With Both Hands

Sign in Subscribe

The Long View

The Long View 2006-01-09: Cracked Pillars; Chinese Real Estate; Irreformable Islam

I had forgotten this short bit on Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI claiming that Islam cannot reform, which is, as John noted, in line with what Muslims say too. It is also true that the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence are quite clever at finding ways to be flexible in interpretation.

The Long View: In the Presence of Mine Enemies

Here is a 2003 book review where John makes the point I highlighted yesterday; all the piss and vinegar has been taken out of the 20th century ideologies by now. In the early 21st century, we keep using the same slogans, but nobody means it. I was also struck by

The Long View 2006-01-07: The Next China & the Next Socialism; The Next Liturgy

There is another silly reference to Gordon Chang here [still wrong], but this quote is interesting: That said, though, we are probably about to enter a generation in which there will be greater distrust of market mechanisms. What distinguishes the early 21st century from the early 20th is the almost

The Long View 2006-01-05: 666 as a Date; Predatory Democracy; Other People's Felonies; While Earth Slept

An always timely reminder that democracies pursue wars for venial ends as much as just ones. 666 as a Date; Predatory Democracy; Other People's Felonies; While Earth Slept The Year 1666 was full of portents for contemporary religious fanatics, such as Isaac Newton. The Great Fire of London;

The Long View 2006-01-03: The Perennial Stones; the Implosion of the NYT; A Critique of Steyn

John felt in 2006 that new ownership was needed for the New York Times. In 2008, Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico, and occasionally the world, bought an 8% stake, later increased to 17.4%, making him the largest shareholder at present of the most influential newspaper in the

The Long View 2006-01-01: Notes on 2006

John makes some predictions for 2006 here, which makes it easy to assess his track record: * John completely missed Barack Obama's rising star in 2006. President Obama's 2004 keynote address didn't impress John, but it sure did wonders for everyone else. * This isn'

The Long View 2005-12-29: Generations, Thermodynamics, Defeatism

I took a long break from the blog for Thanksgiving, but I'm back refreshed. Here we are at the end of another calendar year of John's blog. John's book reviews tend to be the most popular, but sometimes a blog post or two will