When I hear the word “books” I think of great literary works like The Last of the Mohicans or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, full of noble heroes who lay down their lives for others, or disturbing exposés like The Real Lincoln or Marx & Satan. I certainly recall haunting dystopian fiction like 1984, and philosophical gems like Rand’s The Virtue of Selfishness and Bastiat’s The Law. And, when I think of book bans, I think of the ritualistic bonfires of the far-left Nazi regime, which sought to destroy (in Joseph Goebbels’s own words) the “intellectualism” of men like Ernest Hemingway and women like Helen Keller.
Can pluralism be low-crime?
There’s a reason shoplifting is rife
My small Shires market town reported a handful of crimes a year when we moved here a decade ago. Over the past year or so, every garage on my street has been burgled. Only last week an escaping shoplifter shoved my daughter to the ground while fleeing the local Londis. Police don’t even attend when you report incidents. The area has not seen a decline in prosperity — only in civic orderliness. And it’s a vicious cycle that burns out local civic participation. I know one town councillor who joined full of enthusiasm, only to resign a year later when officials suggested that, as there was no prospect of any police response to rising drug-taking and antisocial behaviour in the local park, maybe he and another councillor should themselves form a citizen patrol.
The Last Days Of George Orwell
For a man who breathed his last at the young age of 46, Eric Arthur Blair—better known as George Orwell—had an almost unparalleled impact on the Anglosphere he left behind. A journalist, novelist, and diarist, his works have been read by generations of schoolchildren and his name is invoked by politicians of both the Left and the Right to accuse their opponents of the Orwellian practices of state surveillance, gaslighting, brazen lies, mob trial, and more. He likely would have despised them all.
When will the EU take France’s Islamist concerns seriously?
Last week the European Parliament hosted an event in Brussels entitled ‘Close Guantanamo’. It was hosted by two Irish left-wing MEPs, and among the invites were representatives of Cage, which has been described by the French government as an ‘Islamist’ organisation, an allegation Cage denies. Cage was briefly infamous in Britain in 2015 when its director Asim Qureshi called Islamic State butcher Mohammed Emwazi, aka ‘Jihadi John’, who made a living hacking off Westerners’ heads, a ‘beautiful young man’ and blamed security services for his radicalisation. Qureshi later said he regretted his ‘inappropriate description’ of the Isis fighter.
For Just $83,140, Princeton Will Train Your Son to Be a Drag Queen
It costs a staggering $83,140 to send a student to Princeton University, and that’s just for one year. Four years of this august Ivy League school will set you back a cool $332,560, and just think: for that kind of money, you could have bought a brand-new Corvette convertible every year and had some spare change left over.
California Teachers’ Union Threatens Strike for Free Yoga and Homeless Camps
At this point, California is just trolling us. Granted, the Golden State has been a testing ground and center for research and development for all things progressive. I get it. California is dedicated to rushing headlong into the future, seeking the farthest reaches of the Leftist frontier, and it is doing so to such a degree that it is a wonder the state has not completely fallen off a cliff. But I think that at this point, people there are just randomly selecting causes out of “The Big Bag of Progressive Ideas.”
Swiss Writer Thrown In Jail For Calling Reporter ‘Fat Lesbian’
A Swiss court’s decision to sentence a commentator with 60 days in prison plus thousands in Swiss francs previews the danger that criminalizing “hate speech” poses to free speech.
On Monday, the French-Swiss writer Alain Bonnet, also known as Alain Soral, was sentenced for defamation, discrimination, and incitement of hatred for his criticism of Swiss journalist Catherine Macherel. Bonnet was convicted for comments made on a Facebook video two years ago where he called Macherel a “fat lesbian.”
Looking back on the Vancouver riot, when social media took public shaming to new heights
On the night of June 15, 2011, Mallory Newton, wearing a Vancouver Canucks scarf, posed for an unfortunate photograph. Standing next to a guy whose face was completely obscured with a black ski mask, she threw up a peace sign and smiled. The ski-mask guy was wearing a t-shirt. “I’m just here for the riots,” it read.
The next day, at work, Ms. Newton could hear her phone blowing up with notifications. That photo, taken downtown during the Stanley Cup riot, had gone viral. Online stones were being cast against Ms. Newton; she had no ability to explain or provide context.
Just Stop Oil’s most miserable stunt yet
Eco-extremist troupe Just Stop Oil has once again disrupted the smooth running of civilised society to remind us of the coming climate catastrophe.
This time, these silly middle-class twats chose Wednesday evening’s performance of Les Misérables for their latest piece of performance politics. And once again, they did so in order to demand that we all stop enjoying ourselves, just as they have done at art galleries, the tennis and, indeed, some traffic lights on the North Circular.
Woman in Canada facing terrorism charge for alleged participation in ISIS activities: RCMP
The RCMP say a 29-year-old woman in Canada is facing a terrorism-related offence for her alleged participation in the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
Police say Ammara Amjad returned to Canada from Syria on April 4 and was arrested by way of a terrorism peace bond. She was later released on bail conditions pending a future court appearance.
WTF?
This guy is a “transwoman despite what he looks like” including having a beard pic.twitter.com/0Hix7RA1ei
— Men Posting F’s (@troonytoons) October 6, 2023
Ivison: Liberals’ ‘woeful’ historical literacy is a cause for regret
In the wake of the incident where the House of Commons gave a former Waffen SS soldier a standing ovation, the issue of historical literacy has once again come to the fore.
Stewart said that occasion reminds us of the “woeful understanding of our past in this country.”
He said the Trudeau government “isn’t a fan of Canadian history,” as it illustrated when it expunged images of the Vimy Memorial and the Fathers of Confederation in the new passport.
WTF?
A teacher in @KHSD_Official was placed on leave yesterday after footage surfaced showing him seemingly scrolling p0*n and masturbating in a classroom pic.twitter.com/1AZyBQCmm1
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 6, 2023
The rich are different than you and me …
Apparently when John Tory's wife found out about the affair he was happening with a staffer, the two of them hired Navigator to do crisis communications … between Tory and his wife. pic.twitter.com/LF8r9UtcqA
— James McLeod (@jamespmcleod) October 5, 2023
WTF?
The Pope has gone full AOC
It is faintly odd to read him lecturing us on the rate of glacial melting and the absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans
At last, the Pope is being taken seriously when he warns of moral degeneracy — well, sort of. When popes have tried to preach to us about abortion, promiscuity, materialism, drugs and selfish lifestyles, they have widely been treated as old fools or bigoted moralists who want to stop us from having fun and being who we are.