The Journal
All writing
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If he Wants Money, Get A Job
Via Wizbang. What strikes me about this is not so much the courage, but the kindness of the store clerk. Mustafa comes at him with a gun, threatening his life for money. Derek knocks the robber…
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Carter and Condolences
Jimmy Carter is a kind-hearted and sincere man who, partly because of his own honesty and gentleness, cannot seem to believe in the dishonesty and brutality of others. He is a Christian who does not believe people…
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Just Stop It
A few grammatical points. 1. Comprise means ‘is made up of.’ Comprise should not be followed by ‘of.’ Comprise includes the ‘of.’ This is a frequent error in real estate agents’ descriptions of their properties. ‘This…
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Hitchens and Gingrich on the War on Terror
The best tribute to the despicable and admirable Christopher Hitchens is to read, hear and inwardly digest his words. This interview taped in 2002 for Uncommon Knowledge is brilliant. Two highly intelligent, eloquent men, with deep knowledge of…
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OKI Printers – Just Say No
I rarely do product reviews, and even more rarely write anything negative about something we have sold in the shop, but my experience with OKI has really been something special. We have mostly sold Canon and Epson…
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A Darn Good Question
Why is the world silent on the constant terrorist attacks on Israel? From the Chicago Tribune, by Ron Prosor, Israel’s Permanent Envoy to the UN: Silence. Just silence from the U.N. Silence from Palestinian President Mahmoud…
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The NBN Goes Down the Toilet
If there was ever any way the outrageously expensive National Broadband Network could have paid for itself, that prospect ended on Friday: NBN Co has been forced to back down on its plans to restrain Telstra from…
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Literature and the Search for Liberty
This essay by Mario Vargas Llosa is a month old now. It has been available since then behind paywalls. I only today found a site where the whole essay is available free. This is the first few paragraphs: What is…
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How to Make a Point Without Leaving a Mess
Unlike the occupy mobsters, these ladies have a point, it is a point worth making, they don’t leave a mess for anyone else to clean up, and no one got raped or murdered. Femen 5, Occupiers…
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Treasurer Swan to ANZ – I Will Be Very Angry With You
Wayne Swan has put ANZ on notice he will not tolerate the bank moving its lending rates independently of the Reserve Bank, after it revealed it would take the audacious step to review its rates on…
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Let That Be A Lesson To You!
It seem unlikely Australian political leaders (those allied with the Greens, anyway) will take any notice of this story, which is yet another reason to dump them at the next Federal election. From Canada’s National Post:…
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Rowan Williams or St Paul?
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams gives another of his perfectly timed impressions of an extremely intelligent person with no brains at all: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says Jesus would have joined protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy…
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Garvan Byrne – Reasons to Be Thankful
The single quality that makes the most difference to whether you are happy or not is thankfulness. If you are thankful for your life, and can see good and hope in whatever life brings you, you…
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Amnesty International Joins the Oppressors
Kathy and I used to belong to Amnesty International. About 100 years ago when AI really was about helping oppressed people, especially political prisoners. We wrote letters and everything. Not any more. Over the last several year…
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Something’s Happening in the World
Remember this? Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a directive to Iran’s military and political leaders to ‘take all necessary steps to protect’ the revolutionary government of Iran. An order from Gen Mohammed Ali Jaafari, the…
