2006-12-26

WALTER WILLIAMS ON RACIAL PROFILING
Racial profiling controversy is nothing new. For a number of years, black Americans have made charges of racial profiling by police and store personnel who might give them extra scrutiny. Clever phrases have emerged, such as “driving while black” and now “flying while Muslim,” but they don’t help much in terms [...]

AL: Four arrested in home invasion: “Police arrested two men and two women in connection with a home invasion Monday at 2416 Springhill Road after the homeowner exchanged gunfire with intruders. It was the second home invasion in the city within 12 hours. … Lorenza Elliott Sr., 66, said he and his son, Lorenza Elliott [...]

2006-12-25

 
New drugs ‘could halve treatment’
A new generation of antibiotics could halve the length of time people need to take medication, scientists say. London researchers are developing what they hope will be the first of these - a compound to treat the hospital superbug MRSA in the nose. It tackles bacteria currently “left behind” because they [...]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
To all who come by here. And let us reflect thankfully on our Judeo-Christian heritage which mandated kindness and impartial justice (Exodus 23), among many other things.
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SOME ECONOMICS
If Trade Surpluses are So Great, the 1930s Should Have Been a Booming Decade: “The incessant fretting over the U.S. trade deficit is unwarranted. As I point [...]

 
OH: CCRKBA applauds veto override: “The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today offered its congratulations to the Ohio State Senate for overriding anti-gun Gov. Bob Taft’s veto of concealed carry reform legislation, by a vote of 21-12. In overriding Taft’s veto, Ohio has effectively become a state in which residents [...]

2006-12-24

Friendly microbes could make you fat
Outlaw them!
New science shows that there’s a reason you can pack on a pound or two if you nibble a few holiday cookies while your skinny friend can snarf a whole plate and not gain an ounce. Part of the reason is friendly bacteria in your gut. Some of these [...]

THE NEOCONS ARE THE DECENT LEFTISTS
Now that neocons are being slow-roasted in effigy all over the world, this may be the right time to ask the question: Why isn’t the whole Left neoconservative? Remember that neocons like Norman Podhoretz and Daniel P. Moynihan were former left-wingers who saw the light — which only seems like [...]

An old-fashioned gal: “Liz Hurley turned down jewellery in favour of a pair of shotguns for her birthday. The actress-and-fashion designer rarely graces a red carpet unless she is dripping in expensive jewels, however, when she turned 41 in June she had an unusual present request. She told Ultra magazine: “For my last birthday I [...]

2006-12-23

 
SOME NEWS IN BRIEF
Spray away obesity?: “Dieters may find some welcome assistance from a new nasal spray that could help resist the appetizing aromas of cinnamon bun stands, pizza parlors or tempting bakeries. Compellis Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts said it will begin human trials next year of a nasal spray designed to fight obesity by [...]

 
BBC PROPAGANDA
The BBC is leading this morning with the ridiculous Chatham House paper on Blair’s Foreign Policy record. Who are these people? The author of the document (all five-and-a-half pages of it) is Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas, who had a background in Latin American politics before taking over at the RIIA [Royal Institute of International Affairs [...]

Celebrating guns: “Although Mike Adams is not really a libertarian (but he gets closer with each month), his recent column is worth sharing with Libertarians and those you want to see move in the direction of liberty, as we near Bill of Rights Day and Christmas. He does indeed point out one of the best [...]

2006-12-22

THE WONDERS OF OLIVE OIL AGAIN

Long known as part of the “Mediterranean diet” mythology
People who use plenty of olive oil in their diets may be helping to prevent damage to body cells that can eventually lead to cancer, new research suggests. In a study of 182 European men, researchers found evidence that olive oil can [...]

Does the study of economics tend to make people conservative?
Greg Mankiw comments:
I believe the answer is, to some degree, yes. My experience is that many students find that their views become somewhat more conservative after studying economics. There are at least three, related reasons.
First, in some cases, students start off with utopian views of public [...]

 
South Africa: Cheers for instant justice: “”This is what it has come to - while two would-be robbers lay dying in the street outside a Joburg restaurant this week, their potential victims looked on and laughed.The instant justice dealt out to the gangsters, and another of their comrades also shot dead inside the restaurant, was [...]

2006-12-21

 
Cervical vaccine may help boys!
The benefits of Australian of the Year Ian Frazer’s cervical cancer vaccine may extend far further than previously thought, research has found. A study of cancer incidence in kidney transplant patients suggests the vaccine, marketed in Australia as Gardasil, should be considered for boys as well as girls, Sydney researcher Claire [...]

YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD
Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

This is your Christmas card from me. Since I started blogging, I have received a huge number of emails — nine out of 10 of which were encouraging. For a long time I kept a file of the email addresses of those who wrote positive things to [...]

 
SC: Summerville man dies after being shot: “”About 3 a.m. Sunday, Gadsden broke down the front door at a home on Rocky Mount Road where his former girlfriend, Fareeda Sims, and her current boyfriend, Jason L. Washington, were asleep, said Lt. Chris Cowan, Richland County Sheriff’s Department spokesman. Washington, of Columbia, woke up and argued [...]

2006-12-20

 
A PRIME EXAMPLE OF USELESS “MEDICAL” RESEARCH
But the subtext of it is to demonize McDonalds. It took four medical researchers writing in a prestigious medical journal to establish such amazing facts as the fact that people eat more McDonalds in places that have a McDonalds restaurant! But such “authoritative” findings will be quoted in campaigns [...]

Charles Murray on Immigration
Some succinct thoughts from a scholar who is not afraid to call a spade a spade
Regarding illegal immigration:
1. Making laws about who gets to become a citizen, under what circumstances, is a legitimate function of the state.
2. Protecting borders is a legitimate function of the state.
3. Enforcing the law is a central [...]

 
Antigun NY newspaper: “Dozens of readers have taken issue with The Journal News over its decision to run a list of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties as part of a wider investigative article. The names of more than 30,000 licensed handgun owners were posted online as part of “Falling Through the Cracks,” [...]