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Tag Archives: jihadi

Open Borders

February 7, 2013 – 9:30 am

Uberblogger Matt Yglesias recently posted on why an open borders policy for the US–possibly using an auction system to regulate the rate of flow–is a reasonable option, basing his claim on comparative population densities and history: But the United States ran an open borders regime throughout the 19th century and we weren’t worse off for [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in Economics, England, History, Immigration, Politics, Public Policy, Welfare | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (9)

Action and consequences

January 24, 2013 – 9:30 am

First, a minor bit of boasting. I occasionally submit pieces to Agora, the journal of the History Teachers of Australia Victoria (HTAV). They are doing a “reprint” edition, the best of the last five years, and two of my essays will be included: Finding Patterns in Ancient Civilisations Agora No.3 Vol.43 2008 Discovery, Connection and [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in History, Public Policy | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (16)

How things look depend on where you stand

November 21, 2012 – 1:05 pm

This post from Stratfor points out that the US faces much less stressful challenges than the EU or China or Iran. So, the re-elected President Obama faces a world where the US’s hand, vis-a-vis other Powers, is strengthening rather than weakening. I really don’t get the angst about President Obama’s foreign policy. Yes, he has [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in Australia, Middle east, Public Policy, Terrorism | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (6)

Righteousness trumps morality (and civility)

November 14, 2012 – 9:30 am

It is a persistent feature of religious systems that they create outcasts. At its most extreme, such outcasts are deemed worthy of being put to death, as is the case for Jewish apostates under Deuteronomy 13 or Islamic apostates under the traditional interpretation of Sharia. Even if outcasts are not deemed as marked for slaughter, [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in History, Law, Religion | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (12)

Power and purity

August 15, 2012 – 10:30 am

Taboos are a major part of religious practice, across a very wide range of religious traditions. Taboos about what people can eat, wear, act, associate with, believe; the entire range of human behaviour.  Religious taboos are nicely defined as: a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in Religion, Sexuality | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (15)

Humanising law

May 10, 2012 – 4:11 pm

One of the standard complaints against giving queers (by ‘queer’ I mean any person who does not conform to being definitively male-or-female and heterosexual: i.e. same-sex oriented, same-sex attracted, intersex, transgender people) equal protection of the law is that it is an offense against the Christian, or Judaeo-Christian (if Christians want to include Jews rather [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in History, Law, Religion, Sexuality | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (59)

Suffer the little children: the burden of God

April 15, 2012 – 9:00 am

Just when I thought I had a full grasp of the moral depravity that is suicide bombing, another level of horror is revealed. Al Qaeda’s preferred target group for recruiting suicide bomber is—orphans. As one Pakistani political activist writes: We have observed that most of the suicides bombers are orphans who are less than 17 [...]

By Lorenzo | Posted in History, Law, Middle east, Religion, Terrorism | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (27)

Curried Martyr

September 13, 2011 – 5:59 am

You all know, I’m sure, plenty of redneck jokes. Do you go to the family reunion to meet women? If you divorce your wife, is she still your sister? Have you ever cut your grass and found a car? Do people come to your house every day mistakenly thinking you’re holding a yard sale? Do [...]

By skepticlawyer | Posted in Fark!, Middle east, Popular culture, Religion, Terrorism | Also tagged , , | Comments (16)