News from Azerbaijan and Iran
My Azeri friends have brought to my attention two interesting news items from Azerbaijan and the large Azeri community in northern Iran. First is that the editor of a leading…
Foreign Affairs
A Great Love Story and a Fascinating Look at the Fulcrum of Europe and Asia
Last night I finished a truly excellent book, which I received as a gift from a friend in Baku. Not only did I learn a great deal from it, but…
Demonstrations for an Independent Judiciary
Free Egypt God Bless the Egyptian Demonstrators. They have been marching for something of great importance: an independent judiciary. It’s not a natural right. It’s missed by some simple-minded advocates…
Absorbing Immigrants
Roots of American Success My friend Don Boudreaux has a great column on the issue of immigration, “Absorption Nation.” He addresses one narrow claim, viz. that the United States cannot…
Globalization and Good Governance
In preparation for the paper I’m writing for a conference in Portugal, I’ve come across some rather interesting documents. Two especially interesting ones are the “Globalization Index“* published in Foreign…
Cato Unbound Debate on Foreign Aid
Cruise on over to Cato Unbound for a spirited debate about foreign aid.
An Excellent Book!
I just finished Mancur Olson’s last book, Power and Prosperity and I’m pleased to report that it’s a real page-turner. I learned almost as much from it as I did…
A Little Demography
The BBC has run a few interesting pieces on demographics in Europe. One notes the rise of the “child free” lifestyle. The other looks at the rising birthrate in Russia,…
Solidarity with Tyrants
Lukashenko and Milosevic: Two Villainous Enemies of Freedom, but Heroic Figures to Others Two disgusting blog entries on two disgusting tyrants: Mark Brady and Daniel McAdams. UPDATE: Make that four…
An Elegant Essay on the Broken Dreams of Empire
Abdul Aziz Ibn Sa’ud, Sir Percy Cox, and Gertrude Bell, Basrah, 1916. Today’s Washington Post (requires simple registration) has an elegantly written essay on an architect of Iraq, Gertrude Bell,…