February 2005
Sunday Times: Putting the fear of God into Holland
by mikepower
The Dutch have rejected liberalism in response to Islamic immigration. Some say they are now too hardline. So what can the rest of Europe learn from their crisis?The Dutch have rejected liberalism in response to Islamic immigration. Some say they ar
Press Impostor
by mikepower
How is it that an administration that screened thousands of people for attendance at Bush campaign rallies repeatedly let a fake reporter into the sanctorum of the White House pressroom under a false name? Who was running that background check?
The new Chief Inquisitor on campus
by mikepower
From ethics committees to ‘learning outcomes’, the threat to academic freedom comes from within the university as much as from without. By Frank Ferudi
The Neocon Reader by Irwin M. Stelzer, reviewed by Ann Marlowe
by mikepower
If not for Christian fundamentalists, after all, we probably wouldn't have punk rock. Or rap, Goth fashion, skateboarding and lots of recent art.
Learning to Love the Neocons
by mikepower
The neocons ought not be taken lightly, especially since they have pilfered something from the arsenal of the left even as they are misusing it. What they have pilfered, simply, is the idea that the world can be changed.
January 2005
How I became a Jew
by mikepower
What unclean thoughts do I have about Islam and our Arab neighbours? What are my thoughts when I see devout Muslims on our streets in traditional dress, speaking poor English? Am I not looking at myself?
Ignore the vanity of the Bushites, America's might is draining away: Matthew Parris
by mikepower
For many decades America’s share of the world’s economic output has been in decline. America’s modesty in 1945 understated its muscle, Bushite vanity overstates it today.
War Created Haven, CIA Advisers Report
by mikepower
Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists, according to a report released yesterday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank.
Special reports: Bush under fire over human rights
by mikepower
America's human rights abuses have provided a rallying cry for terrorists and set a bad example to regimes seeking to justify their own poor rights records, a leading independent watchdog said yesterday.
In praise of blasphemy
by mikepower
A multicultural society needs not more taboos but more tolerance for taboo-breaking
Greed: The Nuts Game
by mikepower
Three people sit around a kitchen bowl. You, the fourth person, with a timer, start off placing ten small items in the bowl - quarters, dollar bills, or nuts. Tell the three players the goal is for each of them to get as many items as they can. Tell them
Worse Than Fiction: Read it and weep (or laugh)
by mikepower
I've been thinking of writing a political novel. It will be a bad novel because there won't be any nuance: the villains won't just espouse an ideology I disagree with - they'll be hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels.
December 2004
USS Clueless The best of Den Beste
by mikepower
Links to blog entries by Den Beste that he considers are among the best or most important he has written
Canada Goes To Hell
by mikepower
Funny and true, great piece by Mark Morford. Legal pot? Legal gay marriage? Universal health care? What's next, free porn and candy?
Israel shocked by image of soldiers forcing violinist to play at roadblock
by mikepower
Of all the revelations that have rocked the Israeli army over the past week, perhaps none disturbed the public so much as the video footage of soldiers forcing a Palestinian man to play his violin.
November 2004
Index of political blogs
by mikepower & 1 other
Here is an index to a selection of the most visible politically-oriented blogs.
Smoking while Iraq burns
by mikepower
It reminds me of the joke about the Hassidic rabbi who says all sexual positions are acceptable except for one: standing up "because that could lead to dancing"
The 'blog' revolution sweeps across China
by mikepower
Ever since the Communist party took power in 1949, the Chinese media has been tightly controlled by the government. Online publishing is a real threat to that control, and the government is clearly worried. A crackdown in 2003 closed websites and internet
Fear gives politicians a reason to be
by mikepower
We may be living through an incredible era of prosperity and calm in which politics as a force for transforming the world has gone into abeyance - and when a real crisis comes along, politics will return in a new form we cannot possibly imagine
