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🔎
Readings
Map
1
#684415
CONTEXT
(Help)
■
Readings
Readings☜☜F1CEB7
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Why Putin is beholden to Stalin's legacy »
Why Putin is beholden to Stalin's legacy
Why Putin is beholden to Stalin's legacy☜(Simon Sebag Montefiore, New Statesman, 9 March 2022)The author of this article, a well known historian and TV presenter, analyzes the similarities and the differences between Stalin and Putin, and what they reveal about the latters behaviour. They have different ideological agendas, but a common commitment to autocratic rule to bring them to fruition. The key insight into Putins mentality is his background in the secret police—in Russian/Soviet parlance he is a chekist.☜FFB597
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Russia's surprising military blunders in Ukraine »
Russia's surprising military blunders in Ukraine
Russia's surprising military blunders in Ukraine☜(Sean Maloney interviewed by John Kay, Quillette, 9 March 2022)We now know definitively that the Russians expected their invasion and regime change operation to be done-and-dusted within a few days. This was also the view of most outside observers, given the overwhelming preponderance of force. What went wrong? A professor at Canadas Royal Military College offers his analysis.☜FFB597
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Why John Mearsheimer blames the U.S. for the crisis in Ukraine »
Why John Mearsheimer blames the U.S. for the crisis in Ukraine
Why John Mearsheimer blames the U.S. for the crisis in Ukraine☜(John Mearsheimer interviewed by Isaac Chatineer, The New Yorker, 1 March 2022)John Mearsheimer is regarded as the doyen of the conservative realist school of international relations that holds that states, whatever their professed motivations, such as democracy promotion, act to maximize their interests. As such, he was a stern critic of NATO expansion into the former Warsaw Pact states. How well have his predictions held up in light of events?☜FFB597
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A lesson in energy masochism »
A lesson in energy masochism
A lesson in energy masochism☜(Editorial board, The Wall Street Journal, 1 March 2022)A major weakness in the Wests position as it sought to deal with Putins aggression is the dependence of Europe on Russian hydrocarbon exports—gas, oil and coal. This article describes how Europe ended up in this predicament, deepening this dependency even after Putin started to weaponize these exports.☜FFB597
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NATO members mount huge resupply operation »
NATO members mount huge resupply operation
NATO members mount huge resupply operation☜(Mathew Luxmoore, The Wall Street Journal, 8 March 2022)President Zelensky has complained bitterly about the failure of NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. This was a non-starter for the very good reason that it would likely result in US and Russia aircraft shooting at each other, with potentially catastrophic consequences. However in lieu of that the NATO nations have mounted an effort with few historical precedents to arm the Ukrainian forces.☜FFB597
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Regathering of the Russian lands »
Regathering of the Russian lands
Regathering of the Russian lands☜(Anatoly Karlin, Akalin Substack, 16 February 2022)The author, a well-known Russian blogger of the Putinite nationalist persuasion, provides a useful insight into the mentality of those of his ilk and their vision of the world as a collection of civilization states, each dominated by a great power, not exactly autarkic but culturally self-enclosed. ☜FFB597
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Vladimir Putin's clash of civilizations »
Vladimir Putin's clash of civilizations
Vladimir Putin's clash of civilizations☜(Ross Douthat, The New York Times, 26 February 2022)This article suggests that Putin actually has a vision of what a new world order according with his values might look like. It is a vision that rejects universalism of any kind, but rather a world divided into civilization states, culturally cohesive great powers that aspire to become universes unto themselves. This idea is made explict by some Russian nationalist writers like Anatoly Karlin— see adjoining item.☜FFB597
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Germany, in historic reversal, abandons pro-Putin Russia policy »
Germany, in historic reversal, abandons pro-Putin Russia policy
Germany, in historic reversal, abandons pro-Putin Russia policy☜(Soeren Kern, Gatestone Institute, 1 March 2022)One of the most astonishing short-term effects of the Ukraine invasion is the effective reversal of decades of defense and energy policy by the German government, one with with an SDP chancellor and a Green foreign minister. The article describes these changes in detail, citing key sections of chancellor Olaf Scholzs speech to the Bundestag announcing them.☜FFB597
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The Russian spy boss humiliated by Putin »
The Russian spy boss humiliated by Putin
The Russian spy boss humiliated by Putin☜(Ricardo de Querol, El Pais, 24 February 2022)At the meeting of Russias Security Council just before the Ukraine invasion, the Chief of Foreign Intelligence Sergey Narylshkin made a halting, nervous attempt to put the brakes on what we can surmise he considered a rash enterprise, only to be brutally slapped down by Putin. This article adds an additional important detail: the video stream of this is what is termed a fake live stream, actually delayed to allow editing. ☜FFB597
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War propaganda becoming more militaristic, authoritarian and reckless »
War propaganda becoming more militaristic, authoritarian and reckless
War propaganda becoming more militaristic, authoritarian and reckless☜(Glen Greenwald, Substack, 28 February 2022)The author is a well-known American leftist, though one who has become a strong critic of cancel culture and the wokeist ideology. While by no means a defender of Putin, he has criticized the tenor of debate about the war, especially what he sees as the vilification of dissidents. In this article he raises the prospect that it could lead to a wider war, with disastrous consequences.☜FFB597
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What's on Putin's mind? »
What's on Putin's mind?
What's on Putin's mind?☜(Nina L. Krushcheva, Project Syndicate, 25 February 2022)This article, by the great granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, now a Professor of International Affairs at the New School in New York, tries to understand what really motivated Putin to invade Ukraine. Like many others these days, she rejects the long-held view that he is a rationally calculating autocrat, but rather is ideologically obsessed with gathering in the traditional Russian lands.☜FFB597
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NATO enlargement and Russia: Die-hard myths and real dilemmas »
NATO enlargement and Russia: Die-hard myths and real dilemmas
NATO enlargement and Russia: Die-hard myths and real dilemmas☜(Michael Rühle, NDC Research Report, 15 May 2014)One of the recurring claims both by Russia and some members of the foreign policy establishment in the West is that the enlargement of NATO to include former Warsaw Pact members was seen as a provocation and a threat by Russia, largely explaining what has transpired in Georgia and Ukraine. This paper by a senior NATO official addresses this and related arguments in detail. Obviously an interested party, but well worth reading.☜FFB597
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Can Russia actually control Ukraine? »
Can Russia actually control Ukraine?
Can Russia actually control Ukraine?☜(Interview with Gen David Petraeus, The Atlantic, 24 February 2022)Could Russia become bogged down in a prolonged and very costly insurgency in the Ukraine? One of the worlds most prominent experts on counter-insurgency warfare explains why this is a distinct possibility.☜59C6EF
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China's Ukraine crisis »
China's Ukraine crisis
China's Ukraine crisis☜(Jude Blanchette and Bonny Lin, Foreign Affairs, 21 February 2022)At the Beijing winter olympics China and Russia entered into a no limits partnership agreement, including supporting each others position on Taiwan and Ukraine respectively. This article contends that this agreement poses a significant dilemma for Beijing, underming the latters global aspirations.☜59C6EF
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Do race academics matter? »
Do race academics matter?
Do race academics matter?☜(Timothy Cootes, Quadrant, 30 December 2021)Critical Race Theory originated in American law schools, metastasizing out to become pervasive throughout humanities and social science faculties in America, and then to the wider world, including Australia. This article is a pungent and hilarious review of a recent book by Australias leading practitioner of CRT, Associate Professor Alana Lentin of Western Sydney university.☜59C6EF
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How China captured Hollywood »
How China captured Hollywood
How China captured Hollywood☜(Erich Schwartzel, The Atlantic, 8 February 2022)This article describes another example of the corruption of corporate America in the face of the Chinese Communist Party regime, with specific reference to the movie industry. It describes how top executives were more than willing to facilitate and support the Chinese industry as an instance of the regimes soft power, and to cooperate in censoring American made films to meet its sensibilities.☜59C6EF
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Putin's spiritual destiny »
Putin's spiritual destiny
Putin's spiritual destiny☜(Giles Fraser, UnHerd, 24 February 2022)What motivated Putin to embark on his risky invasion of Ukraine? Some observers, having read his long speech of February 21 in which he seems to dispute the very legitimacy of Ukraine as a country, concluded that he is mad—a high performing psycopath according to one. This author has a different take, arguing there is a spiritual method in his apparent madeness.☜59C6EF
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Introducing Race Marxism »
Introducing Race Marxism
Introducing Race Marxism☜(James Lindsay, New Discourses YouTube channel, 16 February 2022)James Lindsay is an American mathematician who has made it his mission in life to challenge the intellectual core of what we commonly call woke ideology. As part of this admirable project, he has just written a new book titled Race Marxism, the thesis of which he summarizes in this video.☜59C6EF
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The West is sleepwalking into war in Ukraine »
The West is sleepwalking into war in Ukraine
The West is sleepwalking into war in Ukraine☜(Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy, 23 February 2022)The author, one of the doyens of the realist school of international relations, is perplexed by several features of the Wests response to Russian aggression against Ukraine. Surely, he suggests, things could have been worked out with due recognition of Russias concerns and a bit of reasonable accommodation.☜59C6EF
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Are we closer to Bradbury's dystopia than Orwell's or Huxley's? »
Are we closer to Bradbury's dystopia than Orwell's or Huxley's?
Are we closer to Bradbury's dystopia than Orwell's or Huxley's?☜(David S. Wills, Quillette, 12 February 2022)Those inclined to view our civilizational predicament in dystopian terms often reference either George Orwells 1984 or Aldous Huxleys Brave New World, or both. The author of this piece argues Ray Bradburys Farenheit 451 provides a better analogy.☜59C6EF
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Stunning new evidence re Trump spying allegations »
Stunning new evidence re Trump spying allegations
Stunning new evidence re Trump spying allegations☜(Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner, 12 February 2022)If you followed the Muller investigation into allegations of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia that dominated American politics for three years you would be aware of Trump claiming that he had been spied on during the 2016 campaign and after. These allegations were routinely ridiculed and censored by the mainstream media and social media. Recent revelations provide confirmation that Trump was right about this.☜59C6EF
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Would permanently excluding Ukraine from NATO have satisfied Russia? »
Would permanently excluding Ukraine from NATO have satisfied Russia?
Would permanently excluding Ukraine from NATO have satisfied Russia?☜(Proposed agreement between Russia and NATO, 17 December 2021)One of Russias demands in the lead up to the invasion was that Ukraine, which has applied to join NATO, be permanently excluded. Some Western commentators have argued that, given there is little prospect of it being admitted in the forseable future anyway, this might have defused the crisis. Does this argument stand up?☜59C6EF
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How Russia hooked Europe on its oil and gas »
How Russia hooked Europe on its oil and gas
How Russia hooked Europe on its oil and gas☜(Ryan Haddad, The Conversation, 13 February 2022)At his joint press conference with the Ukrainian foreign minister on 23 February Antony Blinken announced that the US and its NATO allies would steadily ramp up economic sanctions against Russia if it continued its aggression against Ukraine. The weak link in this strategy is Europe—and especially Germanys — reliance on Russian gas. Will they hold the line with the prospect of shivering constituents next winter?☜59C6EF
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Why "anti-racism" should be resisted »
Why "anti-racism" should be resisted
Why "anti-racism" should be resisted☜(Asra Q. Nomani, UnHerd, 12 February 2022)This article, written by an Indian immigrant from a Muslim background, provides a disturbing account of the effective re-segregation of schooling in the United States under the banner of anti-racism, which as understood by academic race-mongers means something close to the opposite of what most people think of as opposition to racism.☜59C6EF
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Free speech in the UK? »
Free speech in the UK?
Free speech in the UK?☜(Judith Bergman, Gatestone Institute, 12 February 2022)What is the state of freedom of speech in the UK? Pretty sick, according to this author, drawing on poll data and a succession of exemplary instances of speech suppression. The phenomena she describes are mirrored in other democracies seriously infected with the woke mind virus.☜59C6EF
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Taking the low road: China's influence in Aust states and territories »
Taking the low road: China's influence in Aust states and territories
Taking the low road: China's influence in Aust states and territories☜(John Fitzgerald Ed, Aust Strategic Policy Institute, 15 February 2022)A number of authors, including Australian Clive Hamilton, have written extensively about the CCP regimes influence operations in Australia and globally. This contribution by ASPI extends this analysis with a comprehensive account of the targeting of sub-national entities in this country—states, local governments and the universities.☜59C6EF
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The neoliberal war on dissent in the West »
The neoliberal war on dissent in the West
The neoliberal war on dissent in the West☜(Glen Greenwald, Substack, 21 February 2022)The author of this article contends that the crackdown on the truckers in Canada is just the most recent, and extreme, instance of a growing recourse by Western governments to repressive measures against those deemed beyond the pale, their opinions not even worthy of consideration, borderline seditionists, aka the Deplorables.☜59C6EF
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Fusion power is coming »
Fusion power is coming
Fusion power is coming☜(Robert Zubrin, Quillette, 21 February 2022)The vast potential of fusion power has been talked about for decades, starting with the British physicist Sir Arthur Eddington in 1920. Yet it always seems over an ever-receding horizon. The author of this article points to recent developments that could see achievement of the break even point, where the power output is greater than that needed to sustain the reaction, by the end of this decade.☜59C6EF
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The Silencing: a special report on China and the Uyghurs »
The Silencing: a special report on China and the Uyghurs
The Silencing: a special report on China and the Uyghurs☜(Katie Stallard and others, New Statesman, 16 February 2022)The incarceration of the Uyghurs is the greatest mass internment of an ethno-religious minority since the fall of the Third Reich. Yet Western elites, especially those in the corporate sector with major interests in China, either ignore or seek to minimize this atrocity. To its credit, New Statesman has decided to devote a special issue to the topic.☜59C6EF
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Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an insider now? »
Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an insider now?
Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an insider now?☜(David Remnick, The New Yorker, 14 February 2022)The answer to the question posed in the title of this article is—Yes, AOC is an insider now, notwithstanding efforts by Pelosi and others to downplay the significance of The Squad. How is she an influence? By virtue of the terror of their moderate elders, not least majority leader Senator Chuck Schumer, of being subjected to primary challenges by AOC and her acolytes.☜59C6EF
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A life that doesn't matter »
A life that doesn't matter
A life that doesn't matter☜Have you ever heard of Tony Timpa? If not, you are hardly unique. Timpa, a Texan man, was killed by Dallas police officers in 2016 in virtually identical circumstances to those that caused the death of Georg Floyd. Yet there has been miniscule media coverage, and zero interest from civil liberties and human rights groups. So what gives?☜59C6EF
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America's asymmetric civil war »
America's asymmetric civil war
America's asymmetric civil war☜Since the 1980s American politics has become increasingly polarized, as many have noted. This article draws attention to how this has coincided with a dramatic change in the social makeup of the support bases of the two main parties. In terms of income and wealth, he likens the Democratic party base to an hourglass, whereas the G0P resembles a diamond. (Michael Lind, Tablet Magazine, 6 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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Anomalies in the Chinese Covid data »
Anomalies in the Chinese Covid data
Anomalies in the Chinese Covid data☜(George Calhoun, Forbes magazine, 11 January 2022)A widely held view is that the approach to suppressing the virus in China, while brutal, has been effective, making possible the realistic pursuit of a zero Covid policy. However this assessment depends on the reliability of the CCP regimes official statistics. This article argues there are huge anomalies, including some patent absurdities, in these statistics.☜59C6EF
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Australia's surprising Covid excess death count »
Australia's surprising Covid excess death count
Australia's surprising Covid excess death count☜(Our World in Data, 9 February 2022)How to disaggregate deaths FROM Covid from deaths WITH Covid, people with other possibly lethal comorbidities who might have died soon anyway? Some experts argue the most meaningful measure is the excess death count that compares the number of deaths from all causes with what would have been expected from adjusted historical data. You might be surprised to learn how Australia has done on that measure.☜59C6EF
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Biden's budget priorities and the China threat »
Biden's budget priorities and the China threat
Biden's budget priorities and the China threat☜The CCP regime is massively expanding its military capabilities both in size and technological sophistication to the point where it will soon be, if it is not already, a peer military competitor to the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, and set to overtake it in the years to come. Is this situation adequately reflected in the Biden administrations budgetary priorities? (Chris Farrell, Gatestone Institute, 12 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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Big help with a little badmouth »
Big help with a little badmouth
Big help with a little badmouth☜(Brittany Bernstein, National Review, 4 February 2022)In their efforts to cultivate Western elites the CCP regime is generally prepared to overlook some criticism of the regime by those they are suborning so they can preserve a modicum of credibility, provided their targets continue to deliver on what really matters to them such as on investment, trade, intellectual property—and participation in and media coverage of the Olympic Games. They call this big help with a little badmouth.☜59C6EF
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Cancelled New York Times journalist's anti-woke manifesto »
Cancelled New York Times journalist's anti-woke manifesto
Cancelled New York Times journalist's anti-woke manifesto☜The author of this article, Bari Weiss, is a former journalist and editor at the New York Times and a self-described centrist who resigned after being subjected to a relentless campaign of vilification and harassment for not toing the line favored by young activists at the journal who see journalism as a species of activism and the ideal of objectivity is deprecated. This is her anti-woke manifesto. (Bari Weiss, Commentary, November 2021)☜59C6EF
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China: Friend or Foe? Oxford Union debate »
China: Friend or Foe? Oxford Union debate
China: Friend or Foe? Oxford Union debate☜(Sir Vince Cable and Dr Michael Pilsbury, Oxford Union, 17 January 2022)A most interesting debate about relations between China and the West by two people well versed in their respective positions. Sir Vince Cable is a former cabinet minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. Dr Michael Pilsbury is Director of the Center on Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute and was an adviser on China to the Trump administration.☜59C6EF
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China's sway over Australian universities »
China's sway over Australian universities
China's sway over Australian universities☜How to assess the extent and significance of CCP corruption of Australias universities? In this insightful analysis, the author argues there is more to it than the occasional threat to fee income from Chinese students. He contends that research funding is a more important source of leverage, especially in STEM fields. (Salvatore Babones, Quadrant, 29 December 2021)☜59C6EF
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Covid and Big Pharma: The debate about cheap generic drugs »
Covid and Big Pharma: The debate about cheap generic drugs
Covid and Big Pharma: The debate about cheap generic drugs☜Have the big pharmaceutical companies conspired to undermine support for the use of cheap generic drugs in the early treatment of Covid-19, and to discredit the highly qualified clinicians who have advocated for them? This article, by one of the most prominent advocates for ivermectin, makes the case that they have. (Dr Pierre Kory, Substack, 6 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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CRT in schools— Virginia puts NSW to shame »
CRT in schools— Virginia puts NSW to shame
CRT in schools— Virginia puts NSW to shame☜In the recent election for governor in the US state of Virginia a key issue was Critical RAce Theory indoctrination in schools, with the successful GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin pledging to abolish it on the day he took office, which he fulfilled with a precisely worded executive order. What a contrast with the truly pathetic performance of the NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell. (Glenn Youngkin, Executive Order No. 1, 15 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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Data scientist fired from Reuters for questioning BLM »
Data scientist fired from Reuters for questioning BLM
Data scientist fired from Reuters for questioning BLM☜The Reuters Thompson media conglomerate has just fired a superlatively qualified data scientist for refusing to submit to having his thoughts reprogrammed by the companys diversity and inclusion bureaucracy. His crime? Suggesting that BLM demands like defunding the police would wreak havoc on black communities.☜59C6EF
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Does the CCP control Extinction Rebellion? »
Does the CCP control Extinction Rebellion?
Does the CCP control Extinction Rebellion?☜Are Western environmentalists succumbing to the Chinese Communist Partys discourse control strategy? Open source material cited in this article provides disturbing evidence that environmental groups in the West are prime targets for CCP influence operations, and that they have already achieved significant success.☜59C6EF
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Facebook versus the BMJ: when fact checking goes wrong »
Facebook versus the BMJ: when fact checking goes wrong
Facebook versus the BMJ: when fact checking goes wrong☜(Rebecca Coombes and Madlen Davies, British Medical Journal, 19 January 2022)A third-party company engaged by Facebook to fact check entries has just flagged as inaccurate an article in the British Medical Journal, the venerable publication that, since 1840 when it published the first article on general anesthesia, has been regarded as one of the worlds most reliable sources of medical information.☜59C6EF
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Gallant little Lithuania »
Gallant little Lithuania
Gallant little Lithuania☜(Luke McGee, CNN, 30 January 2022)Australia is not the only country to be subjected to punitive trade policies by the CCP regime for taking steps that do not conform to the latters wishes. An object lesson on how to stand up to CCP bullying has been provided by the tiny European country Lithuania, population 3 million. But will it receive effective support from its EU partners?☜59C6EF
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How Britain became Putin's playground »
How Britain became Putin's playground
How Britain became Putin's playground☜(Oliver Bullough, UnHerd, 2 February 2022)For decades, London has been a playground for oligarchs, spivs and criminals from around the world, especially Russia and the Middle East. What is the attraction? The financial system, as it currently functions, has been uniquely useful to these types for money laundering operations, a problem that successive governments of all persuasions have been reluctant to tackle effectively. Is this about to change?☜59C6EF
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How feminism ate itself »
How feminism ate itself
How feminism ate itself☜Does the embrace of intersectionality spell the end of the feminist movement? The author of this article thinks so.☜59C6EF
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How our universities became sheep factories »
How our universities became sheep factories
How our universities became sheep factories☜A Cambridge philosophy professor expresses dismay at the indoctrination of students at his and other universities that is passed off as diversity training and race awareness where students are expected to accept unquestioningly certain ideologically loaded propositions such as racism is everywhere and acknowledge their personal guilt. (Arif Ahmed, Unherd, 14 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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How to deal with the "seditionists" »
How to deal with the "seditionists"
How to deal with the "seditionists"☜In my article on the Capitol riot and its aftermath I mentioned an article in The Atlantic magazine by Anne Applebaum, a well known and highly respected journalist and historian who has written a number of important books, including an excellent history of the Gulag that I read a long time ago. It seems the Capitol riot has caused her to lose perspective, to put it mildly. She thinks the tens of millions who harbour doubts about the election are best described as seditionists.☜59C6EF
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If you hate the culture wars, blame liberals »
If you hate the culture wars, blame liberals
If you hate the culture wars, blame liberals☜(Kevin Drum blog, 3 July 2021)A common observation about modern day politics is that it has become much more polarized, with both left and right moving to more strongly partisan positions. But which side has moved the most? I recently came across this article by a self-described liberal that presents data indicating the left has moved far more than the right. What is going on? ☜59C6EF
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Imperial College London cancels Thomas Huxley »
Imperial College London cancels Thomas Huxley
Imperial College London cancels Thomas Huxley☜(Stephen Warren, Quillette, 21 January 2022)Imperial College London has just received a report from a History Group set up to consider how the colleges history, and especially its founders, the biologist Thomas Henry Huxley and the mining magnate Alfred Beit, should be viewed to make it more inclusive. The group found that both these figures fell far short of Imperials modern values and should therefore be cancelled. ☜59C6EF
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Intel's groveling China apology »
Intel's groveling China apology
Intel's groveling China apology☜The American chip-maker Intel has publicly apologized for a letter it sent to its global suppliers asking them to avoid sourcing items from Xinjiang, after a regime-orchestrated social media storm. Another depressing instance of corporate America bowing to the CCP regime to protect its market share.☜59C6EF
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Johns Hopkins analysis disputes the effectiveness of lockdowns »
Johns Hopkins analysis disputes the effectiveness of lockdowns
Johns Hopkins analysis disputes the effectiveness of lockdowns☜(Jonas Herby, Lars Jonung and Steve H. Hanke, Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, January 2022)A group of applied economists affiliated with Johns Hopkins university have released a meta-analysis of a large number of studies of the effectiveness of lockdowns and arrived at the surprising conclusion that they have been singularly ineffective at reducing Covid deaths. But does it stand up?☜59C6EF
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Killing the Wuhan lab leak theory »
Killing the Wuhan lab leak theory
Killing the Wuhan lab leak theory☜(Nicholas Wade, City Journal, 23 January 2022)On 31 January 2020 a group of four virologists wrote to Dr Anthony Fauci after the genomic sequence for Covid had been published stating that, in their view, the genome was inconsistent with evolutionary theory and therefore likely originated in a laboratory. In response Fauci organized an urgent teleconference for the following day, and three days later the group reversed their finding. What happened in the interval? ☜59C6EF
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Meritocracy's cost »
Meritocracy's cost
Meritocracy's cost☜This is a review, written by a well-known conservative, of a book by a left-wing author that challenges the idea that a society that functions as a pure meritocracy is either desirable or just. Rather than a hostile review, it expresses a surprising degree of concurrence with the authors concerns. (Charles Murray, Claremont Review of Books, Summer 2021)☜59C6EF
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New study says lockdowns don't work. Fact or fiction? »
New study says lockdowns don't work. Fact or fiction?
New study says lockdowns don't work. Fact or fiction?☜(Mallen Baker, YouTube video, 8 February 2022)A new study released by a group of applied economists at Johns Hopkins university finds that lockdowns, even the most severe stay-in-place orders, have had minimal effect on Covid deaths, and that therefore they do not justify the severe privations the lockdowns have caused. The paper has been strongly challenged by some epidemiologists. This video is a scrupulously fair weighing of the arguments, and finds the study wanting.☜59C6EF
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Proposed new terrorism law would exclude jihadists »
Proposed new terrorism law would exclude jihadists
Proposed new terrorism law would exclude jihadists☜As part of its response to the Capitol riot, the Biden administration has proposed a new domestic terrorism law that would shift the focus overwhelmingly towards white supremacist groups. According to former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, who led the prosecution of the blind sheik who organized the earlier attack on the World Trade Center, the new law would effectively exclude jihadist terror from its ambit.☜59C6EF
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Reuters: FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was co-ordinated »
Reuters: FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was co-ordinated
Reuters: FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was co-ordinated☜According to a Reuters report, the FBI has found little evidence that the Jan 6 riot was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election by right-wing groups or supporters of Donald Trump.☜59C6EF
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Should race matter when choosing Supreme Court justices? »
Should race matter when choosing Supreme Court justices?
Should race matter when choosing Supreme Court justices?☜(Alan Dershowitz, Gatestone Institute, 28 January 2022)With the announced resignation from the Supreme Court of Stephen Breyer, Joe Biden announced he would be appointing a black woman to the post. But is this unconstitutional? One of the most prominent Democrat affiliated constitutional law experts explores this issue.☜59C6EF
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The CCP and the problem of "elite capture" »
The CCP and the problem of "elite capture"
The CCP and the problem of "elite capture"☜(Peter Schweizer, HarperCollins, January 2022)An astonishing and disturbing new book has just been released that describes how the Chinese Communist Party has been able to suborn elite figures in the United States to the extent they are effectively collaborating in the regimes bid to become a global totalitarian hegemon, dominant industrially, technologically, and militarily, able to control and manipulate information flows not just in China but the wider world.☜59C6EF
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The dispensable Mrs Merkel »
The dispensable Mrs Merkel
The dispensable Mrs Merkel☜Angela Merkel has finished her sixteen year tenure as German Chancellor. How should we assess the record of this once-deemed indispensable political figure? The author of this article takes a pretty dim view, pointing to her handling of the refugee influx in 2015, deciding to close down nuclear power stations, and her promotion of the Nordstream pipelines. (John OSullivan, Quadrant magazine, 10 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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The end of progressive America? »
The end of progressive America?
The end of progressive America?☜Many have remarked on the remarkable success of the Lefts long march through the institutions prefigured by Antonio Gramsci and Herbert Marcuse. Could this long march be coming to an end, and are there signs of a significant pushback?☜59C6EF
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The failure of "Latinx" »
The failure of "Latinx"
The failure of "Latinx"☜How disappointing for progressives. The people formerly labelled Latino, deemed sexist because nouns are gendered in Spanish and use of the male form thereby constitutes violence against women, have overwhelmingly rejected the ugly neologism Latinx.☜59C6EF
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The foolishness of "ugly freedoms" »
The foolishness of "ugly freedoms"
The foolishness of "ugly freedoms"☜(Christine Rosen, Commentary, 8 February 2022)Did you know the freedoms could be positively ugly? Which freedoms, you might ask? Well any freedom that grants people the right to say anything that seriously contravenes identarian orthodoxies—like, say, freedom of speech as construed in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. It is really just about enabling white supremacism, according to a professor of American Studies.☜59C6EF
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The Ghost of Jim Crow »
The Ghost of Jim Crow
The Ghost of Jim Crow☜(Chris Rufo, City Journal, 19 January 2022)Nowadays, the only mainstream political force that supports explicit vilification of a class of persons based on skin color is the identarian Left. In a similar vein, we now see progressives advocating a return of segregation in the name of racial equity and social justice. In this article the author shows the extent of this development throughout schools and government services in the US. ☜59C6EF
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The green threat to effective climate policy »
The green threat to effective climate policy
The green threat to effective climate policy☜(Maarten Boudry, Quillette, 27 January 2022)Environmentalists a greater threat to climate action than those who deny global warming? How could that be? The author points to some of the positions taken by greens in recent decades, especially their hostility to nuclear power, a necessity if the deep decarbonisation demanded by climate activists is to be achieved. ☜59C6EF
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The histrionics and melodrama around 1/6 »
The histrionics and melodrama around 1/6
The histrionics and melodrama around 1/6☜This article by Glen Greenwald, the left-wing American journalist who I cited in my own article in The Australian newspaper, provides a brilliant characterization of what actually happened on 6 January 2021, and the implications of what followed in the year since. His description of the inane festivities in Congress and the media on the anniversary is priceless.☜59C6EF
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The Law of Group Polarization »
The Law of Group Polarization
The Law of Group Polarization☜(Cass Sunstein, ChicagoBound, 1999)In another entry in this weeks Readings section I refer to an article citing data confirming the increasing polarization of politics in the US, a feature of most Western countries. The author of that article did not offer an explanation, but this paper could shed some light on it, citing evidence that when those of like mind discuss politics in ideological echo changes, there is a trend to the extreme. ☜59C6EF
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The liberal fantasy of the Capitol coup »
The liberal fantasy of the Capitol coup
The liberal fantasy of the Capitol coup☜The author of this article argues there are striking parallels between the neo-conservative ideologues who launched the war on terror after 9/11 and progressives who advocate a similar priority for combatting the white supremacy menace exemplified by the Capitol riot today.☜59C6EF
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The Marxist who antagonizes liberals and the Left »
The Marxist who antagonizes liberals and the Left
The Marxist who antagonizes liberals and the Left☜(Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 31 January 2022)Here is a turnup for the books—a prominent Black Marxist scholar who manages to get cancelled by the Democratic Socialists of America. What was his offence? To condemn the obsession of modern progressives with matters of race and identity, which he regards as destructive and counter-productive and a distraction from the real issue of economic inequality.☜59C6EF
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Victims of the unvaccinated »
Victims of the unvaccinated
Victims of the unvaccinated☜Should the unvaccinated face discrimination in priority of treatment when a hospital system is under severe stress? The worlds most famous—or notorious, depending on your point of view— moral philosopher argues that they should. (Peter Singer, Project Syndicate, 5 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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Welcome to the end of democracy »
Welcome to the end of democracy
Welcome to the end of democracy☜Are we headed into an era of inequality so pronounced as to warrant describing it as neo-feudalism? The author cites a range of statistics and developments to support this contention, with a particular focus on global technology and finance oligarchs, people able to fund their own space programs, and the hollowing out and social marginalization of the working and middle classes. (Joel Kotkin, The Spectator, 8 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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What if democracy and climate mitigation are incompatible? »
What if democracy and climate mitigation are incompatible?
What if democracy and climate mitigation are incompatible?☜The author of this article argues that democracies are inherently incapable of effectively addressing climate change because of the tendency of political processes to seek compromise solutions that are inadequate in the face of an existential crisis. So, what is the solution? He suggests a combination of grass-roots campaigns, judicial activism and pressure from the finance and tech oligarchs. (Cameron Abadi, Foreign Policy, 7 January 2022)☜59C6EF
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What the Right gets wrong about Ukraine... »
What the Right gets wrong about Ukraine...
What the Right gets wrong about Ukraine...☜(Noah Rothman, Commentary, 24 January 2022)This article highlights a division about foreign policy within the American Right between the anti-Trump neocon wing, with which the author is affiliated, and the populist wing which tends to be hostile to involvement with any overseas conflict absent a clear American national interest consideration. This has come to a head in the debate about what to do about Ukraines current dispute with Russia.☜59C6EF
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White supremacy: The identarian Left's Theory of Everything »
White supremacy: The identarian Left's Theory of Everything
White supremacy: The identarian Left's Theory of Everything☜At the time of writing, the Department of Justice has charged over 700 people in connection with the Capitol riot, widely depicted in the media as a seditious conspiracy, or an armed insurrection. How come, then, that to date no-one has been charged with sedition or insurrection, both high crimes under the US criminal code? ☜59C6EF
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Why did scientists suppress the lab-leak theory? »
Why did scientists suppress the lab-leak theory?
Why did scientists suppress the lab-leak theory?☜(Matt Ridley, Spiked Online, 12 January 2022)There has been an ongoing debate about whether the Covid virus was the product of natural evolution in an animal host or leaked from a lab in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with the further possibility that it might have been modified or engineered in the lab. Recently released emails show a marked disparity between what scientists were saying privately and public statements several days later.☜59C6EF
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Why is the Right so unattractive? »
Why is the Right so unattractive?
Why is the Right so unattractive?☜(Douglas Murray, UnHerd, 21 January 2022)In this article a well-known British conservative intellectual asks why moderate leftists who openly express their disdain for the extremities of identity politics, and who are ostracized for it by their erstwhile colleagues, find it so hard to defect to the Right. He argues it has a lot to do with the entanglement of the American Right with conservative religious politics, leading to positions on social issues they find hard to stomach. ☜59C6EF
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Yes, there is a counter revolution »
Yes, there is a counter revolution
Yes, there is a counter revolution☜This is an important read— the most comprehensive account I have yet read of the pervasiveness of the woke revolution in America, which accelerated enormously after the George Floyd killing. It describes how it has permeated all sectors of American society, but it doesnt leave it at that. It ends on an optimistic note, describing the counter-revolution bubbling up from the grass-roots, something we have sadly yet to see in Australia. (Abe Greenwald, Commentary, February 2022)☜59C6EF
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