MILT'S
FILE
September
30, 2003:
WHAT IF WE CONDUCTED A REAL WAR ON TERROR? John
Derbyshire asks that question--and comes up with some startling,
projective answers--in this column from the current National
Review.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
FORTY SEVEN YEARS LATER THE SUEZ CRISIS IS UNRAVELLED. History
often works slowly--many of the hidden facts do not surface till
half a century later. And so it is apparently with the the Suez
Crisis of 1956 in which Britain, France and Israel took action
against Egypt. This review is from the scholarly site, H-Net
Reviews.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/
LAY
OFF MCDUFF! Our friend and frequent program-guest, John Kass,
tells it like it is--and has too long been--in this column from
yesterday's Chicago Tribune.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
A
REVIEW THAT WILL LIVE IN THE ANNALS OF DEROGATION. No writer ever
suffered a worse flaying than did Edmund Gosse at the hands of
John Churton Collins. This great literary scandal is now vividly
detailed in the current issue of the New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/
THEY'RE
HERE, THEY'RE THERE--THOSE YANKEES SEARCH THEM EVERWHERE...but,
just like the Scarlet Pimpernel, Osama and Saddam remain elusive.
Why? And what is being done about it? This troubling but informative
article is from the current issue of Insight magazine.
http://www.insightmag.com/
POLISPEAK.
It's a variant of English in which the "intensifier"
plays a crucial--but redundant--role. Andy Ferguson, a former
guest on Extension 720, illustrates this language in operation
at the last (Democratic) candidates debate.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
THE
CHINESE SPACE PROGRAM:UP AND AWAY! They are working diligently
and effectively and will, in all likelihood, soon challenge the
achievements of both NASA and the Cosmonaut program. This report
from Scientific American is quite impressively detailed.
http://www.sciam.com/
ARE
THEY DOING THIS TO YOUR KIDS? The so called "whole language"
approach to teaching reading leaves many kids confused, anxious
and sometimes illiterate. But many "educationists" continue
to push it. This longish--but very readable--report from the Fordham
Foundation is something you must peruse if you take your parental
responsibility seriously.
http://www.edexcellence.net/
DIE
FORELLE (THE TROUT) QUINTET. Franz Schubert composed this wonderfully
fluent chamber work when he was just 22 years old, but already
known as the "genius of the cafes." It is played with
great grace by instrumentalists at the Mainly Mozart Festival.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 29, 2003:
THE INDEFATIGUABLE DICK MORRIS PLOTS
THE BUSH CAMPAIGN. This appeared today in Front Page.
We offer it without commentary for your amusement, edification,
consternation or...whatever!
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE JIHADIS? Dan Pipes maintains a close and
sophisticated scrutiny of militant Islamic penetration of American
institutions. This column, from today's New York Post,
contains the usual amount of disturbing (but actionable!) information.
http://www.danielpipes.org/
THE
DANGER OF PREMATURE DEMOCRATIZATION. Fareed Zakaria worries about
"democracy" turning into tyranny if it is too quickly
established. He discussed that thesis in his recent book and with
us on the program a few months ago. In this article from the current
issue of Newsweek he extends that concern to the question
of when and how to turn local authority over to Iraqi notables.
http://www.msnbc.com/
KRAUTHAMMER
TAKES ON KENNEDY....in defense of Bush. With his customary clarity
and concison, the Washington Post columnist examines
the rather blunderbussy assault by the senior senator from Hyannisport.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
COPS
AND CRIME IN L.A. George Will looks in on William Bratton, former
police commissioner in New York and now running the L.A. Department.
And he offers up a bit of "crime control" economics.
http://www.townhall.com/
THE
MUFFLED CONSERVATIVE VOICE ON CAMPUS. We think that David Brooks
(a former student at the University where the proprietor has spent
most of his academic career) is sharply accurate in his characterization
of the left-tilted culture of the contemporary academy. The column
is from his new perch at the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
FIRE
TAKES CAL POLY TO COURT. An outstanding instance of the violation
of a student's right to free speech is at issue in the latest
case brought by The Foundation
for Individual Rights in Education. Here is the account published
Friday in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Some useful
links are provided.
http://www.thefire.org/
FRED
AND HIS SISTER. Nietzsche may or may not have been a coherent
philosopher--but his sister saw to it that her long dead brother's
work would be reinterpreted as an intellectual bulwark of Nazism.
A book about the dreadful creature has recently been published
and here, from the London Review of Books, is a fine
essay/review.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/
THIS
IS HOW GREAT SCHOLARS LIVE ON...in the hearts and the work of
their student-disciples. This memorial of S.D. Goiten, just published
in the New Criterion, reveals an admirable and crucially
influential figure who helped to shape western understanding of
the history and culture of Islam.
http://www.newcriterion.com/
A
LAKISHA BY SOME OTHER NAME MIGHT BE MORE EMPLOYABLE! Onamastics
is the "science of names." But onamasticians have done
little with the influence of names upon the distribution of social
rewards. Some economists have got onto that question recently--and
the results may change the naming proclivities of many parents.
http://www.msnbc.com/
KING
OLIVER'S LAST STAND. He was one of the fathers of jazz--and in
1929-30 he led his last band. Here is a generous supply of their
recordings. Noteworthy is their treatment of West End Blues, with
a lesser trumpet player duplicating the classic Louis Armstrong
performance of the same.
http://redhotjazz.com/
September 26, 2003:
ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE--INCLUDUNG THE
U.N.! Or, so it seems as one examines the political preachments
and favored causes of Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, Angelina
Jolie and yet other official "good will ambassadors"
of the organization. This instructive article is from today's
Wall Street Journal.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
A RARE SPIRIT PASSES. George Plimpton graced our program on many
visits. A fine spirit, a gracious fellow and--as amused as he
was amusing. Here is today's obituary from the New York Times,
with links to reviews of most of his books.
http://www.nytimes.com/
ROMNEY
AND BUCKLEY ON THE DEATH PENALTY. The parole of Kathy Boudin,
who helped kill three policemen when she was a "radical activist,"
prompts this (to say the least!) mutivalued essay by Buckley.
http://www.townhall.com/
HOW
IMPORTANT IS YOUR UNCLE? Having a well-established relative (fathers
are even better!) will probably advance your career. Is that so
bad? Saul Bellow's son (he should know) says that nepotism has
its good points. Here, from the New Statesman, is a British
take on that thesis.
http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/
WHO
OR WHAT IS REPLACING THE CAREERIST MOTHER? One is a bit surprised
that a leading, left-oriented sociologist is preoccupied with
that question. But, according to this Atlantic article
about her new book, Arlie Hochschild is raising some troubling
questions about what global capitalism and feminist ideology are
doing (and have done) to the American family and its children.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
FAR
FROM MAINSTREAM JUDAISM. Since the disaster of the "false
messiah," Shabtai Zvi, Judaism has eschewed messianism. Except
for one chassidic group of the ultra-ortodox. This story from
last Sunday's New York Times Magazine tells
what happened after their "possible" messiah passed
on.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
GOVERNOR GENERAL WROTE "MYSTERY-THRILLERS." That could
only apply to John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir, who spent some time
as His Majesty's Governor General of Canada. This appreciation
of the fuller meaning of his novels and his memoir is by Roger
Kimball, the managing editor of the New Criterion and
a past guest on Extension 720.
http://www.newcriterion.com/
IF
AN E-MAIL ANNOUNCES THAT YOU HAVE WON THE LOTTERY! You haven't.
You are being scammed. Here are the details from the valuable
Truth or Fiction website. Now, on the other hand, if the
widow of Nigerian ruler Mobuto Sese Seko asks you to share her
wealth...
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
SOME
GREAT SELECTIONS FROM BROADWAY MUSICALS. These are all from original
cast recordings. Included are Les Miserables, Evita, Porgy and
Bess and Cabaret. Great stuff!
http://www.theraven452000.addr.com/
September 25, 2003:
NUCLEAR WEAPONS: WHAT ABOUT IRAN? The
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has just published a well-informed
examination of what is happening in and around the reactors of
Iran. Apparently there is no good reason NOT to worry!
http://www.thebulletin.org/
IT
WON'T BE JUST BUSH AND A DEMOCRAT. In case you have not been following
their fortunes, the Prohibiton Party is still around. And here,
from their official website, is a run-down on their presidential
and vice-presidential candidates.
http://www.politics1.com/
TROUBLED
TIMES AT THE BBC. One of the indirect casualties of the Iraq war
may be the BBC. But the trouble was brewing before that--and was
discernible even when we broadcast from their studios at Portsmouth
Place a number of years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/
AFTER
2800 YEARS SADDAM'S CELLAR HOLDS ALL THAT IS LEFT OF THE JEWS
OF BAGHDAD. Hershel Shanks, the editor of Moment magazine
and the author of this startling account, is a specialist in biblical
archeology.
http://www.momentmag.com/
MICROSOFT
CLOSES DOWN (SOME OF) ITS CHATROOMS. The stated purpose is to
protect children from paedophiles--but there may be more to it
than that says the Economist magazine in this story published
yesterday.
http://economist.com/
THE
MARRIAGE AMENDMENT. A great debate is coming in the American congress--on
the question of how we shall legally define marriage in coming
years. In this editorial from First Things (probably
written by Father Richard Niehaus, editor of the magazine) the
arguments for the amendmant are put forward without obfuscation.
http://www.firstthings.com/
HUMBOLDT
PARK, BELLOW, BROOKS AND HANSON. The new columnist at the New
York Times compares Bellow's Augie March with the current
residents of Humboldt Park (the once Jewish and now Puerto Rican
neighborhood in Chicago) and he finds a crucial difference. As
did Victor Davis Hanson, in a recent
conversation on Extension 720, he worries about the abandonment
of the "assimilationist ideal."
http://www.nytimes.com/
PLAGIARISM AS THE HISTORIAN'S PLAGUE. Over recent years a number
of prominent historians have been accused of plagiarism or, even
worse, of "faking" their data. One such case, that of
Doris Goodwin (who has been a guest on Extension 720 more than
once) is reviewed here, with some judiciousness, on a website
maintained for the American Historical Association.
http://hnn.us/
INVENTING
ELVIS. Two new books give us the sense that Elvis, though a considerable
artist, only dimly understood the ways in which he was used by
others. Thus, he comes through, surprisingly, as an "innocent."
This fine essay is from the New York Review of Books.
http://www.nybooks.com/
RAVEL'S
DAPHNIS AND CHLOE SUITE. Performed here (in video!) by the Philharmonia
Orchestra and Chorus. The conductor is Valery Gergiev.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 24, 2003:
A SHARP "TAKE" ON THE PRESIDENT'S
U.N. SPEECH. This went up on the Reason magazine website
just a few hours after the speech. Some good guesses here--and
some very useful links, including the full text of the speech.
http://www.reason.com/
ON
THE GROUND IN BAGHDAD. This interesting account from an American
civilian who is helping to reconstruct the Baghdad Stock Exchange
contains some fine, non-journalistic, impressions and information.
It was put up on the internet yesterday by Tech Central Station.
http://www.techcentralstation.com/
A
WISE MAN EXAMINES ANTI-AMERICANISM. The wise man is Fouad Ajami
of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
The issue is the developing world's ambivalence toward the bringers
of modernization. This valuable essay has just appeared in Foreign
Policy magazine.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
TRYING
TO SCOPE OUT GENERAL CLARK. Here is today's attempt by the people
at the Weekly Standard. Some useful detail here, but
the Clinton presence just behind the scene is not yet properly
deciphered.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
DAMN THE VOUCHERS--FULL SPEED BACKWARDS! Former Governor (Delaware)
Pete DuPont examines the Senate "liberals" who are trying
to kill off a small, experimental school voucher program for the
D.C. system.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
DAMN
THE ETHICS--FULL SPEED AHEAD IN THE CHINESE CLONING PROGRAM. There's
big money to be made in the production of human replacement organs
and the Chinese plan to lead the market. A truly disturbing story
put forward today in the Washington Times.
http://dynamic.washtimes.com/
PHILOSOPHERS
IN ISTANBUL. Were you at the meeting in Turkey of the Federation
Internationale des Societes de Philosophie? If not you will be
brought up to date by this rather hilarious account from the Chronicle
of Higher Education.
http://chronicle.com/
WILL
EVERYONE PLEASE WATCH THEIR PRONOUNS? This plaintive query is,
of course, ungrammatical. Does anyone care anymore? This full
(and slightly disheartening) examination of the issue is from
the Vocabula Review.
http://www.vocabula.com/
AND,
SPEAKING OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. A fine book about a great book
(The Oxford english Dictionary) has recently appeared. Here is
the review from the Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/
CLASSIC
JAZZ FROM CHICAGO. Johnny Dodds and some of his friends (including
Lil Hardin-Armstrong) recorded these elegant sides one day in
1929.
http://redhotjazz.com/
September 23, 2003:
THE PRESIDENT'S
UN SPEECH. Here is some quick, but impressively sharp, reportage
on the speech just delivered in New York. Cliff May is a former
New York Times foreign correspondent who now writes for
the National Review.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
CAPTAIN YEE AND THE WAHABI PRESENCE IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY.
Frank Gaffney reviews the role of a suspect Saudi school in Virginia
and the ambivalence that may wrack the military careers of some
other Islamic chaplains.
http://www.townhall.com/
ITS
ON AGAIN! As expected, the full Federal Appeals Court for the
9th District has restored the California election date. Here's
the story, together with some interesting links, including the
"ever-optimistic" Gray Davis in a TV appearance.
http://customwire.ap.org/
THIS
ARTICLE MAY STUN YOU...just as its author advocates "stunning
the Arab world." Helprin is an indeopendent analyst of considerable
depth and clarity. A novelist who has also been a presidential
speech writer, he is now a fellow at the Claremont Institute in
whose journal this unmincing essay has just appeared.
http://www.claremont.org/
IS
SWEDEN IN EUROPE? The murder of the Swedish Foreign Minister prompts
a leading national journalist to reflect on whether isolation
from (rather than integration into) Europe may not be the best
course. Incidentally, Goran Rosenberg is not a cousin.
http://www.nytimes.com/
IF
YOU READ NOTHING ELSE TODAY, READ THIS! The ruinously degraded
performance of our public schools leaves more and more American
high school "graduates" incapable of college work. Suzanne
Fields reveals just how badly we do education as compared to countries
that pay much less for it. The one thing she leaves out is how
higher education has been "dumbed down" to accomodate
the poorly educated among the cohort that reach the college level.
http://www.townhall.com/
IS
THERE AN INFINITY OF OTHER UNIVERSES? OR JUST A FINITE FEW MILLION
OF THEM? OR JUST OURS? These questions, playful as they may seem,
are now seriously contemplated by the cosmologists. And in this
article from Slate (we are about a month late in posting
it) Jim Holt renders the controversy comprehensible. No small
achievement!
http://slate.msn.com/
HAROLD
BLOOM IS DEEPLY OFFENDED...by the National Book Foundation's award
to Stephen King. And in this piece by the emminent Yale literary
scholar he tells us why and damns some other writers who, in his
view, also debase their calling. The article appeared today in
the Los Angeles Times. This link requires free
regristration.
http://www.latimes.com/
TCHAIKOVSKY'S
FIFTH SYMPHONY. Another fine performance by the BBC Symphony.
The conductor of this live performance is Yan Pascal Tortelier.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
September
22, 2003:
THE ORIGINAL 9/11 PLAN? Khalid Sheik Mohammed is,
supposedly, talking in captivity. And here is what he has "disclosed"
about the original plan. But is he to be believed or is he enough
disciplined and dedicated to be capable of "disinformation"
even in his "uncomfortable" incarceration?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
IS
THIS AT ALL BELIEVABLE? We surely don't vouch for the accuracy
of this story from yesterday's U.K. Mirror. No other
newspaper seems to have picked up on this account of negotiations
underway between Saddam Hussein and the American military. Still.......???
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/
WHAT'S
IN IT FOR THE CLINTONS? Bill Safire, in today's New York Times,
suggests the Clintons are engineering the Clark candidacy. And
they are doing it either for altruistic (not likely!) or Machiavellian
reasons. The prospect of another Clinton presidency does, as Dr.
Johnson might say, "concentrate the mind."
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE REAL REAGAN? Is the "real Reagan" revealed in the
new collection of his letters? This article from the new issue
of Time gives a teasing taste of those letters and of
the impressions and the further questions they generate.
http://www.time.com/
WHAT
WOULD THE DISCOVERY OF LIFE ELSEWHERE DO TO CHRISTIANITY...or
to Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and all the others. This fine speculative
essay by an Australian philosopher has just appeared in The
Atlantic magazine.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
HOW
KATHY BOUDIN TALKED HER WAY OUT OF PRISON. The case, as you may
remember, involved the leftist-terrorist killing of three cops.
Here's a just obtained transcript of the parole hearing in which
she persuaded a two-man committee of the New York State Parole
Board to let her go free.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
WHAT
ARE THEY DOING TO MONTEVERDI..and why? This troubling but amusing
review is from Slate, last Friday. And, as befits the
e-zine from Microsoft, it contains some useful links.
http://slate.msn.com/
AND
SPEAKING OF MONTEVERDI, HOW ABOUT SOME BACH? What gives more delight
than the Brandenburg Concertos? And, among them, what pleases
more than the Sixth? Here it is in a fine performance from the
Mainly Mozart Festival.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 19, 2003:
A MESSAGE TO FRANCE FROM THE WALL STREET
JOURNAL. In this article, which appeared today, the deputy editor
of the editorial page conveys a rather forceful message to the
French political elite--and incidentally presents some interesting
data about American attitudes toward the United Nations.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
HOW
THE CLINTONS MAY BE USING GENERAL CLARK. To insure that a Democrat
is defeated in the 2004 election, leaving the way clear for Hillary
in 2008. That's the view put forward in this column by Jay Bryant
who, it should be noted, is a leading Republican Party consultant.
http://www.townhall.com/
THERE'S THE WESTERN VERSION AND THE REAL THING...says this interesting
op-ed about the Dalai Lama from today's New York Times.
The image of Sharon Stone introducing him as "the hardest
working man in spirituality" will haunt us forever.
http://www.nytimes.com/
DOES
STEPHEN KING DESERVE THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD? Some literary critics
are shocked and even repelled. Others can find a way to rationalize
the decision. Meanwhile King will go on turning out what Harold
Bloom calls his "penny dreadfuls." The account of this
brouhaha is from the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
IS
THE LEFT NOW "ANTI-SEMITIC?" Or is it "merely"
anti-Israel? This and related questions are under discussion in
the straight-talking symposium posted today by Front Page
magazine. Among the participants are two former guests on
Extension 720: Phyllis Chesler and Sol Stern.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
MEDICAL
PRACTICE TAKES AN INNOVATIVE TURN. But do consider the source
of this startling report.
http://www.theonion.com/
THE
SPAM BAN. If the Brits can do it, why don't we? Check out this
story from the BBC newsline.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/
OUR
FIRST COUSINS, THE CHIMPS! They have been classified for many
yaers as of another genus. Now, according to this startling report
from Wayne State School of Medicine, there is strong evidence
to suggest that they actually belong to the genus homo. That is,
they are as closely linked to us as was homo neanderthalis! This
account is from the web site of National Geographic.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
THE
EMERGENCE OF A NEW DIALECT. Or should Spanglish be classified
as a "creole" or "pidgin?" Whatever you want
to call it, it is in constant development and will increasingly
come into non-Hispanic usage, according to this informative article
from the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/
A
SUPER SUPPLY OF SOPRANOS. On this site some of the major sopranos
of these and earlier years are biographized, pictured and, most
importantly, heard in performance. Just scroll down and take your
pick--but be sure not to miss the generous supply of Callas recordings.
http://www.radix.net/
September 18, 2003:
SO WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT WESLEY CLARK?
This informal profile has just appeared in The Atlantic
magazine. It does give a sense of the man and some view, as well,
of what sort of campaign he may run. Or have run for him by the
Clinton operatives?
http://www.theatlantic.com/
BUT
WHAT IF HE WINS? John Fund, writing in today's Wall Street
Journal, does seem to be on to something: the Clintons are
visibly supporting and encouraging the Clark candidacy. Is the
general their patsy? Lose this one for us and then Hilary can
run in 2008? But, if he were to win that would defer a Hillary
candidacy to 2012. What's wrong with this picture?
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
IS
ISLAM INTRINSICALLY ANTI-WESTERN? This important question is examined
closely in this article from the U.K. Economist. The
focus on the thought and pronouncements of Sayyid Qutb suggests
that there is, indeed, something intractible about the Jihadist
ideology.
http://economist.com/
NATIONAL
AMBIVALENCE OVER THE CENTURIES. That, says Richard Brookhiser
in this new article from American Heritage magazine,
is the way it has gone for the U.S. and France. And neither nation
can break free of the somewhat tortured embrace. An interesting
survey of the high and low points in our shared history.
http://www.americanheritage.com/
THE
CULTURE WARS IN AUSTRALIA. Paddy McGuinness, a leading columnist
at the Sydney Morning Herald, examines the assault upon
historian Keith Windschuttle. More is at issue than an argument
about the Australian aborigines. In the view of McGuinness, the
leftist intellectuals are running like a pack of wolves and are
now getting ready to savage Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical
Environmentalist, who is about to arrive fron Denmark. Read
on!
http://www.smh.com.au/
THE
REALLY IMPORTANT BOOK REVIEWS...aren't where you think they are.
Or, put it this way: Publisher's Weekly does more than
the New York Times can to justify a new book to the
puchasing person at your bookstore. This article from Slate
provides an interesting insider's view of just how the book business
works.
http://slate.msn.com/
FASCINATING
STUFF! In this review of a new biography of John O'Hara, John
Updike quarrels with the biographer and shares his own memories
and appreciation of one of the most "natural" writers
in American literary history.
http://www.newyorker.com/
THE
PASSING OF THE YOUNG FOGEY. Is there an American equivalent of
the youngish traditionalist who now, according to this article
from the U.K. Spectator, seems to be fading from the
scene?
http://www.spectator.co.uk/
DVORAK
IN THE STRING SECTION. A fine performance of his delicate Serenade
for Strings in E Major.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 17, 2003:
PIPES, AJAMI
AND ZAKARIA AS SEEN FROM BEIRUT. These three (more-or-less "hard-line")
scholars of middle eastern affairs get a surprisingly positive
evaluation in this recent article from the major English-language
newspaper of Lebanon.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
WHAT
SAM HUNTINGTON REALLY SAID. His "clash of civilizations"
thesis is often invoked to explain the inevitability of the Jihadist
assault upon the West. Here is the original article as published
ten years ago in Foreign Affairs.
http://www.lander.edu/
WHAT
WAS GRAY DAVIS THINKING?...when he signed the bill that allows
illegals to get legal drivers licenses--and, among other things,
access to firearms and possibly to the voting booth. Perhaps he
was thinking that the "hispanic vote" might save him
from recall. This strongly stated article is from Front Page
magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
DAVE BARRY AND WAITING FOR ISABEL. As the hurricane approaches
Barry has trotted out a column of a few years ago explaining how
to handle hurricanes. It is as useful now as it was when it was
originally published in the Miami Herald.
http://www.miami.com/
WHO
WILL BE WATCHING? A new technology that may replace bar codes
may also intrude still further upon our privacy. It is gathering
momentum and we had better be aware of it. A good introduction
is available in this story from Wired magazine.
http://www.wired.com/
THE
POOR EDUCATION OF BLACK AND HISPANIC PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS. A
major study of considerable methodological sophistication has
just been reported from the Manhattan Institute. The key conclusion
is given in the last sentence: "Reform of the K-12 education
system is the key to improving college access for these groups."
This summary of the study is, though long, eminently readable
and IMPORTANT!
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/
WE
ARE NOT ALONE. When it comes to disruption and educational failure
in the secondary schools, the Brits now do as well (i.e. as badly)
as we do. If, that is, this account from Prospect magazine
is to be believed--as of course it is.
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/
WHAT'S
HAPPENING IN AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE? How far off was Alan Dershowitz
when he said: "They used to want to kill us; now they want
to marry us?" Intermarriage rates are high but have, apparently,
been somewhat exaggerated. This, and much else about the American
way of being Jewish, is illuminated in the new Jewish population
survey just reported in Forward.
http://www.forward.com/
WHO
WAS LEO STRAUSS, WHAT WAS HE THAT ALL THE LEFT (AND SOME PALEOCONSERVATIVES)
CONDEMN HIM? Neoconservatism, the Iraq war and the secret peristence
of "Trotskyism" have all been blamed on a once obscure--and
long dead--professor at the University of Chicago. From Public
Interest magazine, this new article clarifies what Strauss
was up to and what the modern "Straussians" have drawn
from him.
http://www.thepublicinterest.com/
THE
INNOCENCE AND ORDEAL OF MARTHA STEWART. She gets full exoneration
and sympathy from the contrarian libertarians at Reason
magazine. The article is from the new and just published October
issue.
http://www.reason.com/
A
GREAT CHOPIN CONCERT. From the Argerich Festival in Lugano, Switzerland,
here are live performances of both of Chopin's piano concertos
(concerti, if you prefer). And, as well, some other major works
for solo piano. The performances are excellent!
http://www.rtsi.ch/
September
16, 2003:
THE DEMS AS SEEN FROM MIAMI. Jim Defede, who writes
a bit aciduously for the Miami Herald, examines the field
of Democrat(ic) candidates with a particular eye toward the senator
from his state who has a special problem: he has lost the "vitriolic
high ground!"
http://www.miami.com/
"RACE
PREFERENCES" AT MICHIGAN; FREE SPEECH AND CIVILITY AT COLUMBIA...and
other academic issues. Here is another look at the ever-growing
file of the NAS (the National Association of Scholars) on whose
advisory board I "sit."
http://www.nas.org/
SEARCHING MEANING IN A MURDER. The assasination of the Swedish
Foreign Minister seems more nihilistic than purposeful. It sets
Mark Steyn searching for some interior meaning--as it does most
of us. But, as usual, he illuminates better than most commentators.
The piece was syndicated yesterday.
http://www.suntimes.com/
HOW
SOON AFTER LAUNCH CAN YOU KNOCK DOWN A MISSILE? Not very soon
at all according to an authoritative study recently released by
the American Physical Society. If not in the "boost phase"
then when? And how? And how much will the continuing R and D cost?
Thinking people want to know!
http://www.physicstoday.org/
ARCHITECTURE,
CELEBRITY AND BAD DESIGN. This forthright article by Evelyn Yallen
calls a spade a spade and an over-celebtared architect a liablity.
Chicagoans will note the few paragraphs devoted to Gehry's twisted
steel, auditorium constructions. That's what is now rising on
the lakefront.
http://www.dailygusto.com/
DE
L'AUDACE, ENCORE DE L'AUDACE ET TOUJOURS DE L'AUDACE. That's how
Leni Riefenstahl conducted her long, long career. Does her dismaying
and bizarre story clarify the nature of Nazism or merely of narcissism?
This comes from the web-list of H-German, a scholarly
site for scholars interested in German language, culture and history.
http://h-net.msu.edu/
POSNERIAN
POLEMICISM IN THE VIEW OF THE WARDEN OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD. This
fine essay on the works and ways of one of our favorite program
guests, Judge Richard A. Posner, appeared in Sunday's New
York Times Book Review.
http://www.nytimes.com/
WE
ARE ALL OF US ROMANS! If you take seriously the notion that western
civilization is fully derived from Roman antiquity--what follows
as concerns our current situation and prospects? An intersting,
speculative answer is given here by a Jesuit scholar in a book
review from First Things magazine.
http://www.firstthings.com/
THE
GREAT BASSOS: CHALIAPIN, PINZA, RAIMONDI AND MANY OTHERS. This
major site contains, in addition to biographical material and
great illustrations, many wonderful recordings in Real Audio.
Just scroll down and link away. And be sure not to miss Chaliapin's
"Down the Petersky."
http://www.radix.net/
September 15, 2003:
DID PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE PROVIDE A
NUCLEAR WEAPON TO AL QUAEDA? That horrifying suspicion is advanced
in a new book from one of France's leading journalists. And the
matter is discussed here, with his usual thoroughness and clarity,
by Ron Rosenbaum,a former guest on Extension 720. The article
is from the current edition of the New York Observer.
http://www2.observer.com/
FENCES
KEEP OUT BAD NEIGHBORS. Krauthammer, in this latest column, examines
just what the fall of Mahmoud Abbas meant...and what now must
be done. The column is from last Friday's Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
WHEN
DO WE GET SERIOUS ABOUT DANGEROUS ALIENS WHO MAY BE TERRORISTS?
We are a bit late getting around to this column by Michelle Malkin,
a sometime guest on our program. This column of hers appeared
two days before 9/11. Check the links she provides--then read
'em and weep.
http://www.vdare.com/
AN
ILLUMINATING (AND LENGTHY) DISCUSSION OF IRAQ AND OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN
STANDOFF. This discussion by some particularly well-informed policy
specialists took place a week ago at the Brookings Institution.
This link requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
http://www.brook.edu/
THE
TIMES GETS IT RIGHT--SORT OF. NOW (National Organization of Women)
seems increasingly to be from "then," when all a candidate
needed to do was be a woman. But, in criticizing their endorsement
of Carol Mosley Braun, the New York Times fails to recount
the disgraceful corruption of Braun's one term in the Senate,
including her backing of a muderous African dictator for whom
her then "special friend" was doing publicity work.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
REAL CAPTAIN BLIGH. The commander of HMS Bounty is the
subject of the fine new book reviewed here. The author, Caroline
Alexander, will be our guest on September
25th.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
ART (OR TRICK?) OF PROPHECY. Oracles and the oracular "art"
are apparently treated with amusing but erudite analysis in this
new book. The Washington Post reviewer seems fascinated
and yet a bit ambivalent. But his review persuades us to get the
book and to try and book the author.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
MORE
ON SCHUBERT'S WINTERREISSE. That was our musical selection on
last Friday's File--and now we find that the U.K. Telegraph
classifies it as "the greatest of song cycles." And,
according to this story from Sunday's paper, a dance version is
about to be premiered in London.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
MOZART,
BRAHMS, BACH AND BEETHOVEN! This great concert was given at the
Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano, Switzerland last June. Do
be sure to listen to the great performance of Beethoven's Triple
Concerto as performed by Argerich, Maisky and Capucon.
http://www.rtsi.ch/
September
12, 2003:
THE TOUGH LINE FROM JERUSALEM. Reading this story
from today's Jerusalem Post one wonders: is it all intended
just as stated? Or, is this toughest line taken in years by the
Israeli government put forward to get the Palestinian "peace
faction" activated? And, of course, one must ask: has anyone
got the road map?
http://www.jpost.com/
A
DEBATE ON WESLEY CLARK AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. Apparently the
general from Little Rock is about to enter the race. Here two
smart guys at the New Republic debate his credentials
and intentions and the likely response he will get.
http://www.tnr.com/
GERMAN
LEFTIST KOOKS EXPLAIN WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON 9/11!! And you didn't
even suspect that the American government (or the Israelis) DID
IT!!!!! You must read this account, from the U.K. Spectator,
of the route that anti-Americanism is taking in Germany.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/
THE
LOST ART OF POLITICAL INSULT. They are pretty tame now--probably
because they are pre-literate. But the art of the political insult
once flourished in Washington as well as in London. This essay
from today's Wall Street Journal provides some samples
of how it used to be done.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
A
TEMPEST IN A (LINGUISTIC) TEAPOT. It's all about "example
sentences" in books and articles by linguists. Are they,
in fact, guilty of "sexism" and, if so, what should
be done about it? And could the answer be "nothing?"
The article is from the current Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
THE
FIRST LANGUAGE. Not the one spoken in the Garden of Eden, but
the first one spoken by the author of this article was Yiddish.
This charming, reflective essay about how deep one's first language
lies was published recently in the Threepenny Review.
http://www.threepennyreview.com/
FROM
SATIRIST TO MYSTIC TO JUST PLAIN EXHAUSTED. That was the course
that the career of Aldous Huxley took--or so says this reviewer
of a recent biography of the author of Brave New World.
This informative literary essay by Brian Murray has just been
published in the Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
AN
ISSUE OF SOME WEIGHT! The one annoying thiong about this great
story from the U.K. Guardian is that it doesn't tell
us exactly how much Anastasia Volokohva has by way of "du
pois."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
WHEN
THE NEXT TELEMARKETER CALLS, GET HER PHONE NUMBER....and send
her this column by Dave Barry!
http://www.miami.com/
A
GREAT SONG CYCLE. The modern "art song" was, some say,
"invented" by Franz Schubert. Here, in a beautiful performance
by David Wilson-Johnson, is his cycle, Winterreisse (Winter Journey).
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 11, 2003:
HAS IT COME TO THIS? This truly shocking
editorial appeared today in the Jerusalem Post. We would like
to have your publishable reactions to it via e-mail sent to us.
http://www.jpost.com/
NEW
YORK, TWO YEARS AFTER. By many measures New York City is still
reeling from the dreadful events of 9/11/01. This story from today's
New York TImes covers the continuing effects (mostly
negative) on the second anniversary.
http://www.nytimes.com/
GORE
AGAIN? THE OTHER CLINTON? MORRIS THINKS SO! Fascinating speculations
by Dick Morris about the behind-the-scenes operations in the Democratic
Party. It sounds rather far fetched, but remember--it was Morris
who engineered the "right shift" of Bill Clinton and
his ultimate re-election.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
MEXICAN
IREDENTISM IN CALIFORNIA. We discussed the Aztlan movement with
Victor Davis Hanson, author of Mexifornia, last Thursday.
Here is a further analysis of the various political groups who
endorse a secession (by force if neccessary) from the United States.
The article is from Front Page magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
MEANWHILE,
BACK IN ANN ARBOR. The most "integrated" major university
turns out to have totally seperate "celebratories" for
blacks, Hispanics and gays! This revealing article/editorial is
from The Michigan Review, a campus newspaper.
http://www.michiganreview.com/
PHOTOGRAPHING
THE 9/11 HORROR. This story appeared a few months after the event--and
is now republished by the Digital Journalist. The asociated
links take you to a number of photo archive collections covering
that "day that will live in infamy."
http://digitaljournalist.org/
WHAT'S
WRONG WITH BOOK REVIEWERS? AND WHAT'S (SOMETIMES) RIGHT? This
interesting, if somewhat embittered, essay is from Poets and
Writers magazine--which is, apparently, really read by lots
of writers.
http://www.pw.org/
ONE
OF MOZART'S GREATEST WORKS. The D Minor Piano Concerto is dark
and brooding and calls for great pianistic virtuosity. Here it
is superbly performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and the Mainly Mozart
Festival Orchestra conducted by David Atherton.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 10, 2003:
THE SEARCH FOR BIN LADEN: THE CIRCLE
NARROWS...or so we are told by the "authorities." This
fascinating account from ABC News is accompanied by some links
of equal interest, particularly the photos of Waziristan where,
supposedly, Bin Laden is holed up.
http://abcnews.go.com/
BOOT
ON THE GROUND. Our good friend and frequent guest, Max Boot, of
the New York Council on Foreign Relations, has just returned from
a visit to Iraq. He rode with the troops on some missions, talked
to friendly and less friendly Iraqis and has formed an optimistic/realistic
set of impressions. Here they are in an article from the new issue
of the Weekly Standard.
http:///www.weeklystandard.com/
THE
CHANGING FACE OF THE WTO. The World Trade Organization is meeting
in Cancun, Mexico this month to discuss the future of global trade.
This thought-provoking assessment of the challenges that face
the WTO and the future of globalization is by William Greider.
http://www.thenation.com/
THE
QUEEN AND HER CONSORT HOLD COURT IN CHAPPAQUA. Will she (Hillary)
or won't she? Perhaps only her husband knows for sure. Between
the senator from New York and the general from Arkansas who would
you find more acceptable as President? The article is from yesterday's
New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
ARCHITECT OF THE H-BOMB DIES. Edward Teller, who fiercely advocated
the development of the hydrogen bomb and thus was alienated by
the scientific community, died today at his home near Stanford
University. Here are two excellent obituaries, one from the New
York Times, the other from the Washington Post.
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
TWO
TAKES ON THE AMERICAN ECONOMY. This article from the current issue
of the New Yorker reviews two new books that assess the
American economy. Joseph Stiglitz, author of one of the books
discussed here, will join us in November to discuss "the
Roaring Nineties."
http://www.newyorker.com/
HOW BAD IS URBAN SPRAWL? Some like to complain about the strip
malls and McMansions that are becoming a familiar sight in the
suburbs. But is all of this a necessary part of the changing American
city? Mother Jones magazine investigates.
http://www.motherjones.com/
PICTURES
AT AN EXHIBITION. Modest Mussorgsky's masterpiece was originally
written for piano and later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. This
arrangement for piano and orchestra by Lawrence Leonard incorporates
both the piano and orchestra to create essentially a piano concerto.
The rousing finale, "The Great Gate of Kiev," is evocative
of the great Rachmaninoff concertos.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 9, 2003:
WHY DO THEY HATE US? MANY REASONS. WHAT
CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? VERY LITTLE. So says Fouad Ajami, one of the
wisest men of the east, transplanted to the academic west. The
article is from the current issue of Foreign Policy magazine.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
CONGRESSIONAL
REACTION TO THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. This is the sort of thing
the New York Times still does rather well: a roundup
story assesing the reactions in Congress to the President's speech.
Apparently, after a good deal of debate and criticism still to
come, the "war budget" will be approved.
http://www.nytimes.com/
OUR
MAN LANDS IN PHILADELPHIA. Cristoph Eschenbach has been the artistic
director of the Ravinia Festival for a number of years. As such,
he appeared on our program a few times. Now he has signed on as
conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. From this revealing
account in the Philadelphia Inquirer, he may be entering
a mine field.
http://www.philly.com/
ANOTHER
CENTENARIAN GOES TO HER REWARD. The strange, and rather repellent,
career of Leni Riefenstahl has finally come to an end. Here is
the obituary from today's New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
A
REPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY FRONT. Brown University has, for a
long time, led the pack in hiring and rewarding intellectuals
of the far left. This report from the editor of the student newspaper
gives some sense of what the classroom results can sometimes be.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
THE
MISUSE OF AMERICAN CHILDREN. An important new book by Kay Hymowitz
details the many ways in which, by pushing them toward premature
"adulthood," we do serious injury to our children. Both
Hymowitz and Sowell (who reviews the book here) have been guests
on Extension 720.
http://www.townhall.com/
WHAT
YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. This great essay
about the novel and its film version is by Louis Menand who, in
our estimation, is one of the most consistently interesting commentators
on popular culture. The article has just appeared in the New
Yorker magazine.
http://www.newyorker.com/
AUDEN
REVISITED. This fine, perceptive and very readable essay about
the life and work of one of the major poets of the second half
of the twentieth century has just appeared. It is by our good
friend and rather frequent guest, Joseph Epstein, whose program
on Snobbery can be heard here.
This link requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
http://www.hudsonreview.com/
AND
ANOTHER FINE SYMPHONIC PERFORMANCE FROM THE BBC. This one is Beethoven's
Sixth, the Pastoral, with the BBC Philharmonic in a live performance
conducted by Vassily Sinaisky.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
September 8, 2003:
WHO IS HITTING US IN IRAQ? The question
is simple but the answers may not be. This article from Sunday's
New York Times is an informative review of the possibilities
and the available evidence.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
TEXT AND AUDIO OF THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. This is from the White
House web site. Tomorrow we will sample some of the press reaction
to the speech.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
A
REAL EXPERT ON ISLAM AND TERRORISM POINTS THE WAY...to end assaults
upon U.S. troops and upon Shia clerics in Iraq. Stephen Schwartz
has the credentials and the Mideast experience and, in this article
from today's New York Post, he highlights the responsibility
of the Saudi elite who continue to allow terrorist incursions
into Iraq.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
MECHA
AND CRUZ BUSTAMANTE. Last Friday, with Victor Davis Hanson, we
discussed the connection between the California lieutenant governor
and an organization that claims California for Mexico. Here is
a comment on the matter--mincing no words--from John Leo, one
of our favorite columnists and a past guest on Extension 720.
http://www.usnews.com/
JUSTICE
THOMAS'S WIFE SPEAKS OUT. This op-ed from last Friday's Wall
Street Journal was rather a surprise. One doesn't expect
the spouse of a Supreme Court justice to opine publically on such
matters. But the "borking" of Estrada does, indeed,
have some parallels to what Clarence Thomas had to go through.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
SCIENCE
AND GOD. They are, apparently, not by any means irreconcilable.
As this article from the U.K. Guardian reports, some
are "believers" and some not--in almost equal proportions.
But what, exactly, do the believers believe? For further clarification,
read on.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
WHATEVER
THEY THINK ABOUT GOD, WHAT ARE THEY THINKING ABOUT THE ORIGIN
OF LIFE? Here, from American Scientist, is a most interesting
and informative review of three recent books on the subject.
http://www.americanscientist.org/
A
CURIOUS HISTORICAL ESSAY. We stumbled upon this while seraching
for something else--but it held us in amused fascination. From
her correspondence Queen Victoria turns out not have been a Victorian.
In fact she sounds more than a little like a disgruntled modern
feminist, particularly in her comments on marriage!
http://www.victoriana.com/
A
GREAT PERFORMANCE OF BRAHMS' FIRST SYMPHONY. We feel lucky to
have found this and are eager to pass it on to our listeners.
The performance is by the BBC Orchestra of Wales as conducted
by Richard Hickox.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
September 5, 2003:
SAUDI AND PAKISTANI INVOLVEMENT IN 9/11.
Our old friend and frequent guest, investigative journalist Gerald
Posner, has a most important book that has just been published.
It deals with all the signs and evidence missed by our intelligence
services in the long lead up to 9/11. A crucial chapter is summarized
here in an article from the current issue of Time.
http://www.time.com/
ISRAEL'S
MAIN PALESTINIAN ENEMY. The Israelis have now stated that until
the PLO brings Hamas under full control and disarms them, there
can be no serious further negotiation over the "road map."
Who and/or what is Hamas? This primer from the New York Council
on Foreign Relations is a useful and accurate guide.
http://cfrterrorism.org/
A
DISPASSIONATE ANALYSIS OF THE PASSION OF HOWARD DEAN. As usual,
Charles Krauthammer has some very perceptive things to say...and
says them with admirable lucidity. The column is from today's
Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
HOW
LEGAL ARE ILLEGALS--AND WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IS? In the light
of last night's discussion with Victor
Davis Hanson, author of Mexifornia: A State of Becoming,
this item from Reuters is of special interest.
http://asia.reuters.com/
INSTEAD
OF "BRAIN WASHING," HOW ABOUT BRAIN ENHANCEMENT? This
is halfway between reasonable speculation and science fiction..but
the possibilities do, in fact, make the mind reel. The article
is from the last issue of the Scientific American.
http://www.sciam.com/
HOW
DID THE NAZIS COME TO POWER? That's one of the persistent questions
in modern political history. The Rise of the Nazis is
a classic work that has recently been revised. Here it is reviewed
by a well-known German scholar, Gisella Miller-Kipp. The source
is the scholarly web-site, H-Net Reviews.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/
THE
ACADEMIC FOLLIES, CONT'D. We thought you might be interested in
this news from Cornell University. This column from the student
newspaper is by an outraged undergraduate. We wonder whether similar
outrage is possible at the faculty level.
http://www.cornellreview.org/
LAS
VEGAS REVISITED. We had a fine program a while back with James
McManus who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
and wrote a great book about the World Series of Poker. Now that
book is appreciatively reviewed in the current issue of Commentary
magazine. Here it is.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/
"THEY
ORDER THESE THINGS DIFFERENTLY IN FRANCE." So said Laurence
Sterne in A Sentimental Journey. And that certainly applies
to the career of "public intellectual" as lived by Bernard-Henri
Levy and as celebrated or attacked by virtually all of the French
press. A great article from the Paris correspondent of the Financial
Times.
http://news.ft.com/
MORE
GREAT SWING. Many of the items in this collection are from the
war years. Don't miss the Andrews Sisters doing Boogie Woogie
Bugle Boy or Vaughn Monroe's When tye Lights Go On Again. And
Glenn Miller's Moonlight Cocktail is not to be missed!
http://www.hhbrandy.addr.com/
September 4, 2003:
WILL THE U.N. BECOME INVOLVED? AND IS
IT A GOOD IDEA? The U.S. has circulated a new draft resolution
to the United Nations that details a plan to involve other countries
in Iraq. Here's what the British magazineThe Economist
has to say about this latest development.
http://www.economist.com/
AND
THE LATEST FROM THE UNITED NATIONS. At press time, this was the
most recent article about the U.S. new draft resolution from the
Washington Post. Be sure to check out the other links
to equally informative articles.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
WILL
ON THE CALIFORNIA FOLLIES. George Will, columnist for the Washington
Post, turns his wary eye towards California and has his doubts
about the recall contenders on both the Republican and Democratic
sides.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
A
BLOW FOR MEDIA GIANTS EVERYWHERE. A judge has blocked a new FCC
ruling that relaxed rules about media ownership. What does this
mean for Fox, AOL Time Warner and the other corporate media moguls?
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE TRUE PURPOSE OF READING. Professor and blogger Erin O'Connor
has an interesting take on the latest trend in the universities:
assigning mandatory reading for incoming first-year students.
Though in principle it seems like a great idea, in practice it
has caused much controversy.
http://chronicle.com/
AUTHOR
ENVY. F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's marriage fell apart because
of his drinking, her craziness and their mutual envy. Here is
the Canadian National Post's take on modern author envy.
If you want to read the Granta article referenced in
this essay, click
here.
http://www.nationalpost.com/
MORE
PROKOFIEV. Last night on the Quarterly Book Review, Dan Tucker
highly recommended a new biography of Prokofiev and we played
an excerpt from his Romeo and Juliet. Here is the entire ballet,
performed by the Kirov Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, conductor.
To view the complete list of books reviewed, click
here.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September
3, 2003:
SHARON, ISRAEL AND THE JEWS. Daniel Pipes examines
and rejects--with good, demonstrable reasons--the notion that
Jews are all (or even most) supporters of the Israeli hard-line.
It turns out to be a matter of left vs. right!
http://www.danielpipes.org/
SPEAKING
OF HARD-LINE VS. SOFT-LINE...What about North Korea? John O'Sullivan
examines (most judiciously) the arguments on both sides and, in
the process, conveys a lot of valuable information. This column,
from the National Review, originally appeared in the
Chicago Sun-Times.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
AN INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVE OPTS FOR (THE LIBERAL) ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER.
Tom Sowell, once a guest on Extension 720, is a leading conservative
economist and columnist. His reasons for endorsing Arnold are
of particular interest. Read on...
http://www.townhall.com/
THE
RETURN OF GARY COLEMAN. This inevitably interesting article about
the shortest--but not the most insignificant--California candidate
is from today's issue of the Canadian National Post.
http://www.nationalpost.com/
THE
INCOMPARABLE DOCTOR DALRYMPLE. He is one of the most lucid and
unrelenting moral essayists of our time. And he knows the "lower
depths" because that's where he works as a physician. He
will be visiting our program again in a few weeks. In the meantime
do read this compelling account of a recent murder "in a
high place," just published in the New Criterion.
http://www.newcriterion.com/
OUR
FORMER POET-LAUREATE. Billy Collins is a charming and utterly
"available" (that means "easy to comprehend")
poet--and here are two of his works. You can hear them in real
audio as well as read them. Enjoy!
http://www.cortlandreview.com/
CAN
PORNOGRAPHIC SPAM BE STOPPED? Lots of people and organizations
are up-in-arms over the porno-spam plague. As are we! This is
from a service for religion reporters and leads you to dozens
of links relating to the religion-based campaign to cleanse our
e-mail.
http://www.religionwriters.com/
SOONER
OR LATER WE HAD TO GET AROUND TO IT. It may be a bit of a cliche,
but Pachelbel's Canon really is hypnotizing in its beauty. This
fine performance is conducted by David Atherton.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
September 2, 2003:
WOLFOWITZ ON THE NECESSITY OF OUR PRESENCE
IN IRAQ. As Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz was
one of the three major
