Things That Make Me Go Hmm
If you enjoyed this please share it so others can discover The BFD.
History
Pamphlet Truths Spark Outrage
Don Brash bassettbrashandhide.com Don Brash was Reserve Bank Governor from 1988 to 2002, and National Party Leader from 2003 to 2006 A few days ago, I was phoned by a reporter for some organisation called Te Ao Maori News to ask if I knew anything about a pamphlet which
How Europe Learned to Swim — Again
It’s been joked that reality TV show Bondi Rescue ought to be realistically titled the Asians Can’t Swim show. But there is real tragedy behind the jokes: many of Australia’s unprecedented spate of drownings over the last few years are recent migrants. So much so that water
Are These the World’s Oldest Animals?
When Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, the book caused an uproar. Darwin’s was the most serious challenge to Biblical literalism since Galileo. He also made a great many people uncomfortable simply by dethroning the image of humans as specially created in the divine image.
Michelangelo’s Finger on the Bum
Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists to have ever lived. He has also been more recently outed as quite the boy-fancier. So it’s perhaps appropriate that what is probably his fingerprint has been found on the arse-cheek of a sculpture of a slave boy. A 500-year-old wax sculpture
Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Alludes to an Older Story of Controlling Women Artists
Margot Irvine University of Guelph Margot Irvine is the Director of the School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Guelph where she teaches in the French and European Studies programs. She is interested in women’s access to literary and cultural institutions in France. Recent news about Britney
Pompeii: The Romans Were Here
In his A Short History of Christianity, Geoffrey Blainey considers the question of Jesus’ existence. As Blainey points out, the very fact that roughly contemporary records exist of someone so obscure as a carpenter-turned-preacher in the Roman boonies is a remarkable fact in itself. Historical records, until at least the
The BFD Food Column: Lemon Tart with Italian Meringue
It’s been a while since I posted a nice dessert, so I chose the lemon tart with its topping of Italian meringue. The pressing question is which topping should you use to adorn the lemon tart: the Italian, Swiss or French meringue? I know the New Zealanders think they
Democracy’s Road to Tyranny
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn mises.org Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (1909-1999) was an Austrian nobleman and socio-political theorist who described himself as an enemy of all forms of totalitarianism and as an “extreme conservative arch-liberal” or “liberal of the extreme right.” Described as “A Walking Book of Knowledge,” Kuehnelt-Leddihn had an encyclopedic
Most So-Called ‘Socialists’ Know Nothing about Socialism
Simon Black sovereignman.com Simon Black, as James Hickman is more commonly known, is the Founder of Sovereign Man. He is an international investor, entrepreneur, and a free man. His daily e-letter, Notes from the Field, draws on his life, business and travel experiences to help readers gain more freedom,
Rewriting History: Apologies for the Dawn Raids
Michael Bassett bassettbrashandhide.com Political historian Michael Bassett CNZM is the author of 15 books, was a regular columnist for the Fairfax newspapers and a former Minister in the 1984-1990 governments It was Prime Minister Helen Clark who started the practice of making apologies to groups who could be nursing
What the Nazis Had in Common with Every Other Collectivist Regime of the 20TH Century
Lawrence W. Reed mercatornet.com Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed is FEE’s President Emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Global Ambassador for Liberty. Reed served as president of FEE from 2008-2019 after serving previously as chairman of its board of trustees in the 1990s and both writing and
11 Weird Wars in History That Will Shock You
Jason Green weirdworldwire.com Jason Green is Weird World Wire’s resident expert on weird wars, weapons, dictators, and various other bizarre aspects of the world. He particularly enjoys covering the weird aspects of the UK and Eastern Europe. As the Edwin Starr song goes: ”War, what is it good
The BFD Food Column: Parmigiano Melanzane
Parmigiano Melanzane What a great way to say Eggplant Parmesan. Full of gusto, Latin rhythm and a superbly succinct description of the portion at hand. Eggplant parmesan is a mix of continents. The eggplants originate from Asia, the tomato from South America and the cheese from Italy where it was