MILT'S
FILE
January
30, 2004:
THE
RECIPIENTS OF SADDAM'S LARGESSE. The Middle East Media Research
Institute (MEMRI) provides a translation of the Iraqi article
and a long (but still partial) list of those organizations and
individuals who took Saddam's bribes. We find big "takers"
in the PLO, in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan--but also in France,
Italy, Spain and especially Russia.
http://www.memri.org/
HAD
THEY NO SHAME, NO CONSCIENCE? The list of those who took vast
oil bribes from Saddam Hussein and paid back with support or with
oppositon to US policy is a long and disheartening one. A heartening
counterweight is the fact that these revelations were made in
one of the newly established Iraqi newspapers. Here's the report
from today's UK Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
THE
PRO-WAR LEFT IS SUPERBLY REPRESENTED...in this essay (or one might
call it a neo-Platonic dialogue) by Paul Berman. It appeared recently
in Dissent and we recommend it as required reading to
be held before the eyes of those of your friends who are still
enthusiasts for Governor/Doctor Dean.
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/
THE
LOPSIDED PRISONER SWAP. It should be called just that when the
Israelis get back one prisoner for hundreds of Arab attackers
who were being held in their jails. Whatever possesed the Sharon
bunch to go for this deal? A columnist for Ha'Aretz examines
the possibly disastrous consequences of this superstrange swap.
http://www.haaretz.com/
WHO
IS KILLING THESE MEN; WHEN AND WHERE? A horrific photograph from
sometime and someplace in the Holocaust is brooded upon in this
article from the UK Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
TO
MAKE A SUPERCONDUCTOR THAT OPERATES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE...all
you have to do is produce a stable condensate of fermions. But
you knew that already! But did you know that they have just recently
accomplished that very task at the University of Colorado? One
of the promising consequences will probably be the production
of vast reserves of electrical power at virtually no cost!! Here's
the story from New Scientist.
http://www.newscientist.com/
ANOTHER
SCIENCE NOTE: SOME AUSTRALIANS HAVE EVIDENCE OF LIFE ON MARS...or
so this report from the Australian Broadcasting System tells us.
This is not nutso-stuff. It is from a credentialed group of researchers
at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
http://www.abc.net.au/
THE
COMING OF VOIP! That's Voice Over Internet Protocol and, according
to James Glassman in this article from yesterday's Washington
Times, it will soon produce transformative consequences in
our communications systems and in the social order itself--though
that last is our terminology rather than his.
http://www.aei.org/
ALL
IN ALL HE MIGHT HAVE DONE BETTER TO STICK TO LINGUISTICS. We speak,
of course, of Noam Chomsky, the Pied Piper of American radical
youth. Here, from Front Page magazine, is a close examination
of the way his mind works--or of the way he choosed to defame
just about everything the US has done, is doing and will do in
the larger world.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
WHAT
WOULD HAPPEN IF...you asked someone with a brilliantly feverish
mind to contemplate the mystery of "secret names?" Here's
what poured forth when someone (perhaps himself) asked that of
David Mamet. This appeared recently in Three Penny Review.
http://www.threepennyreview.com/
A
WORK OF HIGH MAJESTY. That is how many would desribe the great
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by J.S.Bach. This strong rendering
of the original organ score is performed by David Goode.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 29, 2004:
THE DEMOCRATS DILEMMA...as seen by one
of their best and brightest, Robert Reich. We don't agree with
him on much but we esteem him highly as a very thoughtful and
articulate analyst not given to political bombast. And, full revelation...he
was once our student (at Dartmouth College, rather a long time
ago when we were all unbelievably young).
http://www.nytimes.com/
SO
THIS IS HOW THE NEW IRANIAN "COOPERATIVENESS" WORKS?
Delegates from forty countries are gathering in Teheran to plan
new strategies to "confront the American great Satan."
The account is from today's Jerusalem Post.
http://www.jpost.com/
HOW
THE WHITE HOUSE SHOULD RESPOND TO THE TESTIMONY OF DAVID KAY.
We think that Jonah Goldberg, in this piece from the National
Review, has it just about right. So, let's hope that someone
persuades the president to "go the modified hangout route."
http://www.townhall.com/
OUR
"FRIENDS" HAD BETTER BECOME FRIENDS AGAIN. Or else,
the western European powers, as they opopose American "hegemony,"
may find their civilization undermined by an implacable enemy.
So says Robert Kagan in this new afterword to his influential
book, Of Paradise and Power. Our discussion with him
about that book can be heard here.
http://www.ceip.org/
CHINA
IS OCCUPIED WITH ITS OWN DOMESTIC AMBITIONS...FOR NOW! But after
a 20-year period of further growth they plan to really throw their
weight around in the world. That is the considered conclusion
reached by Robert Sutter in this carefully crafted evaluation
published recently in the Washington Quarterly.
http://www.twq.com/
OUR
COUSINS, THE NEANDERTHALS...or are they only third cousins, twice
removed? Paleo-anthroplogists are still arguing the issue but
some important new studies may (or may not) resolve it. At any
rate, this report from the BBC is of compelling interest, especially
if you care about your "deep geneology." And some of
the links provided here are equally absorbing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
AND
AFTER MEIN KAMPF HE WROTE ANOTHER BOOK...from which we learn much
about the implacable, mad ferocity of Hitler's hate for the Jews.
And as Omer Bartov of Columbia University sees it, if you change
a few of the nouns, this screed reads rather like the new, contempoary
anti-semitism. This is a compelling and disturbing article that
deserves full attention.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/
MAIS
AIME-T-IL BRAHMS? Do you remember Francoise Sagan's novel of almost
the same title? Shared aesthetic preferences are supposed to foster
admiration. But, according to this survey in the Washington
Post, none of the Democratic candidates dares to name any
"favorite music" beyond the pop and rock realm. Hmmmm...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
CHANGING
THE GUARD (AND THE WORKING PHILOSOPHY?) AT THE NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW.
The New York Observer has the fascinating inside dope
about the confusion over how (or if) to reorganize the Book Review.
We rather like the idea of less coverage of fiction--or at least
of fictionalized accounts of sensitve children coming to consciousness
or palptating adolescents discovering the joy and pain of one
or another form of dawning love.
http://www.observer.com/
AND
SPEAKING OF BOOK REVIEWS...here's the fellow in charge of those
at The Atlantic accounting for what they choose to review
at what may well be America's best general magazine. Of special
interest is Schwartz's disdain for most books focussed on politcs
and public affairs.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
AND
YOU WERE SKEPTICAL ABOUT ASTROLOGY? If these amazing readings,
sign-by-sign, don't persuade you, then you must be a Scorpio or
else an Aries on the cusp.
http://theonion.com/
A
FIRST GENERATION JAZZ MAN. Kid Ory had a long, long career that
started in New Orleans and ended in post-WWII Los Angeles. Thus
these are "late" performances of classic and traditional
jazz--and fine performances as well featuring two great clarinetists,
Barney Bigard and Omer Simeon.
http://redhotjazz.com/
January 28, 2004:
THE "NEWSPAPER OF RECORD" ON
YESTERDAY'S NH PRIMARY. They still do this sort of thing as well
as any other source--as long as they don't let their editorializing
proclivities swamp their reportorial responsibilities.
http://www.nytimes.com/
AN
ALMOST DISINTERESTED VIEW OF KERRY. William Saletan of Slate
lays out the man's assets and also his considerable limits (so
far) as a campaigner. But Saletan and his Slate buddies
will, surely, be rooting for the man from Massachusetts rather
than the one from Texas.
http://politics.slate.msn.com/
NOT
IN THE KERRY CAMP. Front Page magazine goes at the "hidden
Kerry" trying to establish that the junior senator from Massachusetts
is richer than the senior one and just as much prone to "situational"
rather than value-based ethics. A partisan piece, but with a good
deal of information that we had not encountered elsewhere.
http://frontpagemag.com/
FRONT
PAGE GOES AT KERRY, CONT'D. This second installment of the "get
Kerry" piece appeared in the magazine today.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
WILL
FINDS A CURIOUS MEANING IN THE RISE OF JOHN KERRY. The end of
feminized politics? You had better read this one closely. Even
more than usual, GW packs a lot of provacative ideas into a short,
columnar space.
http://www.townhall.com/
HUTTON
CLEARS BLAIR AND THE BBC CHAIRMAN RESIGNS. Apparently, the Prime
Minister was blameless in the Kelly/BBC affair. Here's the BBC
story about its own big goof. The linked stories sketch out the
likely further consequences.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
ON
THE 59TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ...the website
of Deutche Welle (the German national broadcasting system) features
an article on the renewal of European anti-semitism--and locates
one of the main sources in the ever-enlarging Muslim population.
http://www.dw-world.de/
SCOLD
OR SEER OR BOTH? That's the question about "Dr." Laura
as raised in this sharp essay/review in the new issue of Atlantic
magazine. And we agree with Caitlin Flanagan that, on the large
issues, Laura Schlessinger is right on target.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
THE
BOOK ROW THAT WAS. Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post
is one of the best book reviewers we know and, like most of the
breed, he loves to wander around in bookstores. The wandering
was best on Fourth Avenue in New York in the old days--and in
this article from last Sunday's paper he lovingly describes it
just as we remember it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
OBITUARY
AS STAND-UP. Mark Steyn is a more-than-brilliant writer who can't
resist quipping even as he appreciates. Thus he memorializes the
recently departed with startling joie-de-vivre. Just consider
this recent portrait of Ann Miller--and the earlier ones of Elia
Kazan, Charles Bronson, Katherine Hepburn, Leni Reifenstahl and
Sir Dennis Thatcher.
http://www.steynonline.com/
PROKOFIEV'S
SECOND PIANO CONCERTO. Sometimes called the "dark concerto,"
this work from 1923 is superbly performed here by Alexander Toradze
in a live performance with the Kirov Orchestra conducted by Gergiev.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 27, 2004:
A MAJOR ESSAY BY COLIN POWELL. This argument
pro vita sua has just appeared in Foreign Affairs. One
assumes that it has been vetted at the White House and thus, that
it is, as well, the administration's defense of our Iraq policy
for which we expect to receive the full support of our erstwhile
partners "as our strategy unfolds."
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/
SENATOR
EDWARDS AT THE BOWLING ALLEY. We're lucky that Dave Barry was
there too. This account will probably persist in memory as the
defining image of the New Hampshire primary. Personal disclosure:
we used to live in New Hampshire and once, poking around from
the Hanover base, we bowled in Merrimack. Must have been...
http://www.miami.com/
THE
VARIETIES (AND UNIVERSALITIES) OF TERRORIST BELIEF. This wide-ranging
but historically focussed essay on the nature of terrorism is
by one of the leading political "scientists" of our
time. It has just been published in the City Journal
of the Manhattan Institute.
http://www.city-journal.org/
PEGGY
NOONAN MAY BE GUILTY...of committing an argument ad hominem but,
all the same, she does sensitize the reader to the possibility
that one of the candidates is...uh, peculiar.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
MAKE
ROOM FOR THE CHIRAC/HU ENTENTE CORDIAL. It is heartening though
to see some French MPs showing the new President of China some
well-deserved discourtesy. The report is from the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
BY
FAR, THE BEST MARS EXPLORATION SITE...is the one provided by NASA
and JPB. Here it is in all its multi-link majesty. Browse away...and
be sure to check the wonderful Mars photos as they come in.
http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/
REQUIRING
THAT A CHRISTIAN STUDENT GROUP HAVE A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT IS "DISCRIMINATORY!!"
So rules the Priest-President of Gonzaga University, a Jesuit
institution. As usual, FIRE is on the case...and here is their
summary of this more-than-usually bizarre instance of campus PC
gone ga-ga.
http://www.thefire.org/
A
MONSTROUS, VILE BOOK HAS WON THE BOOKER PRIZE...while the Prix
Goncourt went to a merely run-of-the-mill biography. Anthony Daniels,
in the current issue of the New Criterion, examines the
significations that are thereby revealed.
http://www.newcriterion.com/
AND
SPEAKING OF BOOKS...what do the very long ones do for us? And
the pithy, short ones? Some insights are to be found in this breezy
but correctly observed essay from The Age of Melbourne.
http://www.theage.com.au/
ADD
THIS TO THE LIST OF FAMOUS LITERARY QUARRELS. Solzhenitsyn was
not often commended for his graciousness. But in this "triste
histoire" as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle,
he comes off particularly badly.
http://www.sfgate.com/
WHEN
STARBUCKS CAME TO PARIS...in defense, this Wall Street Journal
(Europe) guy goes looking for the authentic existentialist cafe.
But he finds both Le Flore and Les Deux Magots corrupted by commercialism.
Of course, he should have gone across the Boul Mich to the Brasserie
Lipp.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
A
MODERN MASTER OF FLAMENCO. Paco de Lucia is considered by many
to be the first ranking Flamenco guitarist of our time. His playing
combines perfect technique with biting ferocity and is unique
over all the wide range of flamenco performers. Be sure to listen
to the Alegrias.
http://www.flamenco-world.com/
January 26, 2004:
THE SAUDI WAHHABIS ARE COMING!! In fact,
as Steven Schwartz informs in this article from the Weekly
Standard, they have all along been active in the Iraqi assaults
upon coalition troops. But now they are flooding over the border
in vast numbers and, apparently, with the full knowledge and probably
the collusion of the Saudi government.
http://frontpagemag.com/
AS
USUAL THE CSM LEADS. We think the Christian Science Monitor
is doing the best job this season in presenting informative, unslanted
and interesting political coverage. Here is their summary story
on the New Hampshire primary as it appeared this morning.
http://www.csmonitor.com/
WHERE
IS RUSSIA GOING? Colin Powell is concerned about anti-democratic
trends and wonders whether the Putin regime shares our values.
With this Reuters story as background we will be discussing what
is--and what should be--happening in Russia at this time in their
post-Soviet evolution. Three academics join us in the discussion
tonight at 9 PM Central Time. The program can be heard here.
http://news.myway.com/
THE
ARAB STATES' DILEMMA PRE AND POST THE INVASION OF IRAQ. This excellent
essay from a left-oriented mideast expert appeared reently in
Dissent magazine.
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/
THE
EFFECTS OF IMMIGRATION LIBERALIZATION...in Holland where a recent
parliamentary report finds that some rather untoward consequences
have become more than manifest. The story was carried in the UK
Telegraph last week.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
DO
IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES...in the U.S., a nation supposedly hostile
or indifferent to "ideas?" Yes, but in a distinctive
way that explains much of our history. So says Wilfred M. McClay
in this provacative essay from the Wilson Quarterly.
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/
THE
EVOLUTIONARY VALUE OF RELIGION. Darwin himself posited that religion
assisted evolutionary survival. More recent thought on the meaning
of the universality of religion is addressed in a recent book
that is thoughtfully duscussed in this essay from Human Nature
Review.
http://human-nature.com/
AND
AFTER MARRIAGE DISAPPEARS, WHAT? The dramatic statistic is that
a majority of Scandinavian children are now born "out of
wedlock." How did this come to pass? What are the predictable,
longer-range consequences? What did the legalization of gay marriage
have to do with it all? Stanley Kurtz, in this article from the
current Weekly Standard, presents the basic data and,
on the link to gay marriage, offers an interpretation that will
surely be controversially discussed.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
IF
YOU TOUCH MY THIGH/YOU GONNA GO TO HIGH...so sang Bessie Smith
setting down the sexual misconduct rules. They don't manage to
achieve even that much clarity at Duke University according to
this account from the always interesting blogsite, Critical Mass.
http://www.erinoconnor.org/
MARGARET
ATWOOD LOOKS TO THE EAST. A Canadian literary master examines
the lot of women in the Middle East (more particularly, in Iran)
by way of a review of six recent books. This essay was recently
published in the newly established Canadian magazine, The
Walrus.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/
A
NEW BOOK BY ONE OF OUR RADIO PROGRAM GUESTS...is reviewed by another
such guest. And John McWhorter finds Human Accomplishment
by Charles Murray a noble try at discovering the sources of intellectual
and artistic greatness. Our discussion of the book with Murray
can be heard here.
And the audio of our recent discussion with McWhorter is here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
JANE
AUSTEN AS RELIGION REPORTER. We think that a better term than
"public theologian." But, at any rate, this truly novel
literary essay delighted us as we read it just last night. It
comes from the current issue of First Things.
http://www.firstthings.com/
SCHUBERT'S
SECOND SYMPHONY. Two seperate performances are available here,
the first conducted by Dohnanyi and the other by Norrington. We
thought the first more stirring and the second more lyrical and
both excellent.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 23, 2004:
IS AL QAIDA DIMINISHED--OR IS THIS MERE
WHISTLING IN THE DARK? Interesting if true--but given the publication
source we're not fully convinced, even if this story is reportedly
based on an interview with the State Department's "counter-terrorism
coordinator." And we do hope that someone in counter-terrorism
realizes that new groups like Al Qaida can--and probably will--arise
when the original is dismembered.
http://www.worldtribune.com/
A
REAL "AREA EXPERT" ON THE IRAQI SHIA AND THEIR TOP AYATOLLAH.
David Warren zeroes in with knowledge-based acuity and, in a few
deft strokes, clarifies what Sistani and his followers are up
to and how they may stir up a tripartite conflict (Sunni, Shia,
Kurd) that could yet upset the U.S. settlement strategy.
http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/
KRAUTHAMMER
MOURNS THE POLITICAL PASSING OF DEAN FROM THE SCENE...as do, probably,
most of the people who work for Karl Rove. The McLuhanesque ananlysis
provided here by "former psychiatric person" rings quite
true to us.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
MOHAMMAD
AND MALVO IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST. This rather chilling story from
today's Seattle Times reports that, a full month before
the D.C. area murder spree, they were rehearsing in a field near
Tacoma.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
WHEN
A BIAS-CHARGE IS POSSIBLE, RECUSE YOURSELF! That should be a basic
principle in the judicial profession. Thus, we think the Columbus
Dispatch editorialist is right about Scalia and the Cheney/Judicial
Watch case.
http://www.dispatch.com/
THE
MUSLIMS IN WESTERN EUROPE...where they have become an ever-expanding
presence. This scholarly review (from H-Net) of an equally scholarly
volume contains some startling stuff if you know how to read behind
the professorial prose.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/
OH
FOR A CATERPILLAR CRAWLING ON THE MARTIAN SURFACE! Still, more
evidence of water, as reported here by Reuters, confirms that
the neccessary (but not neccessarily sufficient) condition for
life to have emerged and evolved on Mars does (or did--are you
still following this?) exist.
http://news.myway.com/
WHO
ARE THE GYPSIES? This article by Roma scholar Ian Hancock of the
University of Texas is, inevitably, of compelling interest. Though
the "gypsies" are named for their presumed Egyptian
origin, they came--as most people now understand--from India.
But their wanderings and further cultural evolution are still
being researched and deciphered. Patrin, the source of this article,
is a great Roma history website.
http://www.geocities.com/
MEL
GIBSON ISN'T THE ONLY PROBLEMATIC PUSHER OF THE PASSION. This
great article is from the website of the Religion Writers Association.
Worrisome passion plays go back, of course, to medieval times
and to Oberammergau in Hitler's Germany. The effort to render
them more palatable, while supposedly true to the gospels, is
pursued by many organizations...and they are linked in this valuable
survey.
http://www.religionwriters.com/
A
MILLION AND A HALF AUTO ACCIDENTS DUE TO CELL PHONE USE!! The
figure is staggering but it has recently been reported by a research
group at Harvard. This ain't funny McGee! And what is so unfunny
about it is summarized here in an article from the current issue
of American Spectator.
http://www.spectator.org/
THE
GREEN EYED PROFESSOR EMERITUS FROM NORTHWESTERN. Joe Epstein is
an old friend of ours and a fairly frequent guest on out radio
program. Nevertheless we have always envied hin for his wit, his
insousciance and his sharp sports jackets. This excerpt from his
treatise on envy appeared last year in the Washington Monthly.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
CARRERAS
AS DON JOSE IN CARMEN. At this generous site the great Barcelonan
tenor is heard (with others) in a number of selections from various
performances of the Bizet opera. We particularly commend the selections
from the Salzburg, 1985.
http://www.jcarreras.de/
January 22, 2004:
IRAQI WMDs COULD HAVE BEEN MOUNTED IN
DAYS...said Dr. David Kelly whose suicide was widely interpreted
to be proof, somehow, that there were no WMDs!! Much that is surprising
(and also supportive of the Blair government's position) has just
been revealed by the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
NORTH
KOREA RIGHT NOW. This report of an extended recent visit was presented
last week at the Brookings Institution. There are a number of
surprises or, at least, fresh observations to be found here. Longish,
but well worth printing out and reading in full.
http://www.brookings.edu/
THE
IOWA BOUNCE! The first poll report from the neighborhood (Boston
Herald) shows that, after Iowa, Kerry has taken a strong
lead in New Hampshire. And since this coming primary requires
people to go into polling booths and vote privately, these data
are probably more predictive of outcome than were any of the polls
focussed on the Iowa caucuses.
http://news.bostonherald.com/
THE
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE BUSH IMMIGRATION REFORM PLAN. Victor Davis
Hanson makes a strong and, we think, decisive case against what
has been recently proposed. Here it is in an article from the
Wall Street Journal.
http://www.benadorassociates.com/
OSAMA
WON'T BE AS EASY AS SADDAM...says Husain Haqquani, a Pakistani
observer writing on a Pakistani (but English language) news and
opinion site. We think we detect an undertone of gloating--or
at least the shifty ambivalence that has marked the approach to
Al Qaeda of the Pak military and intelligence forces.
http://www.hipakistan.com/
THE
BLIND WATCHMAKER OR "INTELLIGENT DESIGN?" The sophisticated,
as opposed to primitive, anti-Darwinian approach is put to close
test and analysis in this strong article from the Skeptical
Inquirer.
http://www.csicop.org/
AT THE NADIR IN NEW YORK. The folks who are "down" are
the "intellectuals." Or, at any rate, that is what the
author of this piece from the New York Observer calls
a group of writers being sued for the paltry fees they were paid
by Lingua Franca. And then there are the magazine writers
abandoned by their domestic companions...Hard times, read on.
http://www.observer.com/
A
CHRISTIAN CRITIQUE OF "THE DA VINCI CODE." Historians
of religion reject it on a scholarly basis; and, of course, serious
Christian religionists find yet other reasons to disdain the religious
import of this popular novel. Here, with some additional links
of interest, is an article from an evangelical/intellectual site.
http://www.leaderu.com/
WHEN
YOU ARE BEING STUPID...go to sleep and you may wake up smart...or,
at least, less stupid. This is not idle advice. It is based on
RESEARCH as this report from Reuters reports.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/
SELDOM
PERFORMED HERE, OFTEN PERFORMED THERE. That's Rimsky-Korsakov's
opera The Snow Maiden. And here is a full performance, all stops
out, from the St. Petersburg White Nights festival of 1999. Great
singing by an all Russian cast!
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 21, 2004:
PERLE AND FRUM PRESS FOR A "FORWARD"
POLICY AGAINST "TERROR." In this op-ed from today's
New York Times, these two "hard-liners" outline--as
they did in their recent book--a strategy that must focus on the
states that sponsor or enable Islamist terrorism. Both Perle and
Frum have appeared on our program and our recent discussion with
the former can be heard here.
http://www.nytimes.com/
SING
MUSE, THE WRATH OF ACHILLES...and of Governor/Doctor Dean. Here's
another take on the anger-management problem of the once-leading
Democratic candidate...this time from George Will.
http://www.miami.com/
DEAN
WAS DISLIKED BECAUSE OF HIS LACK OF LIKEABILITY! We would not
venture to accuse Bill Safire of edging into a tautology...particularly
when his analysis rings true. But it does remind one of Moliere--or
perhaps of Arthur Miller whose salesman lived by the maxim: "It
isn't enough to be liked; you've got to be well liked."
http://www.nytimes.com/
SORRY,
WE CAN'T HELP IT...one more item on the scream heard round the
world. This article about Dean's "concession speech"
is from The Australian, the equivalent of USA Today
in the antipodes.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
THE
REAL STORY FROM TEHRAN...is by no means as encouraging as some
have suggested. This informed and highly informative article from
the new issue of the Economist indicates that the "conservatives"
(i.e. the tough mullahs and their tending-toward-Islamist associates)
are winning the fight.
http://economist.com/
WHAT
TO DO ABOUT (OR TO) THE CHRISTIANS. Religious minorites have been
a subject of confused policy for a long time. This famous epistolary
exchange between Pliny the Younger and the Emperor Trajan is illustrative.
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/
WHEN BUDDHISM THREATENED EUROPE...or, when the philosophers and
theologians thought that it did. This finely detailed review from
H-Net summarizes a major work on an earlier east-meets-west conflict.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/
L'AFFAIRE
EASTERBROOK. A touch of anti-semitism from a leading figure at
the New Republic? That was the tentative accusation a
few months ago. The ensuing brouhaha is aptly reported and examined
in this article from The Columbia Journalism Review.
http://www.cjr.org/
LITERARY
POLITICS IN THE UK...is no more thoughtful and responsible than
in New York or Stockholm. Things are in some disarray with the
Booker Prize, as this Guardian interview with the new
chairman of the prize committee reveals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
HITCHENS
ON PROUST? Well, it isn't that strange a combo. After all, they
do both rank among the great gossips of the western world. In
point of fact the encyclopaedic Hitch has provided, in the new
issue of The Atlantic, an illuminating--and inevitably
entertaining--essay on the master of the cork-lined room.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
IS
THERE A FUTURE FOR OLD-FASHIONED RADIO? This story from the current
Newsweek suggests that satellite radio is moving faster and
faster---and that the kind of broadcasting we do (here) may go
through some content-altering changes due to the new technology.
We find ourselves rather Luddite-ish on this one.
http://msnbc.msn.com/
WANT
TO HEAR A GREAT GREEK TENOR DOING VIENNESE OPERETTA? You've come
to the right place. Do check out this wonderful musical site which
we have just accidentally discovered.
http://www.terzakis.com/
January 20, 2004:
WHAT HAPPENED? THE MORNING AFTER VIEW
FROM DES MOINES. The political columnist for the Des Moines
Register confirms that, finally, Doctor Governor scared the
caucusees.
http://desmoinesregister.com/
A
TOUR D'HORIZON OF THE MIDDLE EAST. We think that this is as good
an overview of what has gone wrong in the Arab nations as can
be found in the western press. Pollack remains an outstanding
intellectual asset whose thoughts are always worth close consideration.
http://www.fpri.org/
SADDAM,
CLOSE UP. This fascinating article is by a "renowned Egyptian
playwright and columnist." Or so says MEMRI who have translated
and reprinted this intriguing piece.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
MARS
FROM ABOVE. While the Rover vehicle crawls around on the surface,
the Mars Express Orbiter is sending some great views of the red
planet's (it really is!) terrain. Here's a report--with striking
visuals--from New Scientist.
http://www.newscientist.com/
"WHOLE
LANGUAGE" IS A DISASTER; PHONICS IS THE REMEDY. All competent
and non-ideological reading-education specialists know that to
be the case. Findings like these, from the US Department of Education,
will--one hopes--restore our first graders to early literacy.
http://www.academia.org/
SOVIET
GENOCIDE. Three books dealing with the devastation wrought by
the Stalin regime are discussed in this important essay from the
Claremont Review. Two of the authors--Applebaum and Weitz--appeared
last year on Extension 720.
http://www.claremont.org/
THE
ENTHUSIASM OF HIS HOLINESS HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT EXAGGERATED! Apparently
the Pope did not blurb Mel Gibson's new film, "The Passion
of Christ." Was it all a misunderstanding or is the not-too-subtle
hand of the PR guy suddenly visible?
http://news.yahoo.com/
IS
THE KORAN THE KEY...to understanding the source and the program
of Islamist terrorism? Not at all says Dan Pipes in this article
in today's New York Sun. Then what is? Read on.
http://www.danielpipes.org/
THE
MLA, JUDGE BORK AND SADDAM. All come under the discerning scrutiny
of Hilton Kramer in the Notes and Comments section of the new
issue of his fine journal, The New Criterion.
http://www.newcriterion.com/
HOME
(MORE OR LESS) ALONE. That appears to be how many in the modern
city spend a good portion of their (sex) lives according to a
major study from the University of Chicago. The senior researcher,
Ed Laumann, is our former Dean and has been a guest on our program.
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/
A
GREAT PERFORMANCE GROUP: LOS CHACOS!! Spirited versions of some
South American (largely Venezuelan and Argentinian) music--some
in folk tradition and the rest composed by "pop artists."
http://boleadora.com/
January 19, 2004:
FRIENDLY ENEMY OR HOSTILE FRIEND? What
to make of Syria and whether to foster "regime change?"
These questions, according to this report in the new issue of
Newsweek, are under examination--and, so far, Assad is
getting a pass because of his "cooperation."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
WITH
OR WITHOUT WMDS...the Iraq war was justified. So say many "liberals"
according to this overview in the Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/
THE
LANGUAGE (AND POLITICS) MAVEN FORECASTS THE STATE OF THE UNION
SPEECH. We can always count on Bill Safire for a kind of lyrical
cynicism that is usually effectively predictive. (That means he
calls the shots accurately.) Here, in today's column, he lays
out the rhetorical design of tommorrow's address. Incidentally,
here's
our roster for the post-speech discussion.
http://www.nytimes.com/
HANSON
ON BUSH ON IMMIGRATION REFORM. Victor Davis Hanson is something
of a phenomenon: an academic who writes with verve; a classicist
who understands modern, as well as ancient, war; and a credentialed
analyst of the problems posed by the vast Mexican northward migration.
Here
is the audio of our discussion with him of his book, Mexifornia.
And here is his op-ed from today's Wall Street Journal.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
THE
LORDLY LORD BLACK...and
the future of the UK Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post
and the Chicago Sun-Times. Those are the leading newspapers
of the Hollinger Group, which is now dissolving before our eyes.
The latest chapter is recounted in this story from today's New
York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
HE
SAID WHAT? From the major English language newspaper in Saudi
Arabia comes this report today on our old friend Mahatir, the
former prime minister of Malaysia. Is this the same guy who a
few months ago blamed everything on the secret Jewish conspiracy
to rule the world? Again, go know...
http://www.arabnews.com/
THE
FORD FOUNDATION IS NOT THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY! But that's where
the money came from. The Foundation--not the company--seems to
have taken a decidedly anti-capitalism turn according to this
(shall we say "interesting?") article from today's issue
of Front Page.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
THE
ATTACK ON THE (ENGLISH) FAMILY. What is described here in an article
from the UK Spiked site is the disruptive intrusion into
family life by organizations ostensibly interested in child welfare.
The same process is well underway--and has advanced further--over
here as compared to over there.
http://www.spiked-online.com/
ARE
YOU NOTHING MORE THAN THE STORIES YOU TELL? That is the fashionable
view among the post-modernists. But it just isn't true says Galen
Strawson in this fine essay/review from the UK Guardian.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/
WHAT'S
IN A NAME? When it comes to books the name (i.e. the title) may
matter enough to make the difference between obscurity and best-sellerdom.
Apparently they understand these things in Australia as witness
this fine piece from The Age of Melbourne.
http://www.theage.com.au/
INTERNET
USERS ARE SOCIABLE!! And smart, too. Some of the prevailing stereotypes
seem to be contradicted by this recent survey reported by CNN.
However, we feel constrained to point out that a major souce of
"non-veridicality" in such surveys is "positive
self-presentation" by the respondents.
http://www.cnn.com/
EARLY
ELVIS. A number of the classic tunes are available at this site--and
in generous supply.
http://www.lightthenight.net/
January 16, 2004:
IRAQ WON'T BE LEBANON, BUT IT MAY BE
BOSNIA. That's the "worst case" outcome foreseen by
Ken Pollack. The "best case" is that in five years Iraq
will, in fact, be a workable and succesful democratic state. This
well-informed and closely considered overview from one of our
best Mid-east scholars has just been published in Foreign
Affairs.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/
STOP
BEFORE ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Immigration "reform" threatens
to do great disruption and damage to American society. We agree
with John Leo as he examines the troubles that will beset us if
the President's new plan becomes enacted policy.
http://www.usnews.com/
NEOCON:
IT'S NOT AN EPITHET. Rather it is an honorable political calling
which has been much maligned by those who oppose the war and/or
regress easily to "anti-zionist" engrams. Max Boot's
important new article, just published in Foreign Policy
magazine, is an appropriate antidote.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
EUROPEAN
ANTI-SEMITISM: HOW BAD IS IT? As a Brit would say: "quite,
actually." This report from the Conseil Representif des Institutions
Juives de France gives a thorough--and rather dismaying overview.
http://www.crif.org./
IS THERE A BLOG IN YOUR COMPANY'S FUTURE? Probably not...and for
good, negative reasons. At least, that was what the reporter from
the UK Guardian concluded after attending a conference
on business and blogging. Thus, for the time being (which may
be the long-term) blogging will remain an individual sport, indulgence
or fanatic undertaking.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
WHY
WE SPEAK AND UNDERSTAND BETTER THAN MONKEYS. This study, just
reported in New Scientist, may well be the "breakthrough"
in the quest for why we are the only truly linguistic species
among all of the anthropoid primates.
http://www.newscientist.com/
CONSERVATISM
IS DANGEROUS ON CAMPUS--FOR CONSERVATIVES, THAT IS. Left-liberal
bias flourishes in the classroom and often in hiring decisions.
What is to be done? One proposed answer is the "academic
bill of rights." This article from the Christian Science
Monitor reviews the the shape of the emerging controversy.
http://www.thefire.org/
THE
LEFT OVER LEFT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. This report from a
harried professor suggests just why the academic bill of rights
might be--despite untoward and unanticipated consequences--a pretty
good idea.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
BOND,
JAMES BOND...ON HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE. We used to gobble them
up as they appeared. But why? It turns out, according to this
fine essay from the London Review of Books, that Fleming
was spinning "sado-masochistic fantasies" out of his
own bored but turbulent existence. But, as all acknowledge, nobody
could do it better.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/
MIN
ESST AZOI VI IN DER HAIM. Translation from the Yiddish: one eats
as in the homeland. This story from the New York Times
reports on a great effort to keep east-European Jewish cuisine
alive.
http://www.nytimes.com/
AND
HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT--SO GET IT RIGHT, PLEASE!! These instructions
are self-explanatory and if carefully followed will guarantee
that you are a competent follower of instructions. Well, anyway,
this comes from the current New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/
SCHUMANN'S
PIANO QUINTET IN E FLAT MAJOR. This wonderfully melodic work is
commonly classified as his most popular foray in chamber music.
The performance here by soloists from the Camerata Salzburg is
confident and commanding.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 15, 2004:
GEORGE WILL PONDERS IRAQ...and his ponderings
are always worth some attention--though we have the feeling that
he didn't quite know what he thought on this one until he was
able to see what he had just written.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/
THE
VIEW FROM INSIDE AL QAEDA. This startling and valuable article
comes from the new issue of Foreign Affairs. It is essential
reading.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/
IS THIS THE POST-DEAN SPECTRE MOST FEARED BY THE WHITE HOUSE?
Richard Cohen, in today's Washington Post, sees Clark
rising in a way that would threaten Bush more than does the pugnacious
Governor, Doctor Dean.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
THIS
BOOK WILL GENERATE SOME (UH) DISCUSSION. Richard Perle was on
our program a few nights ago discussing his new book. Here is
his co-author discussing Kakutani's rage about the book. It is
obviously just the beginning of a "vigorous debate."
http://www.nationalreview.com/
AND AFTER TEXAS AND MASSACHUSSETTS, HOW ABOUT POLYGAMY RESTORED
IN UTAH? Jeff Jacoby, writing in the Boston Globe today,
spots a possibly "dysfunctional" implication in recent
judicial decisions on the nature of marriage.
http://www.boston.com/
IF
CAPS COMES CAN BIG BROTHER BE FAR BEHIND? The new total-identification
system for passengers at airports could spread out like the eggplant
that ate Chicago. The result, says this editor at Reason
magazine, might be the death of privacy...and then again, maybe
not.
http://www.reason.com/
MORE
TROUBLE AT THE TIMES. This brouhaha is occuring off (way off!)
43rd Street. You can't tell the players without this scorecard
provided by the New York Observer today.
http://www.observer.com/
WAS
HE THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL THINKER OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY?
Milton Friedman seems to think so--and so does Virginia Postrel
(a recent guest on our program) as she makes the case for Friedrich
Hayek in this fine essay that has just appeared in the Boston
Globe.
http://www.boston.com/
WE'VE
GOT TO SEE THIS FILM! Twice, we had Robert J. McNamara on our
radio program. And twice we found ourselves, amused and confused
that a man who had held and used so much power could keep mumbling
that he and his colleagues had been "misinformed" about
Vietnam. Now, a film aspires to dispel the fog of war in the minds
of the "best and the brightest."
http://www.artforum.com/
DECIPHERING
GLENN GOULD. The great pianist remains an enigma some twenty years
after his death. The key to undestanding him is, says this Canadian
reviewer of a new biography, his Canadian-ness! EH?
http://www.canada.com/
GLENN
GOULD LIVE!! This wonderful site from the Canadian National Library
has Gould--in real audio--playing Bach, Strauss and Brahms as
he tests pianos in various concert halls. Available here are hours
of enchanted listening.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/
January
14, 2004:
PROMISE THEM ANYTHING BUT KEEP THE NUKES COMING.
That, according to Nick Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute,
is the game that Dear Leader Kim Jong Il is playing again. Is
a "whiff of grapeshot" needed?
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
BUSH
IS VERY WRONG ON IMMIGRATION POLICY...says Tony Blankley of the
Washington Times. We fully agree and we think, as well,
that Tony has correctly deciphered the true sources--and has correctly
predicted the likely consequences--of the new policy.
http://www.townhall.com/
THE
BEST STORY ON DEAN THAT WE HAVE SEEN! It is by an old friend of
ours, Roger Simon who, when he worked for the Chicago Sun-Times,
was a frequent guest on our program. Now he is once again on the
campaign trail and this lead story from the current issue of U.S.
News and World Report is up to his always high standard and
sprightly, insightful style.
http://www.usnews.com/
MORE
THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SUICIDE BOMBERS. They are not
simply convinced that they are heading to paradise. And some are
better educated than their victims. This definitive article from
The Economist illuminates the almost unilluminable--and
it also examines the available prevention scenarios.
http://economist.com/
WITH
AMBASSADORS LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS CRITICS? Irwin Stelzer, writing
in the Weekly Standard, introduces us to three or four
"high ranking" U.S. ambassadors who remind us of the
old verse: As I was going down the stair/ I met a man who wasn't
there/ He wasn't there again today/ I wish that he would go away.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
IMMIGRATION
AND CRIME. The connections and corellations are, to say the least,
worrisome. Heather MacDonald, an old friend of ours and rather
frequent
guest on Extension 720 examines the significant data in this
article from the new issue of City Journal.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/
THE
UNIVERSE IS ONE QUARTER DARK MATTER! That means we can't see it--and
even worse--we don't really know what it is. Nor do we really
know anything much about dark energy WHICH MAKES UP MOST OF THE
UNIVERSE! In case you hadn't heard about this strange state of
affairs, here is an update from The Japan Times.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/
HOW
DO THE POLS GET AWAY WITH IT? AND WHY WON'T JOURNALISTS PRESS
THEM FOR REAL ANSWERS? And is it all worse now than it used to
be? Trudy Lieberman raises the right questions for journalists
who fail to raise--or pursue--the hard questions. This strong
article is from the current issue of the Columbia Journalism
Review.
http://www.cjr.org/
BAD WRITERS YE SHALL ALWAYS HAVE WITH YE...but when and how was
the assignment passed on to the assistant professors of English
(or Portugese) who deal in, gulp, "THEORY?" This on-target
article is from Butterflies And Wheels. Don't miss the
two linked exammples of classic "bad writing" done in
the modern literary "theory" vein.
http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/
THE
MOST MORBID CULINARY COLUMN OF THE YEAR. This appeared today in
the Los Angeles Times. We have often wondered just how
those about to be executed can manage any appetite at all. But--go
know!!
http://www.latimes.com/
PURCELL'S
INCIDENTAL MUSIC FROM ABDELAZAR. A variant of the "Moor's
Pavane" is found here, beautifully performed by the Berlin
Baroque Soloists.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 13, 2004:
HOW DID THEY GET THE WMD PICTURE SO WRONG?
Kenneth Pollack, one of the best of the intelligence analysts,
retraces the story and draws some important lessons. The article
is from the new issue of The Atlantic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
A
REVIVED SCENARIO FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL. This has always
been a fall-back position for Palestinian nationalists. That it
is now gaining adherents on the American and European left is
as unsurprising as it is dismaying.
http://www.jta.org/
IN
WHAT WAYS ARE BUSH AND DEAN ALIKE? Just about every way but one
says this professorial columnist for the Rocky Mountain News.
Much of the argument hangs on the assertion that Boulder, Colorado
really belongs in Vermont!
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
WHEN
DOES ADVOCACY BECOME "INCITEMENT?" Wahabism in American
prisons is urging thousands to advocate and/or undertake armed
assault and suicide missions. Can the law respond--or is it hampered
by a misapplication of first amendment guarantees? The issue is
competently reviewed in this article from the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
IT
IS NEITHER MEET NOR FITTING...for such ego-wrangles and careerist
manipulations to stain Ground Zero. But here, from Fortune
magazine, is some insightful reporting explaining this unseemly
mess.
http://www.fortune.com/
CAN
USA TODAY BEAT THE TIMES AT THIS GAME? The game being to allow
journalistic falsification and lying and then to track and expel
the miscreant. Here's the latest as reported by Howie Kurtz in
the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
RED
ROVER, COME OVER...and get rolling across the Martian plain. Here's
the latest from Pasadena including the 360 degree photo of the
lake bed surface that was released yesterday.
http://apnews.myway.com/
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PROMISED MESSIAH
DOESN'T APPEAR...or when the predicted end of the world doesn't
occur? This fine essay from the Journal of the Sociology of
Religion examines a great instance of the problem: the failure
of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to manifest himself as the expected Messiah.
http://www.findarticles.com/
THE
GREAT COOKIE STILL PONDERS WITH EFFORTLESS GRACE. Who? Alistair
Cooke, of course. Here is his most recent weekly essay as resident
BBC senior figure in the USA. The topic is brain versus brawn
on the American university scene.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
THE
BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB...was the main source of edification--and
literary pleasure--for middle-class Americans in a simpler time.
Here, a scholarly study of the BOMC receives a scholarly and,
in fact, quite edifying review.
http://www.h-net.org/
BUT
WHO KNOTTED THE JUDGE'S TIE? They have gone about as far as they
can go in assigning film credits says the author of this piece
from the New York Times. But obviously, he's wrong...within
every credit is a more finely focused credit whimpering to be
let out.
http://www.nytimes.com/
RICHARD
ROGERS: THE LIFE, TIMES AND WORTH OF A GREAT MUSIC MAN. This fine
appreciation--richly informed with biographic detail--has just
appeared in City Journal. The author, Stefan Kanfer,
has guested on our program more than once.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/
HE
WAS GREAT FROM THE BEGINNING. Here's early Benny Goodman with
some great colleagues (Bud Freeman,Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy McPartland)
in recording sessions done in 1928 and 1929 in Chicago.
http://redhotjazz.com/
January 12, 2004:
PERLE AND FRUM ON THE HARD-LINE/SOFT-
LINE DIVISION IN THE PRESIDENT'S CIRCLE. Richard Perle has been
one of the main influences in shaping the Iraq policy. Here he
defends the realistic utility of the "hard-line" approach.
He will be our guest tomorrow night on Extension 720 for a full,
two-hour discussion. You can listen
to the program from 9 to 11 p.m. central time.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
BEING
THERE (IN IRAQ!) MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE...according to Bill
Safire. As he argues in today's New York Times column,
the recent developments from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iran
can be directly traced to our Iraqi initiative. To our mind, he
makes a quite persuasive case.
http://www.nytimes.com/
BEYOND
THE BANNED VEILS IN FRANCE LIES THE QUESTION OF ISLAM'S ASSIMILATION.
A confrontation that will be enacted in Spain, Italy and, ultimately,
in the United Kingdom and Germany is coming soon in France. This
article from the current Weekly Standard prefigures the
"clash of civilizations" that may be the next chapter
in European history.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
SYRIA
IS SIGNALLING (AMBIVALENTLY, OF COURSE) THAT IT MIGHT WANT TO
"TALK." Should Israel encourage new negotiations? A
conservative voice from Israel says a strong "NO" and
gives the reasons why. The article is from the current issue of
the American Spectator.
http://www.spectator.org/
LEGALIZING
THE "ILLEGALS." Most of us are opposed; but Carol Mosley
Braun and George W. Bush want to help the ten million settle in.
Why? And at what cost to our national security and to our national
honesty? Mark Steyn calls it like it is in this strong column
published yesterday in the Chicago Sun-Times.
http://www.suntimes.com/
KRAMER
AND KHALIDI. They are both middle-east scholars; the former was
once once a visiting staff member in the latter's research institute
(at the University of Chicago) and one of them has legitimate
reason to condemn the other. This is an entry from Martin Kramer's
Sandstorm blog.
http://www.geocities.com/
AND
AFTER GLOBAL WARMING, WHAT? The most memorable prediction we have
heard in a long time came from a climatologist of great repute
who predicted that "in about 5000 years Chicago may be under
a mile of ice!"
http://www.nbenrenb.elements.nb.ca/
AMERICAN
HISTORIANS AT WORK AND PLAY. This account of the recent annual
meeting of the AHA seems to suggest that they are recovering leftists
still struggling to get beyond the old engrams.
http://hnn.us/
THE
OPINIONS AND CROCHETS OF V.S. NAIPAUL. We talked with him a few
years ago in a memorable radio discussion. Now his collected essays--dealing
largely with writers and his own travails and joys as a literary
craftsman--have just appeared. This appreciative review was published
yesterday in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
KERMODE
TAKES ON THE SHAKESPEARE BIOGRAPHERS. This wise New York Times
review/essay by a modern master provides some reflections
and judgements on important issues--among them, the identity of
the "dark lady of the sonnets." We did a full program
with Michael Wood a few weeks ago--and here it is on our
audio archive.
http://www.nytimes.com/
AREN'T
YOU ASHAMED? If not, you should be according to this unmincing
and directly judgemental article from Psychology Today.
What appeals is that we have here a psychologist who, apparently,
won't let you off the hook by providing the usual psychobabbelish
cop out.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/
THE
ART OF DECONSTRUCTION. We came upon this a little late--it was
published ten years ago! But it does seem to get the deconstructionist
caper just about right. Here's how you--or anyone--can do it and,
perhaps, get an appointment at Duke or at least a bylined article
in Critical Theory.
http://www.fudco.com/
BY
THEIR SITCOMS SHALL YE KNOW THEM. Britain's ten "favourite"
sitcoms of all time convey the sense that, "in point of fect"
they "acshully ah" a different culture. Many links may
be profitably pursued on this BBC site.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
THE
1556 REQUIEM OF FRANCISCO GUERRERO. This choral masterpiece of
the renaissance gets a stately performance by the Chapelle du
Roi conducted by Alistair Dixon.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
January 9, 2004:
THE BRITS ON IMMIGRATION. A few days
ago, President Bush announced that he plans to offer amnesty--but
not citizenship--to immigrants who come into the United States
to work. It has been cheered and jeered from both sides, but the
question on everyone's lips is: what do the British think? Well,
this article from the Economist lets us know.
http://www.economist.com/
TO
INFINITY AND BEYOND. On this site, we have featured pictures from
the Spirit's landing on Mars. Sending what is essentially a robot
to Mars is one thing, but can humans do it too? President Bush
says yes, and all the details are in this article from today's
New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
BUT
IS IT EVEN OURS? Mars that is. We may want to colonize it, but
the ethical picture may not be as clear cut as it seems at first.
This thought-provoking article from the e-zine Slate
examines the implications of space exploration.
http://www.slate.com/
VISION
AND CONSCIOUSNESS. How does what we see affect who we are? Oliver
Sacks, the eminent psychiatrist, attempts to explain it all in
this excellent article from the New York Review of Books.
http://www.nybooks.com/
DECISIONS,
DECISIONS...Going to the grocery store these days is almost mind-boggling.
Even something as simple as milk has five different varieties,
and that's without even considering the various soy and rice milks.
But perhaps now there is too much choice. The book r
