http://www.sardanapale.com Tue, 04 May 2010 12:23:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The best of bad bunch What is a pro-market voter to do in Thursday's British election? It is difficult to get excited about the choice on offer. Economic liberals want a modest, efficient state. Gordon Brown's record immediately disqualifies Labour. Over the past 10 years, first as chancellor and ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2010/05/04/election-britannique-et-dilemme-liberal/ Friends like these Charles Krauthammer's analysis of the Biden incident is worth reading in full, but here's a taster: "In these long and bloody 63 years, the Palestinians have not once accepted an Israeli offer of permanent peace, or ever countered with anything short of terms that would destroy Israel. They ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2010/03/20/comment-obama-a-cree-lincident-biden/ Giving Obama a break David Brook's balanced editorial in today's New York Times sums up my own general view of Obama better than I could do myself. Highlight: "Obama is four clicks to my left on most issues. He is inadequate on the greatest moral challenge of our day: the $9.7 trillion in ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2010/03/12/qui-est-obama/ Greek tragedy Mark Steyn has a characteristically eloquent article in the Washington Times about the "Greek tragedy", as he calls unsustainable entitlements. Highlights: "We hard-hearted, small-government guys are often damned as selfish types who care nothing for the general welfare. But, as the Greek protests make plain, nothing makes an ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2010/03/01/tragedie-grecque/ Eminent injustice Great article in City Magazine on abuse of "eminent domain" – as Americans call the compulsory purchase of property commandeered for the "public good". You may have heard of the Supreme Court ruling in the Kelo v New London case a couple of years ago. It said it ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2010/02/28/eminent-domain-and-jethro-tull/ The Red Baroness The EU will soon be represented by Catherine Ashton, a Briton who was active in Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the late 1970s and treasurer of that vocal pacifist group between 1980 and 1982. Questions over her past have been voiced by some Eurosceptics, including a MEP, and some ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2009/12/05/la-baronne-rouge-qui-represente-leurope/ The hand of frog The inglorious qualification of the French soccer team to next year's World Cup finals at the expense of Ireland (the last-gasp goal was scored thanks to a handball) has triggered an avalanche of anguished reactions in France itself. Many have taken the form of historical quotations. Jacques ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2009/11/22/nous-somme-tous-des-irlandais/ It was 20 years ago today Excellent leader in The Economist on 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It stressee that political freedom and economic liberty are intimately linked, and that progress in both should not be taken for granted. A key excerpt: "At present capitalism is too often judged ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2009/11/09/it-was-20-years-today/ Low-energy light bulbs don't make sense Whichever side of the Atlantic you live on, the government is forcing you to ditch ordinary incandescent light bulbs and switch to "compact fluorescent lamps". The rationale is that incandescents are wasteful - most of the energy they consume is turned into heat rather, not light ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2009/10/19/ampoules-a-basse-energie-la-fausse-bonne-idee/ Iran and the evil British Iran and Britain, a documentary broadcast this week by the BBC, neatly explores the paranoid style in Iranian politics. A conspiracy-driven view of the world has been certainly nurtured by the ayatollahs - tyrannies always need hidden enemies to provide an excuse for repression and a cover ... http://www.sardanapale.com/2009/10/11/conspirationnisme-persan/