It is five years today since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. On 15 August 2021, its forces entered Kabul as the Afghan government collapsed and the long Western intervention came to an ignominious end. Five years later, the consequences for Afghan women are appalling. The Taliban has issued more than 100 decrees restricting the […]
The Taliban, Women and the Far Left
The Taliban, Women and the Far Left
15 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economics of education, economics of religion, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, war and peace Tags: Afghanistan
Hiroshima and “Little Boy”: A Historical Perspective
07 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of religion, laws of war, war and peace Tags: atomic bombings, Japan, World War II
On August 6, 1945, the world witnessed the devastating power of nuclear warfare for the first time when the United States dropped an atomic bomb, code-named “Little Boy,” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This event marked a significant turning point in World War II and had profound implications for international relations, warfare, and ethics. […]
Hiroshima and “Little Boy”: A Historical Perspective
RODNEY HIDE: The Strange New Face of Women’s Empowerment
30 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of religion, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Here is a single image that captures the extent to which we are lost. Khadija Patel stands at the Palace of Westminster, recipient of the British Citizen Award 2026 for her “work empowering young women.” She is covered from head to toe. Only her eyes are visible. The official caption celebrates her as a champion…
RODNEY HIDE: The Strange New Face of Women’s Empowerment
Radio NZ at it again
30 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, war and peace Tags: Germany, media bias, war against terror
Simon O’Connor points out: So Radio NZ ran a story from Reuters about the terrible hate crime attack in Berlin which saw 1 killed and 29 wounded at a pride festival. However they removed a key detail from the story. That the attacker was an Islamist. Reuters had this in their story, yet Radio NZ…
Radio NZ at it again
Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ the Islamophobia tsar
02 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of religion, liberalism Tags: free speech, Freedom of religion, political correctness, regressive left
Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “aspects,” came with a note: “Thankfully, that Anti-Muslim Hostility Tsar seems to be taking his time arriving.” Yes, the British Government was going to appoint a “tsar” to oversee and police anti-Muslim hostility, but the position remains unfilled. The Muslim Council of Britain is complaining (their bolding): The Muslim…
Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ the Islamophobia tsar
What do Muslim immigrants think?
31 May 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of media and culture, economics of religion, law and economics, liberalism, politics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
Tomas Pueyo has collated a huge amount of public opinion data from Muslims in Western countries. He finds: Depending on the country of origin and destination:~10-40% of Muslims are moderate & well integrated~20-50% are conservative, religious, pious~25% are fundamentalists~Of which 15% (pp) are radical Islamists Some findings in the US: He concludes: In summary, the…
What do Muslim immigrants think?
Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care
27 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of religion
My opening statement for my 2005 debate versus Larry Iannaccone
Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care
What Freedom of Speech Is For: The case against silencing
11 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, economics of education, economics of religion, Karl Popper, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, Freedom of religion, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
In 1633, the Roman Inquisition condemned Galileo for heresy. His offence was to argue that the Earth moves around the Sun. The Church was not acting out of malice. It was protecting a politically approved consensus against what was considered to be dangerous nonsense. The theologians and philosophers who condemned Galileo were not fools. They […]
What Freedom of Speech Is For: The case against silencing
Now The Atlantic touts religion—or rather, beliefs that don’t need evidence
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of religion Tags: Freedom of religion
I’ve been posting from time to time about how the mainstream media is suddenly touting religion and its benefits—a phenomenon I don’t fully understand. Now The Atlantic has joined the queue with an article by Elizabeth Bruenig, who’s written for the magazine for 6 years, and before that for the NYT, the WaPo, and the…
Now The Atlantic touts religion—or rather, beliefs that don’t need evidence
The Rushdie fatwa
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of education, economics of religion, law and economics, liberalism Tags: free speech
Jonathan Rosen writes: Thirty-seven years ago, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, sentenced Salman Rushdieto death on Valentine’s Day for writing a novel. It is hard to write that sentence without feeling it is a parody of the opening line of Franz Kafka’s The Trial: “Someone must have slandered Josef K.,…
The Rushdie fatwa
What power would allow Ministers to close down a community?
22 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, libertarianism, politics - New Zealand
The Herald reports: Senior Government minister Louise Upston visited Gloriavale in late January, months after refusing to rule out closing the religious community following allegations of child abuse in the community. Newstalk ZB has confirmed Upston visited the sect on January 30, alongside officials from the Ministry of Social Development. This story is puzzling. As…
What power would allow Ministers to close down a community?
A good UK police officer
15 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of religion, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, British politics, free speech, Freedom of religion, regressive left
The Telegraph reports: A short video went viral last weekend that briefly restored my faith in British policing. It showed a female Metropolitan Police officer standing alone in Whitechapel, surrounded by a crowd of angry Muslim men, calmly defending the right of a Christian street preacher to preach. “In this country, we have freedom of speech,” she…
A good UK police officer
Woke Wellington strikes again
25 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of education, economics of religion, politics - New Zealand
The Herald reports: A bicultural overhaul of Army doctrine that features Māori cosmology at its core has led to a Government revolt, with the NZ Defence Force putting on hold part of the controversial programme. The NZ Army’s new “general orders” to soldiers uses a pantheon of te ao Māori gods as guiding influences for…
Woke Wellington strikes again
Pinker and Tupy tout worldwide progress, espouse an objective morality
15 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, economics of religion, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech
In this Free Press article, Steve Pinker and Marian Tupy (the latter identified as “the founder and editor of HumanProgress.org, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of Superabundance”) once again recount the undoubtable progress that humanity has made over the past six or seven centuries. The progress described here will be familiar…
Pinker and Tupy tout worldwide progress, espouse an objective morality
In support of a pragmatic alliance
13 Feb 2026 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
For centuries, atheists, Christians, and Jews have regarded one another as intellectual and cultural adversaries. Their disagreements are real and often profound. They disagree about the existence of God, the authority of scripture, the nature of morality, the meaning of history, and the destiny of humanity. These disputes have generated entire libraries of argument and […]
In support of a pragmatic alliance
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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