Month: May 2022

On Natalist Narratives

Only by rediscovering a vision of the good life that reckons with the suffering inherent in human experience and conceives of individuals as social animals bound by duty to one another—Edmund Burke’s “partnership of the dead, the living and the unborn”—do we stand a chance of bending the rising generation’s egotism and make them want to grace their communities and nations with new human beings.

Trans-Critical Comedian Attacked

Chappelle, who is politically liberal on most issues, recently came under fire for a Netflix special in which he joked about transgenderism. During the special, he said “gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on earth. That is a fact.” 

MEP Hölvényi: “Radicalizing European Left” Now Openly Hostile to Religion  

Rather than adopting the report’s original draft, which underscored the extent of anti-Christian persecution across the globe, the leftist-dominated EP adopted a draft which excised nearly all references to Christianity, characterized religion as a threat to free society, and claimed it’s a primary “driver of conflict worldwide.” 

Africa Hardest Hit by Food Scarcity, UN Reports

In 2021, Africa was the continent that suffered the most from a lack of basic sustenance, and the only continent in the UN study with catastrophic levels of food scarcity, the highest category.

Dr. Leslyn Lewis: Shaking up Canada’s Conservative Party

I have thought since her first run that Dr. Leslyn Lewis is a breath of fresh air—the outsider candidate that the Ottawa bubble and the Conservative Party needs. The Harper-clones have been at the top for a long time, but it is past time for a facelift.

ECB Normalizes Monetary Policy

In its press release, the ECB reports that bank credit to euro-area residents grew at 5.9% in March.

Ukrainian Civilians Suffering Fuel Shortages

The fuel shortage is an additional strain on Ukrainians already under fire from Russia, many of whom are travelling either to return to homes they abandoned in the initial fear and shock of the Russian invasion, or to seek safety and shelter in another part of the country.

New EU Sanctions Target Russian Oil and Orthodox Church

Experts warn that cutting off Russian oil imports will increase the price of gasoline for European consumers. They also caution that delayed onset of the sanctions will only give Russia time to sell its oil elsewhere before losing European business, weakening the effects of the sanctions.

The Christian Calling of Baconian Science: “Magnifie the Great and Wonderfull Workes of God”

The Christian Calling of Baconian Science: “Magnifie the Great and Wonderfull Workes of God”

Francis Bacon was the talisman of Renaissance science, producing an inductive philosophy which he advanced with all the zeal of a religious convert. But as far as he was concerned, promoting such methods required no actual conversion from the Christian beliefs which prevailed in his day.

May 2, 2022
The Rus and the Rescue of Nations, Part II

The Rus and the Rescue of Nations, Part II

Eurasianism, with its glorification of the Mongol Golden Horde and eastward orientation, tends to divorce Russia from its European heritage, a divorce that is incompatible with any drawing closer to Ukraine.

Geography and natural resources will motivate political conflict, but identity and national construction will determine what social cleavages can be exploited by local and foreign agents in that conflict.

<i>The Leopard</i> Finally Gets an Operatic Adaptation

<i>The Leopard</i> Finally Gets an Operatic Adaptation

American composer Michael Dellaira secured the operatic rights to Lampedusa’s novel after rereading it following a trip to Sicily in 2014. Pandemic complications froze the entire performance world for two years, so the opera only had its world premiere in March 2022, in a run of two performances by the Frost Opera Theater.

May 1, 2022
Germany Changes Stance and Votes to Send Heavy Weapons to Ukraine

Germany Changes Stance and Votes to Send Heavy Weapons to Ukraine

After evading numerous requests by Ukraine for heavy weapons, the German governing parties have now acquiesced and voted for a parliamentary proposal for such a delivery, alongside training offers for Ukrainian soldiers on German soil.

May 1, 2022
Moral Computers? Trusting AI with Right and Wrong

Moral Computers? Trusting AI with Right and Wrong

Over time, as artificial intelligence gets more entrenched in the realm of moral decision-making, it is entirely possible that the AI’s used for those decisions become standardized. But is this desirable? The answer has less to do with the form under which the decision is made—an algorithm or a human brain—and more with what moral values the decision maker applies to the problem.

May 1, 2022
On Acedia: How to Save the West by Fighting Off the Demons of Weariness

On Acedia: How to Save the West by Fighting Off the Demons of Weariness

The notion that there are limits to our growth is holding the West in a psychological stranglehold. Whereas other civilizations are thriving, the West suffers from a weariness that stifles any belief in further progress. This weariness has had a name for almost 2,000 years: Acedia.

May 1, 2022