directed towards getting themselves power

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