The Treaty – Drowning in a sea of misinformation in 2026

I write this as a descendant of Henry Williams, who arrived here in 1823 as an ex Royal Navy officer and Head of the Church Missionary Society of New Zealand. He translated the Treaty of Waitangi into te reo Maori in 1840. The document he prepared with his eldest son Edward, on the evening of […]

The Treaty – Drowning in a sea of misinformation in 2026

No Laughing Matter: John Cleese Declares “I’m Afraid They are Going to Have to Arrest Me.”

In the classic movie comedy, A Fish Called Wanda, John Cleese lamented, “do you have any idea what it’s like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing.” Now 86, Cleese has a more pressing concern about being English: whether his exercise of […]

No Laughing Matter: John Cleese Declares “I’m Afraid They are Going to Have to Arrest Me.”

PEN America gets captured: organization accepts Palestine as a member and rejects Israel; Jewish chief executive resigns after accusations of being a “Zionist” and not signing on to Israel’s “genocide”

Every day, it seems, another group gets ideologically captured, valorizing Palestine (or Hamas) and demonizing Israel.  This is dispiriting for Jews, but the latest such capture—of the free-expression literary group PEN America—is especially depressing. The decline of PEN American was first evidenced to me when, in 2015, it decided to give a “freedom of expression”…

PEN America gets captured: organization accepts Palestine as a member and rejects Israel; Jewish chief executive resigns after accusations of being a “Zionist” and not signing on to Israel’s “genocide”

In support of a pragmatic alliance

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

NYRB article attacks the biological definition of sex holding with definitions based on self-identification

I used to subscribe to the New York Review of Books, which, while sometimes a repository for boring academic cat-fights, often included engaging and illuminating articles—until fabled editor Bob Silvers died in 2017.  Now, under the leadership of editor Emily Greenhouse, the magazine, always Left-leaning, seems to have become more progressive. The article by gender…

NYRB article attacks the biological definition of sex holding with definitions based on self-identification

The Adelaide Writers Festival

Juliet Moses writes at Quillette: The furore surrounding the storied Adelaide Writers Festival, the longest-running and largest literary festival in Australia and one that receives significant taxpayer funding, has made international headlines. Our drama ostensibly begins when the Festival’s board disinvites Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, an Australian writer with Palestinian heritage.  Its climax sees a cultural…

The Adelaide Writers Festival

Maarten Boudry on the policing of academia

My friend Maarten Boudry, a Belgian philosopher, has been increasingly demonized for his heterodox views, especially on the Hamas/Israel war, since he is sympathetic to Israel (he isn’t Jewish). In the latest post on his Substack site, also published in condensed form in The Jewish Chronicle, Maarten recounts how there is a near-unanimity among European…

Maarten Boudry on the policing of academia

The High Cost of Luxury Beliefs

Roger Partridge writes – Some ideas cost nothing to believe but a great deal to implement. Political commentator Rob Henderson calls them “luxury beliefs” – convictions that signal virtue among the comfortable while imposing very real costs on those with much less room to manoeuvre. New Zealand, for reasons cultural as much as political, has […]

The High Cost of Luxury Beliefs

Sam Harris and John McWhorter: Is wokeness dead?

In this shortish (23-minute) video, Sam Harris and John McWhorter discuss whether wokeness is finally dead.  The short answer is “nope.”  It may have lain down, but it refuses to die. The YouTube notes (there’s a transcript you can see as well): Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about language, ideology, and moral certainty. They […]

Sam Harris and John McWhorter: Is wokeness dead?

Quinn Que: To save liberalism, “progressives” must apologize and abandon their air of moral certainty

This longish diatribe against “progressives” (i.e., left-wing extremists who aren’t Communists) appeared in my weekly Substack recommendations. Intrigued by the title, I printed it out and read it (I can’t read on screens.) Que’s thesis is one you’ve often seen me advance: “progressives” have gone so far that they’ve alienated much of the Left, and…

Quinn Que: To save liberalism, “progressives” must apologize and abandon their air of moral certainty

The journal Science positively reviews a book criticizing gender surgery

Is it a sign of the times that this long book review, appearing in the “Science and Society” section of the prestigious journal Science, actually approves of a book questioning the ubiquity of gender surgeries?  I haven’t read the book, but you can be that Nature wouldn’t give a positive review such prominence. Here’s the…

The journal Science positively reviews a book criticizing gender surgery

Auckland Uni gets it right

The Auckland University Freedom of Expression Statement looks very good. It is clear with few weasel words. Key extracts: The University actively fosters and supports lawful and constructive debate by its staff and students on any topic, including with the participation of external speakers invited by a staff member, or a recognised student association or student…

Auckland Uni gets it right

BBC intifada portrayal conflicts with its own previous reporting

Late on December 17th the BBC News website published an uncredited report headlined “Two arrested after police say they will act against intifada chants”,… The post BBC intifada portrayal conflicts with its own previous reporting appeared first on CAMERA UK.

BBC intifada portrayal conflicts with its own previous reporting

New South Wales bans anti-Jewish rhetoric in wake of Bondi Beach attack

The attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach near Sydney (the capital of New South Wales), was horrific: fifteen people were killed (not including the perps) and 40 injured. It was clearly a terrorist attack designed to kill Jews, putting the lie that this kind of violence is “anti-Zionist” rather than antisemitic. Australian Jews…

New South Wales bans anti-Jewish rhetoric in wake of Bondi Beach attack

BBC Framing Asks Jews to Answer For Violence Against Jews

Since the antisemitic terror attack on Bondi Beach last week, there has been a large amount of discussion on BBC radio and broadcast channels… The post BBC Framing Asks Jews to Answer For Violence Against Jews appeared first on CAMERA UK.

BBC Framing Asks Jews to Answer For Violence Against Jews

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