OSLO OBJECTIVIST CONFERENCE

To Vegard Martinsen, Karl-Martin Mertens and Harald Waage: I had a great time at the conference! See you in London next year...?!

HOLY WAR?

Has a holy war started? From the Telegraph (U.K.): "The Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been condemned by Israel for "anti-Semitic" remarks made at a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)." Go to Little Green Footballs for Mahathir Mohamad's speech.

What do you think about Lieutenant General William Boykin's statement that "the war on terrorism is a battle between a "Christian army" and Satan, and that Muslims worship an "idol" and not a "real God."" Read Chip Joyce's (AboutTheWar) comment.

I think that we will have a severe problem to defend the Western world against attacks from militant Islamists, if we have leading individuals in the U.S. military who get their intellectual ammunition from a mystical force...

Related: My post, THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PLUM!

From Today in Literature: "On this day in 1881, P. G. Wodehouse�Pelham Grenville, but known as "Plum," his fans as "Plumheads"�was born, in Surrey, England." [Hat tip to the Wodehouse Society's mailing list.]

I recommend you to watch Jeeves & Wooster.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

How did you celebrate Columbus Day? From The Library of Congress:

"A sailor on board the Pinta sighted land early in the morning of October 12, 1492, and a new era of European exploration and expansion began. The next day, the 90 crew members of Christopher Columbus's three-ship fleet ventured onto the Bahamian island of Guanahan�, ending a voyage begun nearly ten weeks earlier in Palos, Spain."

I visited the Canadian American Friendship Society in Gothenburg and purchased Rand McNally 2003 Road Atlas as a preparation for my future exploration of the Land of Opportunity - America. I plan to do my trip next year or in 2005. I am thinking of visiting N.Y.C., Florida and Texas, as I did in 1996. I want to visit my old school in Manchester, NH, and my workplace in Troy, OH. I am also interested in checking out the west "left" coast. You are more than welcome to give me suggestions on places to visit.

In the news: Motorbikes, Fashion Models, Aviation and Historical Floats Draw Hundreds of Thousands of Spectators to 2003 Columbus Day Parade.

Take some time and read Allen Forkum's post, The Enemies of Christopher Columbus. I will buy a bottle of wine by Castello Banfi and read Lucio Sorr�'s piece, Christopher Columbus - a Culinary History.

UPDATE 10/28/03: Today I received my copy (signed by the author) of The Enemies of Christopher Columbus by Thomas A. Bowden.

ANDREW BERNSTEIN ON YOUR WORLD WITH NEIL CAVUTO

Turn on your TV and watch Andrew Bernstein discussing Martha, Martha, Martha on Neil Cavuto's show. [Hat tip to Holly White.]

Related: My post, MARTHA STEWART.

"BRING 'EM ON, ALLAH" T-SHIRT BY COX & FORKUM

Support a good cause, buy a t-shirt by Cox & Forkum. For more products, go to ThoseShirts.com.

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

THE TEA ROOM'S JOURNAL

I have been looking for a weblog on tea for a long time. I have added the Tea Room's Journal to the Blog category. For more on tea, read my post, LUXURY TEA.

LITERATURE AND MUSIC

I am thinking of introducing a new feature to my blog - "The Book & Music Album of the Month." A potential candidate for the month of November is Thomas A. Bowden's book, The Enemies of Christopher Columbus. I have added the book to my wish list at Amazon.com. Related: Tom Bowden's talk, Columbus Day Without Guilt: How To Overcome "Political Correctness" and Celebrate the Discovery of America, at the George Mason University.

I am interested in receiving your list of favorite books and music albums. I have added more books and music albums @ MyMediaList.com.

Have you read Pigs Is Pigs by Ellis Parker Butler? I found a link to the Berton Braley Cyber Museum via EllisParkerButler.info.

Here are some great links:
* The Nevil Shute Norway Foundation
* Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate
* The P.G. Wodehouse Society

RECALL OF THE CALIFORNIA ROLL(ER COASTER)?

The recall election in California is getting really sleazy and the media is digging up all the dirt they could find... The ugly game is called "puke politics."

In my post, ARNOLD: A "POSTER BOY"?, I recommended the Kausfiles and the California Insider Weblog as news sources. Please note that Daniel Weintraub is now having an editor checking his blog, due to the act by the Sacramento Bee's Ombudsman. (It's funny how the Swedish language has added this "important" word to the English dictionary. I think that the word "smorgasbord" (sm�rg�sbord in Swedish) is of greater importance to the world of words. [Editor: I am getting hungry!])

I think that the whole idea of the recall is a total mess. Here is an eloquent quote from John Lewis' article, California's Recall Election: Dangerous Democracy at Work:

"California has a lousy governor, who plays to the whims of the moment for short-range advantage. But the answer to such incompetence is not to institutionalize the whims of others through the ad hoc removal of elected officials. The California recall is wrong, not because it undermines democracy, but because it elevates democracy over republican principles. Proper understanding of the difference between republicanism and democracy has been lost today. It needs to be regained, if our republic is to be preserved." [Source: Capitalism Magazine. Via Skip Oliva's (Rule of Reason Weblog) post, Recall vs. Republicanism.]

In the news:
My Economic Policy. California needs someone to terminate taxes. By Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnold's groping? Please, Dems, get a grip. By Mark Steyn.
Calif. Recall Holds Dilemma for Liberals.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Calif. Recall.
A matter of principles. Freelance writer Scott Holleran's interview with GOP candidate Tom McClintock. [Hat tip to Betsy Speicher's CyberNet.]

UPDATE 10/08/03: From BBC News: Victorious Arnie faces tough role. Read Moxie's "d�j� vu" experience (That's the Terminator) from a "victory party" @ the Century Plaza Hotel.

California Scheming

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

KARIM MOHAMMEDZADEH: MURDERED BY AN IRANIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENT ?

I recently saw a documentary on the murder of Karim Mohammedzadeh in 1990. He was a political activist against the regime in Iran. The documentary gave several indications that the murder had been approved by the Iranian Intelligence Agency. The case is not solved and there are lots of unanswered questions regarding how the Swedish Security Police handled the matter. Did they let the murder suspect, Reza Taslimi, flee Sweden without questioning him? Were the folks at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs afraid of terrorist attacks, similar to what happened in France?

In the news: Top Iran clerical dissident calls for more freedom.