“Once, Yang was taken by a Scottish poet to see the ruins of a castle said to be Macbeth’s. Yang took in the green, windswept Highlands landscape and the ancient stones and observed to his host: ‘I’ve almost forgotten the feeling of being a poet who lives in his own country.’ Yang does go back to China now and then, to see his family and travel, to sniff the familiar smells and be shocked by the changes in his native... Read more

HOW DICTATORS ARE EXPLOITING THE WAR. Via InstaPundit. On the balance sheet against this. Read more

RELIGION WITHOUT THE LIMITS OF REASON ALONE: Very much dashed-off thoughts from me which need revising and deepening that I don’t have time for right now… so please send any criticism or related thoughts. About this post, Rob Dakin writes: Eve, for openers: I Corinthians: 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News–not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void. cb(1,18); 1:18 For the word of the... Read more

YET MORE IRAQLINKS. Treat with the level of skepticism you believe they deserve. Noli Irritare Leones on internal resistance against Milosevic. Great post and well worth your time, though something less than an example of “winning without war.” Oxblog has news on humanitarian aid, maybe. Who knows. Liberal Oasis takes a dim view of possibly conflicting signals about Basra. (Via Body and Soul.) Light of Reason: China growls. Should be watched. IMO a reflection of the way war on Iraq... Read more

WHICH PARTS OF THE GLOBE HAVE NEVER BEEN RULED BY EUROPEANS? Read more

A PROJECT RACHEL BLOG. Read more

YOU AND ME AND BABY MINUS ME MAKES TWO. Link via The Rat. Read more

MORE BALKIN AND SCALIA. Cacciaguida compares this Balkin post with this one from Ninomania. Ramesh Ponnuru writes: FYI, I recently wrote a short article in the print edition of National Review (“Originalist Sin,” March 10) arguing that racial preferences are constitutional. On the other hand, they’re still illegal under the Civil Rights Act. On the third hand, they probably shouldn’t be illegal in all cases. On the fourth hand, preferences are generally a bad idea. Read more

POETRY WEDNESDAY: Philip Larkin. I think I’ve posted this before, but it has been running through my mind lately, so here it is again: The trees are coming into leaf Like something almost being said; The recent buds relax and spread, Their greenness is a kind of grief. [clipped] Read more

“But in a dictatorial one-party state, religion fills the gap left by the absence of secular politics.” –Ian Buruma, Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing The reverse is also true. Read more