My new podcast "Reality University" is now available. It offers a weekly look at the big questions that affect our common life and the key ideas (and books) that help us understand the world around us.
Please drop by and audit a few classes and consider signing up. Because as Philip K. Dick once said, "Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away."
My latest National Post column gazes into Britain's navel and sees freedom receding.
Well this is odd. I was reading all these stories about "Israel Elections: Meet Isaac Herzog, Who Could Defeat Netanyahu" and "Israeli Elections: How the Left Could Win". And then this morning I read "Israel election: Netanyahu's Likud storms to victory". Say, could the legacy media have been reporting their desires as the news before it even happened? Arguably so, given that Britain's Guardian headlined a story about the actual outcome "Israel election: Bibi the magician pulls off a victory – but at what cost?" All the opinion that's fit to print, I guess.
**Update**
I notice that the top headline in today's Globe and Mail was "With Netanyahu, Herzog tied, the coalition building begins". In fact Likud won 30 seats, the Zionist Union 24. Some tie. The story has of course now been updated to explain that "Scrapping like a street fighter, the veteran Mr. Netanyahu used every trick in the book to overcome a four-seat deficit in public opinion surveys published just last Friday. His gentlemanly opponent, Mr. Herzog, waging his first campaign as party leader, didn’t stand a chance."
Thanks for clarifying that last point. From what you said earlier I... oh, never mind.
A discussion of the Magna Carta documentary and other matters with my friend "Nick @ Night!" Vandergragt on 580 CFRA News Talk Radio in Ottawa on March 15. [embed]http://www.thejohnrobson.com/podcast/John2015/March/Nick@Night_March15.mp3[/embed]
This Friday I'll be in Calgary at the Essentials of Freedom conference organized by my friend Danny Hozack. If you're in the area please join Danny, me, Brian Lilley, Mark Milke and others to talk about what's going wrong and how to get it right again. Including (but you saw this coming) a discussion of Magna Carta and our upcoming documentary funded through Kickstarter.
Mark Steyn, "The One-Man Global Content Provider," just wrote a great post "The Field Where Liberty Was Sown" about Magna Carta, the "real rights" it contains, and the modern threat to freedom as voters get seduced by the "right" to free stuff from politicians in return for their right to due process, property and so on. In it he kindly praised our documentary project and people have really taken notice. Thanks, Mark. We really appreciate it.
See my latest thoughts on the Greek financial crisis on the IRPP's Policy Options blog here.
Last night I attended an excellent panel discussion "Magna Carta: What does it mean to Canada?" hosted by House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer. And I was very struck by a comment by panelist the Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform) that our liberties may be eight centuries long but they are only one generation deep. Exactly why we're making the documentary (https://www.kickstarter.com/…/magna-carta-our-shared-legacy…) and I'm delighted to report that we're now at 45%. Nearly half way. A long road ahead... but many thanks to all who have gotten us this far and let's keep it going.