Freedom & Progress

Here are two stories that deal with the tension between the modern women's rights movement and Islam. In particular, these articles are noteworthy because the authors boldly assert a moral superiority - (rare these days) - of western-style women's rights to the apparent institutional misogyny of much of the Islamic world.

Women and Islam by Cathy Young

Is the Problem Islam? by Asra Nomani

How can government attempt to legislate historical truth? Or as Timothy Garton Ash puts it, "What right has France to prescribe by law the correct historical terminology to characterize what another nation did to a third nation 90 years ago?"

It is remarkable how eager leftists are to suppress freedom of thought and expression. Denouncing freedom was once the provice of rightist fascists. Presently, the left are ones eager to shout down any dissent from its orthodoxy. What would Jefferson say?

Economic growth, low unemployment (particularly among those with college education - 2%), a signficant decline (20%) in oil prices, along with the discovery of significant U.S. oil reserves, as well as a 1.3% increase in hourly workers compensation signifies that despite war, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and even Mark Foley's emails, the United States is doing quite well.

George Will explains it better than Publicola.

This is the situation the world is dealing with.

Hitchens' 2000 visit to the land of the Dear Leader.

NPR Morning Edition's interview with Guy Delisle.

Guy Delisle's illustration excerpts from this book on the Slave State.

Update:

China, Russia May Delay U.N. Resolution -What nuclear threat? How the Russians and Chinese take the stick away and only leave carrots.

Before it gets shut down, here is the Southpark episode confronting the insanity of the 9/11 Conspiracy types.

And here is a link with some of the conspiracy theorists' insane responses and another bloggers' witty commentary.