An open letter to Amit Varma

Dear Amit Varma, A year ago, in a post on your blog, you vigorously opposed French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s position that the burqa should be banned. You wrote: But not all women who wear burkhas, especially in the West, do so because they are being forced into it. Many women wear them out of choice, and [...]

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As if I needed one more reason to never move to France

A new French law criminalizes “psychological violence” against a spouse or cohabiting partner. Pretty great I say. The French are geniuses. They have already outlawed pesky things like free speech, unsexy clothes and hard work. Now all those domestic arguments must stay within strict rules laid down by the government. Think about all the hours [...]

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The failed airline bombing and our reaction

The reaction of the TSA — the umbrella organization formed after 9/11 to regulate airline security in the US — to the recent terrorist attempt has been along expected lines. More lines, more meaningless regulations, more stifling security measures. When Richard Reid had the bright idea a few years ago to hide explosives in his [...]

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An alien morality

I love reading Paul Krugman’s NY Times columns and especially the comments that follow because they offer a fascinating glimpse of certain moral principles that are completely alien to my personal philosophy. It is like going into a country where they seem to speak the same language; yet their words mean completely different things than [...]

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It’s all about freedom, baby

Nicolas Sarkozy wants to outlaw the wearing of the burqa in public places in France: The problem of the burka is not a religious problem. This is an issue of a woman’s freedom and dignity. This is not a religious symbol. It is a sign of subservience; it is a sign of lowering. I want [...]

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Libertarianism and climate science denial

Ryan Avent on the incompatibility of climate science and some libertarians: That is to say, confronted by a problem demanding solutions inimical to libertarian beliefs, libertarians were faced with the choice of reneging on their beliefs or turning their back on science. Tellingly, they chose the latter. One might think that’s a rather drastic decision, given [...]

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Tobacco is not in

Oregon wants to raise the (tobacco) smoking age to 21. Wait, that can’t be right, can it? Don’t Oregonians love their mountains and their freedom? I mean, come on, Oregon  is a pioneer in assisted suicide laws. It was one of the very few states to oppose ski-helmet mandates in an online TIME poll from last week! [...]

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How the bikers won their freedom

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead. As we all know, governments do one thing really well — telling us how to run our lives. Thus, most places in the world (for instance every US state except [...]

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Georgia sex offender law

A new Georgia law requires anyone convicted of a sex offence in the past to hand over all their user-names and passwords to the government. Mind you, this law isn’t aimed only at child rapists and suchlike. It will cover everyone who has ever been convicted of a sex related offence. In essence, what this [...]

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Fortune telling — free speech or fraud?

A fortune teller in Montgomery county went to court to try and overturn a local ban on fortune telling. The fortune teller claimed his free speech rights were being hindered. The county claimed they were justified in having a law to prevent fraud.  The county won, as you might have expected (unlike in movies, the [...]

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Two countries, different attitudes.

I came across this interesting news article today about how liberal prostitution laws are encouraging young Swedes to make a short trip to Denmark. In Sweden paying for sex is a crime punishable with a possible six-month jail sentence or a hefty income-linked fine. Perhaps the worst penalty for errant Swedish males is the official [...]

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The kneejerk reactions have begun

A PIL has been filed in India asking to get Google Earth banned. Apparently the terrorists used Google images to plot their attacks. Considering that the terrorists also used buses, trains, cellphones and a fishing boat, perhaps we should ban those as well. And while we are at it, we should make sure that there [...]

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Can’t get out of Carmen mode

What’s so special about Carmen? For one, the truly great music. Carmen is magical melody after magical melody. As for the orchestration, this is what Richard Strauss had to say: “If you want to learn how to orchestrate, don’t study Wagner’s scores, study the score of Carmen. What wonderful economy, and how every note and [...]

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The libertarian moment?

The latest issue of Reason magazine has a long op-ed titled “The Libertarian moment.” Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie make the case that we are at the threshold of a new age of freedom. They cite as evidence relaxing social norms, increased permissiveness and the `soft libertarianism’ that the internet age has spawned. I would [...]

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The tragic case of Clarence Aaron

At the age of 23, he introduced two men who wanted to do trade with each other. He has been in prison since. He will remain in prison for the rest of his life. Link 1. Link 2.

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