BRIDGE

Read the article, Ayn Rand, in Spades. [Via Mark Wickens.] If you want to learn more about bridge, go to Adam Wildavsky's web site.

RE-GROUPING OF COLLECTIVISTS

Neo-NationalSoZialists have been camping out in "potato~land". Terrorist Eric Robert Rudolph couldn't attend...

Book recommendation: The Ominous Parallels by Leonard Peikoff.

Related: Check out Zachary Cohen's blog, Exposing The Exposer.

KOFI ANNAN & PIERRE SCHORI

I read in today's local newspaper that U.S. has been opposed to the nomination of Pierre Schori as the administrator of Kosovo.

Pierre Schori made plenty of anti-American remarks during his time as Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and he has been a long-time fan of Fidel Castro's Cuba.

FRENCH FARMER IN JAIL

Jos� Bov�, an anti-globalization activist, is in jail! Take a trip to Tim Blair's Australia, for some hard hitting comments!

Are you a supporter of globalization? Sign my guestmap!

UPDATE 06/24/03: Protesters fill Sacramento streets. Target is conference promoting genetically engineered crops. Where did I put the rotten tomatoes...

SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

Are the Republicans in favor of regulated medicine? Why do they want to expand the Medicare system? If you want to see socialized medicine in practice, come to Sweden...

For more information, read Americans for Free Choice in Medicine's news release on the Medicare reform bill. [Via the Rule of Reason.]

UPDATE 06/24/03: Has it really started an "ideological fight in Congress"?

HARRY POTTER

I haven't read any Harry Potter books, but I got interested after reading Dianne Durante's piece [Hat tip to T.M.] on J. K. Rowling's books.

In the news: Amazon.com wild about Harry Potter.

UPDATE 07/01/03: Religious zealots strike at Harry Potter again.


For more cartoons like this, check out John Cox & Allen Forkum's book, Black & White World.

THE AL-QAEDA NETWORK

Maybe it is time to liberate Liberia? Liberian President Charles Taylor has been involved in supporting al-Qaeda with "blood diamonds". It is frightening how widespread Osama bin Ladens network is. [Via Watch.]

TV BUZZ...ZZZ...

Will you tune in to "Algore TV"? What's up with Bill O'Reilly? I hereby declare a "no spin on your head zone" in cyberspace! Be careful with the break-dance!

Related: my post, AL GORE & APPLE.

UPDATE: DECK OF CARDS

From Voice of America: US Captures No. 4 on Iraqi Most-Wanted List.

Ace of diamonds (#4) - Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti.

WHALE STEAK

I don't blame the Japanese delegates if they want to leave the International Whaling Commission. Let them hunt whales if they want. It's good business. Norwegian fishermen have had a tough time for many years. Give 'em a break!

Are you hungry? Read Anders Jacobsen's post, Eating Whale Steak.

NEW BLOGS

I found some interesting blogs via N.Z. Bear's New Weblog Showcase. Check out the following blogs:

� The Blog Herald - "A blog on the world of blogging."
� BusinessPundit - "Analysis on corporate strategy, economics, politics, and anything else that interests me."
� Trader Mike.

I have added BlogMatcher and Blogosphere.us to the Resources category.

Do you want to find out the shortest path ("degrees of separation") between two blogs? Check out Leonard Richardson's program, Downhill. [Via Blogosphere.us.]

PROTESTS IN IRAN

The heat is on! The mullahs are trying to stop the protesters in different ways. Islamic vigilantes (read: organized thugs) are violently attacking the protesters. The web site SpaceDaily (06/12/03) reports that "Iranian authorities have equipped themselves with transmitters capable of pumping microwave noise frequencies, or parasites, into the sky, thereby disrupting the viewing of those with dishes hidden on their rooftops." Check out the independent Persian TV station, National Iranian Television.

I hope that the protestors are keeping up the fight until July 9...

For more news on Iran, go to Rantburg and Winds of Change. [Via InstaPundit.]

Related: my post, IRAN: FINAL COUNTDOWN.

UPDATE 06/20/03: U.S. won�t rule out strike on Iran. Please participate in the EGO poll.

UPDATE: DECK OF CARDS

Less than half of the deck left!

Ten of spades (#17) - Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti.
Ten of clubs (#18) - Latif Nusayyif al-Jasim al-Dulaymi.
Seven of clubs (#30) - Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi.
Card? [Via The Command Post.] (#53) - Husayn al-Awadi.

In the news: E-Mail Message Blitz Creates What May Be Fastest Fad Ever.

UNITED STATES OF EUROPE?

The European constitution is now approved. I don't think that Europe will ever be united in a similar way as the United States of America. What's the missing link in Europe? A true foundation to build on. Do you think that Val�ry Giscard d'Estaing is a modern day version of Thomas Jefferson?!

UPDATE 06/15/03: Read Nigel Lawson's article, Euro or no, we will never be 'at the heart of Europe'. [Via Rantburg.]

UPDATE 06/20/03: Read Sidney Cammeresi's post, Free microphones and arbitrary power.

UPDATE 06/22/03: Read Declan McCullagh's piece, Why Europe still doesn't get the Internet. [Via What is the Council of Europe? @ Slate.]

FLAG DAY

Required reading for this day: On Flag Day Celebrate America's Core Values: Reason, Rights and Science. By Edwin A. Locke.

MARTHA STEWART

I don't think that Martha Stewart has committed any crime. She shouldn't be punished for being successful. Please, go and read Mark Steyn's article, Martha Stewart Surviving. I found the article on Martha Stewart's personal web site. It is a bit spooky to read that FBI surfs Martha Stewart's Web site for incriminating evidence. For more posts, go to Dollars & Crosses and the Rule of Reason.

UPDATE 06/14/03: Check out SaveMartha.com.


For more cartoons like this, check out John Cox & Allen Forkum's book, Black & White World.

UPDATE 06/27/03: News flash from the Ayn Rand Institute:

"Robert Tracinski, Senior Editor of the Ayn Rand Institute, is scheduled to appear on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" on Friday, June 27, 2003. The program airs at 8PM ET (5PM PT) and replays 3 hours later. Mr. Tracinski will discuss the Martha Stewart story. Check your local listing for times in your area."

CARLOS MANUEL PRUNEDA

From BBC: "A Cuban pop star who has defected to the US said he was " tired of all the hypocrisy" under the government of Fidel Castro."

Is Castro starting to get nervous, or what?

Related: my post, "ELECTION" IN COMMUNIST CUBA.

WASHINGTON POST NEWS FEED

I have added a box with news headlines. The service is powered by WashingtonPost.com. Please give me suggestions on more news sites.

UPDATE 06/16/03: It seems that the news digest headlines from WashingtonPost.com haven't been updated for some time. I have sent them an email, asking if I could switch to the editorial page category instead.

I have added a news feed service by News4Sites.com. I picked current events as a subject. They have 2200+ subjects to choose from.

MILITANT ISLAM

What are your plans for the summer? The Al Qaeda network and the supporters of militant Islam are not taking "vacation" according to the article, Al Qaeda�s Summer Plans, in Newsweek (June 2 issue). Daniel Pipes clarifies the status of the Al Qaeda movement in his article, Al-Qaeda's Limits:

"The ultimate worry is not Al-Qaeda but a diffuse, global militant Islamic ideology that predates Al-Qaeda's creation, is locally organized and constantly recruits new volunteers."

What's the root of the problem? David A. Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, writes the following in his article, Seeds of Hate in Saudi Arabia:

"As long as Saudi youth are essentially brainwashed to hate others, truly amicable relations between Saudis and the West will be hard to maintain. Moreover, Saudi schoolbooks and curriculums are actively exported to other Arab and Muslim countries, where Saudi largess funds many schools. Indeed, many Muslim schools in the United States have been built and staffed with Saudi money, opening the door to the spreading of Saudi-sponsored hate on American soil." [Via Watch.]

Related: my post, THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH.

UPDATE 06/10/03: Read Zev Chafets' article, Iran: the next battleground against terror. Here is an excerpt: "The biggest Big Truth is that, in this war, the enemy isn't this dictator or that nation. It is radical, anti-American Islam in its various states and guises. Bush's fear of saying so out loud forced him to tell a lot of little white lies about Iraq. That's no way to fight for a just cause."

In the news: Regional Parliament Approving Islamic Law in Pakistan.

OPINIONJOURNAL - BEST OF THE WEB TODAY

I have added James Taranto's Best of the Web Today to the News category. The OpinionJournal has its home @ the Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

For a sample, read Big-Headed Bloggers Parade on Raines.

FREE TRADE

Today is the national holiday of Sweden. I am not celebrating this day too much. I look forward to the Independence Day on July 4th, instead!

The East Indiaman G�theborg launched today. The history of the Swedish East India Company (1731-1813) is very fascinating.

How is the trade situation in Europe today? Read the article, EU ministers agree tax haven crackdown, in the Financial Times. It is a wave against free trade going through Europe. Look what happened in the streets of Geneva and Lausanne.

A related side note. I had to pay >50% in customs, taxes, and fees, on a delivery of some EGO products. That's a clear example of protectionism!

Related: my post, EUROPE AND TAXES.

CHRISTIAN SOCIALIST MOVEMENT

From the Observer, 06/01/03: "Hunting is morally equivalent to rape, child abuse and torture, according to one of Britain's leading Christian experts, who is closely connected to Labour's religious establishment." [Via Watch.]

Time for a hunting trip and then eating some tasty animals?

DAY BY DAY CARTOON

For more cartoons like this, check out Chris Muir's site, Day By Day. I have added Day By Day to the Humor category.

Nicholas Provenzo @ the Rule of Reason weblog has more information on the story in his post, Muslim Woman Sues to Wear Veil for License.