Mark Steyn is on fire again, with a sharply incisive yet typically witty assault on the cult of multiculturalism.  Here's just a hint of what the article is like: . . . contemporary multiculturalism

Interesting.  Controversial.  Definitely interesting.  Princeton students have just voted for a students' bill of rights.  Here is the full text, which I copy for you: Believing in th

This is so sensible that a lot of people don't seem to grasp the idea: Taiwan should focus on self-defense, not sovereignty.  Why?  Because it's already de facto sovereign and independent.   There is little point to chasing

Big news: the US will now open its doors to North Korean refugees who are fleeing Kim Jong-Il's deplorable state. A note on NK refugees: thousands of them have fled to China, but Beijing often sends them right back to NK, where some have been execut

How exactly are you supposed to ban snoring? But apparently the Chinese army is going to try it! China's military is tightening its standards for recruiting potential officers as it adjusts to changing

Here is the tale from the New York Times.  Chinese tourists are flocking to visit Marx's house in Trier, Germany. Communism has had its day and now garbage in the dustbin of history, but Marx's legacy is like nasty old chewing gum on the

All I can say to this report is a big  *Sigh.*  Here's a piece of it: One of the government’s senior race relations advisers has criticised communities in some parts of the country for be

Is anyone really surprised by this news?  I'm not. The poll was taken of Princeton undergraduate students, but the results could apply to any elite school: If a recent survey is to be believed, onl

I'm still here and still alive.  There's been very  little blogging lately because . . . well, because I've been completely exhausted at school.  Usually I tend to exaggerate, but this time I'm serious.  Completely exhausted. We

My history colleagues tell me that today marks Rome's birthday.  Rome was founded (according to tradition) by Romulus on April 21, 753 BC. Happy Birthday to my favorite city in Italy!  (Sorry, Florence.) But I can't help but write a satir

I have been nearly run over by speeding Vespas every time I have been in Italy.  Especially in Rome.  Vespas everywhere! Yes, they can be a menace.  But oh, they are so beautiful too, so ROMAN, so ITALIAN.  I can't help but love

No, really!  This is probably just an example of the current trend of silliness in education going to extremes. According to one UK paper, a British school will now give its students lessons in how to be happy.

I just emailed another chapter (or draft of a chapter, really) to my professors, advisors, and Nerd Lords! This is the third chapter, and this also means that I've reached the halfway point of my dissertation!  Hooray!  I am really, R

Whether your focus is church or chocolates, Mad Minerva wishes every gentle reader a lovely holiday! I intend to have both church AND chocolates, though I'll treat the marshmallow Peeps as toys instead of food.  Bring on the Easter eggs,

Read it all! Just do it.  He makes several great points.

Lately the news from Europe has been mostly bad: paralysis in France, electoral chaos in Italy, same old silliness from Brussels Eurocrats, etc.  It's the sort of things that encourages harsh Euro-skeptics to call the whole mess the work of &quo

Hm, let me see . . 700+ missiles, saber-rattling speeches, threats of annexation by force, constant badgering of Taiwan in every international venue imaginable . . . Now China is busy getting cozy with Lien Chan (him again! ugh!) and the KMT.

I came across a hilarious satire recently on No Pasaran, which has a bilingual version in French and English. The satire of Aesop's fable about the ant and the grasshopper is now posted at my satire site.  Enjoy!

Well, good people, you've heard about how the concept of "face" is very important in some Asian cultures, like the Chinese? We're never going to look at it in quite the same way again.  Read this news story.  It's time to start m

No more "serious" blogging for today, since it is Friday afternoon -- and Good Friday too.  We are heading into a holiday weekend. I've been eating hot cross buns for a few days now, and I thought I'd share!  A local bakery has b

This is TERRIBLE: Attackers armed with knives went on the rampage in three Coptic churches in Egypt's second city of Alexandria today, killing one worshipper and injuring at least a dozen more.

I don't believe this!  Art imitates life as there is a cartoon controversy about a cartoon controversy. Wednesday night I watched the episode of "South Park" (obscene as it can be, that show is brilliantly not politically correct and

Is this "cute" or "crazy" or "cruel"?  You tell me, gentle reader! (Source here)

German blog pal Pursuit of Serenity sent me this news story, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry: European governments should shun the phrase "Islamic terrorism" in favour of "terror

I confess, gentle reader!  I am guilty of gluttony.  And I'm also guilty of not wanting to give up gluttony.  Like my Sibling, self-proclaimed king of the Chinese buffet, I love food.  I love cooking it, eating it, thinking abou