Excerpt from a good summary:

“Say a prayer, a spell, or a demonic incantation for Halloween. This October, as in past Octobers, many schools are refusing to celebrate the holiday. Others have recast it as “Fall-o-Ween” or “Orange and Black Day” or, in words carefully calibrated to be as generic as possible, the “Fall Festival.” In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, one councilman-nominally a Republican, but spiritually a member of the Everything Not Prohibited Is Compulsory Party-has reacted with a resolution to require his county’s schools to hold Halloween parties. I don’t approve of his solution, but I understand his aggravation….

But the alliance’s most important members are driven by fear, not faith. They’re the key to the coalition: the risk-averse bureaucrats. Where the fundamentalists would like to see Halloween eliminated entirely and the Wiccans would replace it with a two-day teach-in about the Burning Times, the bureaucrats merely want to drain all the blood from it, eliminating anything that might offend somebody or give a parent something to worry about. Many would be happy to keep Halloween around as long as the witches wear bicycle helmets instead of dangerously pointy hats. Barring that, they’ll sadly sacrifice a school’s celebrations altogether, suggesting softly as they wield the knife that it’s all for the best, really; all those costumes and candies were distracting the kids from their lessons.

Source

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The myth that the right dominates online debate will only be challenged by a concerted, organised initiative from the other side.

That, very strange if you read it carefully, sentiment was produced by Sunny Hundal, himself very influential, if slightly incoherent at times, blogger.

In the above quote he states that the right does not dominate the online debate, this domination being a myth (who and for what purpose created it, Sunny keeps to himself).

But then – read the article – Sunny goes out of his way of explaining how the right does this (the domination) and how to fight it.

C’mon people, get organised!

Yeah, well…

SimplyJews

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Depressed because you can’t find the right disguise for Halloween? Fret no more—the blog quebecois is on the case!

For some years now (and for some strange reason) Forbes.com has been putting up pictures of the famous and infamous, suitable for downloading, printing and cutting out for Halloween masks. (They print out at a larger size than illustrated.) If Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn’t do it for you, there are 17 others, ranging from Britney Spears to the entire cast of 2008 Presidential candidates. Or you can scroll down the page and select someone from their archives, dating back to 2003.

No, don’t thank me. It’s all part of the service. Now dry those tears (not good for the masks, especially if you use the same cheap paper as me) and get out there and party like it’s 1999.

the blog québécois

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Eddie Jordan is is the sitting Democratic district attorney for Orleans Parish, Louisiana. He is black. When he gained office, he replaced a whole group of white employees by blacks. The white employees sued and were awarded compensation. That was in 2005 but Jordan has just ignored the court award.

So the employees have just been authorized by a judge to seize all the assets of the DA’s office. That seems to have forced Jordan into “discussions” with the lawyers for the employees. Maybe the lawyers really will have to take over his office before this scofflaw DA coughs up.

The Dems sure can find some great candidates for high office, can’t they? Who else would even tolerate a scofflaw DA?

If he had been a white Republican, the national media would have been all over this years ago. But they seem to accept from African-Americans exactly the sort of behavior that has made Africa such a lawless place. I can’t see that they do anybody any favors by that. It’s just another form of racism. They judge a man by his race and have different standards for different races.

More details here

Update:

Black racist Jordan has resigned and black racist Mayor Nagin of “chocolate city” fame has said that the city will not pay the court award —so it looks like the seizure of the DA’s assets will go ahead. That’s black USA, apparently.

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I have already had my “scary” bit for this Halloween season. Hearing that you have colon cancer will do that for you.

Anyway have a good and safe one.

Have a read of this which is in praise of Halloween.

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The excellent website, American Thinker, published an article yesterday that should not go without notice: Happy Cyrus Day should be brought to the attention of all, especially self indulgent postmodern thinkers, relativists, and peace loving surrender types. I believe the message is multi faceted, but one undeniable point is that Peace Through Strength worked 2500 years ago and will still work today. We marked a prime example yesterday, of note also because of the ancestry of Cyrus the Great.

The solution to the problematic Middle East presented itself then and could work today, if we could only wade through the rising tide of failure oriented, politically motivated, self serving bureaucrats, understand the cultural obstacles we face and focus our energy on properly targeted solutions. We could argue endlessly about the viability of a solution rooted in simple acknowledgment of human nature and a show of strength. My argument is that we ignore history and unchanging human nature to our own detriment.

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This could be a serious case for theologists:

A notorious Italian mafioso has fathered a child from behind bars despite being denied private visits from his wife.

Raffaele Cutolo’s daughter was born after he won a legal battle to become a father through artificial insemination.

He married his wife, Immacolata, in jail in 1983. The couple never consummated their marriage.

Is the wife allowed to keep her name?

SimplyJews

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I often find that subjects related to independent living are “owned” by those who would fit in a broad leftist category bounded by gentle earth muffins on one side and anarchists on the other. That is not helpful to encourage the reacquisition of independence among everyone in society; rather, it guarantees independent living is relegated to the fringe.

Independent thinking and living in general is a very good thing to pursue. We have all unintentionally surrendered our minds and our lifestyles to institutions in the interest of getting things done in an efficient manner. Grocery stores, hospitals, schools, workplaces, churches and governments are large centralized repositories we created to move and store the stuff and ideas we need to live. Unfortunately we have lost our independent thinking and skills in the process.

When we start to think about independence, we may be put off by what we encounter, either from a political or skill building perspective. I ran into this when re-entering the prep world after the New England ice storm of 1998 – everything was “survivalist” mentality clumsily modified to fit (not really) into a suburban world. I think that hinders rather than helps to encourage rational independence. There is a very simple, more rational and natural way to think: Ask yourself how your grandparents did things. It’s really that simple; mentally take everything back to the days before huge private and government institutions advertised and legislated their ways (with our willing compliance) into every crevice of our lives.

We should all take easy first steps to experience success and build encouragement to pursue more independence. When is the last time you changed a tire? Do you know where the stuff is in your vehicle to do it? Can you, your husband/wife, and your kids all successfully unscrew the spark plug from your push mower, clean it and reinstall it? The road to independence does not start with suspicion, tinfoil hats, and survivalist catalogs – go find those tire tools & figure out how to use them!

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the blog québécois

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“The Conservative Muslim Forum, a body established by Michael Howard and supported by David Cameron to advise the Conservatives on Muslim issues, has articulated some of its policy demands.” Think things that would make the now-banned Monday Club blanch and give it a Islamic twist. Reform is a word these people don’t even know how to contemplate.

read more | digg story

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They have a long tradition of it:

“Less than a month after Columbia University gave Holocaust denier, Iranian president Ahmadinejad, a platform in the name of freedom of expression, the Oxford University debating society has contacted Holocaust denier David Irving using the same argument and asked him to participate in one of the society’s forums in November. The club also wants to invite Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, and chairman of the British Nationalist Party (BNP), Nick Griffin.

Debating society president, Luke Tryl, told the British Guardian newspaper that the Oxford Union debating society “is famous for is commitment to free speech” and that the three had been invited despite their “awful and abhorrent views” He argued that the students at Oxford are intelligent enough to challenge and ridicule them….

Last month Irving told the Guardian that his views on the Holocaust have not changed at all and that his views have become stronger over the years. In several books he plans to publish soon, Irving maintains that “the Jews are the architects of what happened to them in the Second World War” and that the “Jewish problem” has been the cause of most wars in the past hundred years. Irving also claims that the gas chambers in Auschwitz never existed and that the camp was not an extermination camp and has only been publicized because it was well preserved.

Source

“Stirring the possum” (saying deliberately provocative things mainly for amusement) is a popular tradition in Australia too. And if students cannot rebel against conventions, who can? I think Irving is mainly a publicity-seeker these days too. What he says does vary a lot from time to time.

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There are many things that drive Leftists to hate the world they live in but there is one Leftist enemy of free speech (he condemns a wide variety of conservative utterances as “hate speech”) who seems to have a strange respect for society’s instititutions. I refer to the “Rev.” Jim Sutter. The “Rev.” title is at least a mail-order title but the many other titles and distinctions he claims for himself appear to be totally bogus. Below is one of his recent effusions:

“Perhaps someone could help Horowitz understand some basics of politics. First, leftists cannot, by definition, be fascists, they are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Secondly, Communist and Nazi ideology are mutually exclusive. It’s ironic, in almost every article by these hate mongers about their being greeted with skepticism at best, or being booed off the stage, or being completely banned from most campuses, the hate mongers claim that those who oppose them are “racists”, who are stifling “freedom of speech” (even though freedom of speech has no application in this particular situation, see Hate Speech vs. Free Speech entry, this blog), and offer nothing but insults to those who do not welcome Horowitz’s brand of racism with open arms.

Source

With that level of ignorance he could of course be an Ivy-League graduate but the ignorance is profound nonetheless. He is clearly a mental midget who NEEDS to claim various distinctions because he is deep-down aware of how little he really knows.

He of course offers no evidence for anything he says but full documentation of how very socialist Hitler was can be found here

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Central theme: “enjoyable as they are, pop-culture metaphors aren’t really of much use, especially when you’re up against cultures where life is still defined by how you live as opposed to what you experience via media”. Says Steyn, “Life is not a movie, especially when your enemies don’t watch the same movies…”

read more | digg story

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Moonbat is at it again. “They will dump their waste in other peoples’ habitats, they will cheat, lie, steal and kill. And if they have power and weapons, no-one will be able to stop them except those with more power and better weapons…” Lets see socialists national or internationalist leaders have killed how many over the past 150 years?

read more | digg story

Actually Moonbat is just evoking an idea that I have heard from lots of socialists and many Christian Democrats (either admitted or not) in the UK and in Europe. There is a true belief instilled in them that somehow believing in the personal sovereignty and intelligence of the individual over the collective is somehow evil. Yes, I had an Austrian Christian Democrat call me evil. Kinda rich coming from an Austrian methinks and I told him so at the time. Of course later that night I heard an Austrian rant about libertarians, Masons and, wait for it, the Jews ruining Europe.

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Devil’s Kitchen says a few words and has a good picture of some of the attendees to yesterday’s rally. He also has a few links to others who wrote up the impressive event. Its good to see so many people getting off their arses and doing something about the proposed changes to Britain’s relationship to the EU. Well done to all those attended.

read more | digg story

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Random surfing, besides being a sublime way to waste your time, sometimes brings you a rare gift that perks you up and enforces a reality check. Sometimes you need a jolt of ultra-right or extra-left to plant your feet back on the ground. Thanks to a random click, I have stumbled on this blog. Nothing unusual for a regular hardcore lefty – a quote from Fidel, links to Granma, Counterpunch, Electronic Intifada, whatnot. I was going to click out, and then my roving eye found the following:

The idea that Kim Jong Il “allowed a famine to kill 2 million of his own people” is so preposterous that I wouldn’t take it seriously, were it not for the fact that a mainstream publication chooses to publish it, and for my expectation that such a preposterous claim won’t even raise an eyebrow among its readers.

The post where the above quote appears is titled What planet is Fareed Zakaria on? If you don’t believe me, go there and make sure.

Thankfully, there is no need to comment on this. I wonder, what will that guy (girl?) say to this?

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Welcome to the October 28, 2007 edition of best of me symphony.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents It’s Not That I Don’t Like Movies, But… posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

TherapyDoc presents Secrets and Therapy posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, “Telling the kids. . .”

Edith presents The Secret Quotes posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Tupelo Kenyon presents Choose Excellence and Lose Mediocrity posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, “What if you knew that a life of excellence was lurking right around the corner, if you would only prioritize your moments in such a way so that you could recognize it. Take an objective look at the various activities of your life. Get inspired to lose the mediocre to make room for something better.”

blue skelton presents The Last Starfighter posted at Blue Skelton Publications, saying, “Here is my review of The Last Starfighter. It has been one of my most popular posts and I am very proud of it.”

Conan Stevens presents The 300 Workout – What A Load Of Bollocks posted at Conan Stevens Online, saying, “The truth behind the 300 Movie workout, so far this is the most popular article on my site…”

Michael Fowke presents A vision of Canary Wharf posted at Money is the way, saying, “My vision and a mystical celebration of the Canary Wharf financial centre in London’s Docklands.”

Rory presents What not to do in Australia: Of a different ‘strine posted at What not to do in Australia.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents The Cost Of Living With Pampered Pets In Luxury And Some Really Weird Pet Products posted at The Digerati Life.

Ashley presents Why It Pays to Be a Good Worker posted at College of Cash.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Ode To Unselfishness posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Linda Jo Martin presents Ten Tips For New Writers posted at Linda Jo Martin.

Amanda Regan presents A mother of excellence posted at The GOOD, The BAD & The MISCHIEF.

Tupelo Kenyon presents WordPress › Error posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, “When someone is talking to you, do you hear with your ears, monitor with your mind, or listen with your heart? Invest a few minutes thinking about the importance of listening well a deliberate conscious act and watch your relationships grow to a new level of closeness and understanding. (Enjoy soothing instrumental music as you read plus songs with lyrics related to each article all free.)”

Alex Blackwell presents 10 Things to Say or Do Every Day posted at The Next 45 Years.

Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents What Do You Really Want? posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat, saying, “Often we get into the habit of making choices based on what we think others would like us to choose. To please them. And we stop being in touch with what we’d really want. This recovering DoorMat gives tips for breaking those habits to make choices based on our needs, not the need to please.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of best of me symphony using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

There is a Britblog collection and SNN.

Technorati tags: best of me symphony, blog carnival.

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As the days get longer, the leaves get scarcer and the temperature drops people tend to start thinking about Christmas/Chanaukah and what they are going to give to people. While outdoor furniture or a porch swing might be a bit big of an item for some on your list there are plenty of other presents made of cedar that might suit like maybe a nice ceder chest for someone you know with a new house? Its especially good for newlyweds looking for a place to store things. There are all kinds of things made from quality wood. And cedar after all has the wonderful smell.

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“Dear Congressman Paul: Your Presidential campaign has drawn the enthusiastic support of an imposing collection of Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Holocaust Deniers, 9/11 “Truthers” and other paranoid and discredited conspiracists.

Do you welcome- or repudiate – the support of such factions?”

Fairly simple question for Rep. Paul. I wonder if he bothers to answer this.

read more | digg story

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Music Review: Nightwish, Visions of Atlantis, Epica and After Forever
It’s a symphonic metal theme in this Marty’s Musical Meltdown.

There is some discussion going on; you see an Evanescence fan has called all the bands in the review Euro-wannabes. Its always fun when the clueless come to trash your reviews. The nice thing about being on Blogcritics.com is there is always someone to come along and slap their arses down.

K T Dodge reports that the world of couture has discovered metal.

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In the boneheaded move of the year, conservative student group Young Americans for Freedom invited British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin, a flat-out racist and Holocaust denier, to speak about the dangers of Islam at Michigan State University: Protesters shout down anti-Islam speaker at MSU.

read more | digg story

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Excerpt:

Some of you may have noticed the absence of Rick Giles from this forum for the last month or so. He is not on vacation; he has not given up, or left in a huff. He is in jail, and has been since the 26th or 27th of September. He has been in prison, without arrest, without trial, without legal recourse or appeal, for almost a month. And why? What heinous crime, you might ask, warrants being thrown into jail with no rights, no information, and no idea how long hell be incarcerated? Well, the combined crimes of not being a US citizen and misreading the date on his tourist visa.

Rick was asking directions to the bus station, as pedestrians arent allowed to cross the border into Canada, on the 26th of last month. Instead of helping, the policeman took his ID, checked his visa, and found that instead of expiring on the 27th, as Rick believed, it expired on the 20th. He was taken into custody, and has been there ever since.

The INS, which is supposed to notify the New Zealand embassy whenever a NZ citizen is arrested, did not. His social worker, whom he requested get the address and phone number of the NZ consulate, got him the contact information for the embassy in New Zealand. If he hadnt written my phone number on his arm during the few moments he had alone with his stuff, nobody would have any idea where he is. He used his one phone-call to call me, and I have harassed, begged, and bluffed my way to getting his address, inmate number, and all the information I can get, which is woefully little.

I have made contact with the NZ consulate in Chicago, and the Embassy in Washington DC. I informed them that one of their citizens had been summarily tossed into prison for the smallest offense imaginable. Youll be glad to know that they are using their full diplomatic might on his behalf. They are making a file. They faxed him a letter informing him of his rights, which amount to nothing. They are very friendly and courteous, and try to be helpful. However, unless the US starts to torture Rick, theres nothing they can do. Apparently the US government can hold him as long as they want, for whatever reason (or lack thereof) they choose.

This is a plea, dear SOLOists, from me. If anyone has any experience with dealing with the INS, or with the US Justice system if anyone knows anything or anyone who can help, or even give advice, please contact me. I have done everything I can think of, and hes still there, no court date, no rights, and no expectation of release. I can write letters to him, and send him books, writing materials, and stamps. However, I dont even know where to begin to get him free.

Source

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While I am in hospital in early November getting rid of my cancer (hopefully) I have decided it might be a good idea to have a few guest bloggers to keep the place from getting dusty. They will be popping by to see if all is working fine and dandy over the next week. Please give them a warm welcome but do not hold back with yer comments. Bun fights and arguments are not only tolerated but encouraged. No hitting below the belt, eye gouging or harming of innocents please.

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Via: Theo

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World Science recently had a fairly conventional article on the deeply unpopular observations of James Watson that did however include this report:

But Linda S. Gottfredson, a sociologist at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del., defended Watson Thursday and called the museum’s cancellation of his appearance “an outrage.” “Prof. Watson’s views are actually in the mainstream of knowledgeable scientific opinion,” she wrote in an email. “The Museum is wrong on two counts: first, that certain scientific questions may not be debated, and, second, that Prof. Watson is surely mistaken and alone in his scientific judgment on group differences in average intelligence.

World Science got a lot of comments and email over it, including this profundity from a “philosopher”: Watson and his supporters like Gottfredson are clearly racists.

World Science now has a poll on the question. Finding truth by majority votes rather than by a careful examination of the known facts seems to be all the rage these days.

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Affirmative action causes less able blacks to pass through the educational system at all levels. So when they finally get to be teachers, it is reasonable to expect that they will be less able as teachers. And that is exactly what students report. They evaluate black faculty less favourably. PREJUDICE! Or so the authors below seem to think. They suggest that the evaluations of black faculty by students be “adjusted” upwards. Inconvenient truths must be suppressed! This is Soviet Russia, you know. Abstract follows:

Leveling the Playing Field: Should Student Evaluation Scores be Adjusted?

By Michael A. McPherson & R. Todd Jewell

Objectives. Colleges and universities routinely use evaluation scores to assess the quality of an instructor’s teaching for purposes of promotion and tenure and for merit-raise allocations. This article attempts to identify the determinants of these scores, and to suggest ways that departments’ numerical rankings of instructors might be adjusted.

Method. This article applies a feasible generalized least squares model to a panel of data from master’s-level classes.

Results. We find that instructors can “buy” better evaluation scores by inflating students’ grade expectations. Also, the teaching experience of instructors has an impact on evaluation scores, but this effect is largely seen as an increase after tenure is granted. In addition, we find evidence of a bias against nonwhite faculty.

Conclusion. Our results suggest that an adjustment to the usual departmental rankings may be in order.

Social Science Quarterly. Volume 88 Issue 3 Page 868-881, September 2007

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all over this . . . any day now:

U.S. combat troop deaths and other violence in Iraq are down significantly in some of the most dangerous places of insurgent activity, including Al Anbar province, military officials in Washington and Baghdad said Wednesday.

Maybe most significant was that last week there was not a single military casualty – Iraqi or U.S. – in Anbar, said Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, a Joint Chiefs spokesman. It is apparently the first time since March 2003 that could be said.

[ . . . ]

– Violence in and around Baghdad is down 59 percent. – Car bombs are down 65 percent. – Casualties from car bombs and roadside bombs are down by 80 percent. – Casualties from enemy attacks down 77 percent. – Operations against Iraqi security forces are down 62 percent. – Assassination attempts for sectarian reasons are down 72 percent.

the blog québécois

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Farewell Israel: Bush, Iran and the Revolt of Islam

This is a rather depressing and extensive documentary (145 minutes) on how badly the West and even the Jews do not get Islam at all. They routinely don’t even attempt to see the world as Islam sees and thus make loads of mistakes in dealing with Islam. We assume the best and get burnt every single damn time due to ignorance about the religion and its ultmate goals

This DVD, with a soundtrack from Bob Dylan’s backing band, tells the tale of the rise, fall and possible rise again of Islam. It tells the tale of Islam from its roots to its present behaviour. Think Robert Spencer’s books done for those who can’t be arsed to read at times meaty and esoteric tomes. Its more his Idiot’s Guide to Islam.

What is very interesting is the method in which they explain the gist of this documentary. Its done as if one is in a Mosque looking at various pieces of art on the wall; which each major point being a different picture. Chapters are set in different areas with the final prediction of all out war set in its own room.

Estras include Islamic art and the complete soundtrack in it entirety including the haunting track ‘By the Rivers of Babylon.” And no not the Boney M song.

This is a very pessimistic piece which I fear is spot on about Islam’s intentions for all of us. However, that said, this is not a subject to be taken lightly. This DVD should probably be required viewing for everyone both young and old in the West. Its blunt but equalling damning of the idiotic actions of the West and Israel when confronted by Islam.

I highly recommend this DVD to you. That is if you give a damn about what we are all up against.

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

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That is the implicit message of the academic journal article below. It could even be a correct message. That it is politically correct there can be no doubt.

The Coevolution of Parochial Altruism and War

By Jung-Kyoo Choi and Samuel Bowles

Altruism-benefiting fellow group members at a cost to oneself-and parochialism-hostility toward individuals not of one’s own ethnic, racial, or other group-are common human behaviors. The intersection of the two-which we term “parochial altruism”-is puzzling from an evolutionary perspective because altruistic or parochial behavior reduces one’s payoffs by comparison to what one would gain by eschewing these behaviors. But parochial altruism could have evolved if parochialism promoted intergroup hostilities and the combination of altruism and parochialism contributed to success in these conflicts. Our game-theoretic analysis and agent-based simulations show that under conditions likely to have been experienced by late Pleistocene and early Holocene humans, neither parochialism nor altruism would have been viable singly, but by promoting group conflict, they could have evolved jointly.

Science 26 October 2007: Vol. 318. no. 5850, pp. 636 – 640

Theory and simulations are a very weak basis source from which to draw any conclusions about real life but let us say for a while that we should take these results seriously. What conclusions can we draw from them?

Does it mean that all war is racist and that we should therefore refrain from war? Obviously not —or the overthrow of Hitler would be wrong and that was to a small degree actually an anti-racist war. Wars in antiquity also had very little to do with race. Ancient Rome was led by men of all races, not just the men of Latium. The Roman empire was in our terms quite non-racist. Yet it did an awful lot of wars of conquest and the result is generally regarded as a great spread of civilization.

And does all racism lead to war? It may —depending on how you define racism. It is certainly true that the primitive tribes of (say) New Guinea had just the combination of parochialism and altruism that the researchers above describe —and the “noble savages” concerned were almost continuously at war with one-another. But we today do not live in primitive tribes.

The British Empire was undoubtedly racist in the modern sense right into the early 20th century. As rulers of the largest empire the world has ever seen (or ever is likely to see) most Brits believed that British superiority was self-evident. But were they “parochial”? They were certainly often and justly described as “insular” but they were not parochial. They were famous as a nation of refuge for the persecuted of other lands (even for Karl Marx) and they did not have completely different rules for insiders and outsiders. Thanks in part to their Jewish cultural heritage (see, for instance, Exodus chapter 23), they believed in impartial justice for all and British justice was in fact at that time famous for exactly that.

Yes: I know that Mosaic justice DID discriminate in some ways between Hebrews and non-Hebrews but it did also stress impartiality and it was certainly the message of impartiality that British Christians got from the Old Testament (Exodus is where those pesky “Ten Commandments” come from). It even led British Christians to see slavery as unjust —a quite unheard-of notion up until that time.

Indians even sat in the British parliament in the imperial period and when a British army general went over the line in his efforts to maintain imperial order, as General Dyer did in the Amritsar massacre, sanctions came into play and General Dyer was dismissed. At the very height of the empire, the British Conservative Party even made a Jew their Prime Minister—and a Jew who flaunted his Jewish difference at that. How “hostile” to outsiders can you get?

Nobody would claim perfection for British society of the imperial period (though I personally think it was remarkably good) but it was recognizably at least as fair and impartial as the most fanatically anti-racist society the world has ever seen: The USA of today. So even racist societies may not be parochial and the societies of the Anglosphere today are certainly not parochial. So the “research” reported above is essentially irrelevant to anything but an understanding of primitive tribes.

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As winter begins to come to where you live with its rain, and in some cases snow, it might be a good idea to reconsider paving your driveway. As the weather gets more inclement dirt driveways can become an increasing nuisance whether its the dirt you track into your house or the cleanliness of your car. Sorting your driveway before the winter is one of those Home improvements its a good idea to consider this time of year.

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