tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272790742024-03-13T21:45:29.755-07:00ObjectiBlog: Libertarianism, Politics and ObjectivismNeil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-8796383573092843082017-11-27T17:39:00.001-08:002017-11-27T17:39:16.782-08:00New Rand Letters Published - Including Ones to Sinclair Lewis and Josephy McCarthyIn <a href="https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2017/11/thirteen-previously-unpublished-letters-of-ayn-rand/">The Objective Standard:</a><br /><br />
<div class="content">
Here is the one letter which you can (in part) read if you don't have a subscription:<br />
_______________<br />
<br />
November 27, 1932<br />
Dear Mrs. Lipton:<br />
I was very, very happy to hear from you. Please forgive me for delaying my answer for such a long time. I have lots to tell you.<br />
I have written to Mrs. Stone [another Chicago relative] several
times, but I did not get any answer. I do hope the family isn’t angry at
me for something. I hope you don’t think I am terribly ungrateful. I
have not forgotten all that the family has done for me—nor will I ever
forget it. I also remember that I owe a big debt—and I think I’ll soon
be able to begin to repay it. I think—and hope—that I’m going to get on
my feet now.<br />
I’ve had a pretty hard time. However, I shouldn’t complain, for I
have had a job all through this depression. That newspaper article you
sent me just about covers all the essential news about me—except that
they didn’t get straight the story about how I met Cecil DeMille. They
had that wrong. But I did work in the wardrobe at RKO—for over three
years. It was not a bad job—not sewing (for I still can’t sew a stitch),
but in the wardrobe office. I wasn’t getting very much money—but enough
to carry on. . . . <br />
______________<br />
<br />
I recall that in Anne Heller's biography it was reported that the Stones thought Rand was ungrateful.<br />
</div>
Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-36238226342612757302017-11-25T08:55:00.001-08:002017-11-25T09:10:58.735-08:00J. Charles King Is An Anglican Priest<a href="http://st-edward-the-confessor.com/the-very-reverend-j-charles-king-dean-and-rector/">J. Charles King</a> was the author of an excellent essay on Ayn Rand's ethics in the collection, <a href="http://st-edward-the-confessor.com/the-very-reverend-j-charles-king-dean-and-rector/">The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand</a>. It was by far the best essay in the collection.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-19350510252455673432017-11-25T08:34:00.000-08:002017-11-25T08:34:01.335-08:00Harry Binswanger: John Hospers' Betrayal of Ayn RandHarry was at the now <a href="https://www.hbletter.com/blog/">infamous meeting</a>. Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-56541210420392554462017-11-25T08:31:00.001-08:002017-11-25T08:31:54.316-08:00My Review of Creating ChristI reviewed <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R21N3705LBJS5C/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01LRP3EDG">James Valliant's Creating Christ</a>:<br />
<br />
Make sure to check out my comments.<br />
<br />
_______________________________<br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">James
Valliant and Casey Fahy have written this book following a theme that
has become somewhat common lately: the court of the Flavian Emperors
created the Gospels as propaganda to pacify rebellious Jews and
encourage the populace to obey the Roman state. Unlike, say Joseph
Atwill, our authors contend that Paul was a real person (although they
are uncertain about Jesus) and consider several of his letters
authentic and written pre-AD 66. Paul, who preached a pro-Roman and
more universalistic religion, clashed with James, who was a more
traditional Jew. At some later point (probably after the destruction of
the Temple in AD 70) the Gospels were written and made their way into
the nascent Christian movement.<br /><br />I don't find this thesis
persuasive, but the reader can decide for himself. If there was a
nascent Christian movement centered around Paul and James which did not
have the Gospels, how were the Gospels introduced into the church
without any trace in the historical memory? And why were they accepted
by early Christians?<br /><br />Some problems with the thesis:<br /><br />1.
For example, Paul's associate Epaphroditus is highly unlikely (as our
authors claim) to be the same person as the Roman secretary of the same
name or the person to whom Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews is
dedicated - the proposed transmission belt for which Roman court ideas
of Jesus were inserted into the nascent Christian movement). You'd have
to assume Paul was complicit in some Roman attempt to create a different
Jesus, which is inconsistent with his letters. It was a common enough
name anyway.<br /><br />2. The Romans were very conservative religiously.
The idea of Romans creating a new religion is just bizarre. Remember
Cicero saying we are great because we are most pious? You could get
arrested for holding a meeting of more than a handful of people they
were so paranoid about rebellion. The Romans attributed the success of
their nation to the scrupulous nature of their religious observances.<br /><br />3.The
whole Q, Synoptics, John, etc problem is much more consistent with a
bottom up religion than a top down. What's more likely - Joseph Smith
created Mormonism or the LDS created Joseph Smith? As Twain said, "the
Iliad wasn't written by Homer but by some guy they called Homer."<br /><br />4.
If Paul was a conduit between the Roman court and the Christian
movement, then why did the Romans kill him? Kind of defeats the
purpose. And Paul was killed under Nero, not the Flavians and his
authentic writings date prior to the Flavians. I find it unlikely that
the Flavians would have any interest in continuing a scheme of Nero.<br /><br />Here's
the problem with the the Flavian thesis: Either: (1) Jesus didn't exist
and the Romans created a religion out of whole cloth which people for
some reason believed; or (2) Jesus lived and his followers (or their
followers) wrote down things they recalled him saying and doing
(accurately or not).<br /><br />And Valliant and Fahey have a bigger problem
because they agree that Paul lived and wrote of Jesus (and knows some
historical facts).* And James also was real (and probably others such as
Peter). So their followers accepted Gospels that they knew probably had
little connection to a real Jesus? This is implausible to say the
least.<br /><br />I have a few additional comments:<br /><br />1. Although the
authors breathlessly tell us that they have a combined 60 years of
studying the New Testament, they show almost no familiarity with
conservative, mainstream or even liberal New Testament scholarship. And
they often misrepresent the findings of scholarship when they advance
what they purport to be the consensus. There are quite a few scholars
who date the Gospels to prior to the fall of Jerusalem and even many
critical scholars who contend for a pre-66 date for Mark's Gospel. Our
authors tell us that “most” academics reject to the historical accuracy
of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and refer to leftists such
as Ehrman and the Jesus Seminar. Of course neither Ehrman or any of the
members of the Jesus Seminar represent mainstream New Testament
scholarship. Perhaps our authors should familiarize themselves with
such book as The Historical Reliability of the New Testament by Blomberg
or the recent collections by Keener and Licona which evaluate the
accuracy of the Gospels in light of the writing of its time.<br /><br />2.
When discussing Paul they rely (in part) on the book Operation Messiah
by Voskuilen and Sheldon. Yeah, me neither. Many solid books have been
written lately about Paul that could have been referenced such as by
N.T. Wright, James Dunn, Michael Bird and Stanley Porter. Although
perhaps appearing too late for our authors, Porter's When Paul Met
Jesus: How An Idea Got Lost In History presents the evidence (now
largely forgotten) that Paul did know Jesus.<br /><br />3. The authors claim
that much of the New Testament is pro-Roman propaganda, urging
obedience to the Emperor and the Roman State. They seem totally unaware
of recent scholarship (such as N.T. Wright) that sees on the contrary
implicit criticism of growing Emperor worship, particularly in the East.
I think some of this scholarship goes to far, but it's a useful
corrective to our authors claims. (For a more balanced presentation see
Jesus is Lord, Caesar is Not, by McKnight and Modica.) Our authors
attempt to downplay the persecution of Christians by Rome is not
persuasive and even they have to acknowledge that the Empire's execution
of Paul and Peter runs contrary to their thesis. Apparently early
Christians didn't get the message because most early writing touching on
war opposed Christians serving in the Roman army.<br /><br />4. Many
matters are presented as fact which are highly debatable. The authors
contend that the Virgin Birth is of pagan origin. However, there are
relatively few virgin births outside Christianity and they are quite
different from what is described in the Gospels. For more information
the reader might consult Raymond Brown's The Birth of the Messiah.<br />_______<br />*For a good discussion see Dunn's essay in The Historical Jesus: Five Views.</span>Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-43139115070387173802017-11-25T08:26:00.003-08:002017-11-25T08:26:32.042-08:00New Post By William Vallicella on RandBrief discussion of<a href="http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2017/10/creation-and-existence.html"> Rand and theism</a>.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-79882691068351715072017-01-30T18:08:00.004-08:002017-01-30T18:08:34.022-08:00Ed Powell's New Essay On ImmigrationHere it is an it's excellent:<br />
<br />
https://objectivedissent.org/2017/01/24/immigration/<br />
<br />Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-26321689348940163142016-03-20T08:31:00.001-07:002016-03-20T08:31:06.792-07:00Further Thoughts on Late-Stage ObjectivismIn the language I quoted in the previous post from Rand, she referred to Arabs (Muslims I
assume is what she had in mind) as "savages." She also said harsh
things about American Indians as well. With respect to Indians she
said, "why should you respect the 'rights" <em>they don't have or respect?</em>"
[Ayn Rand Answers, p. 103, emphasis added.] I'm not saying I
completely agree with Rand in her description of Arabs and Indians, but
her point is that Indians didn't have "rights" because rights are
culturally contingent, so to speak. So the next time someone tells you
that Rand supported "open immigration,"* remember that Rand wasn't
speaking in the context of mass third world and Islamic immigration.<br />
<br />
Here's Biddle:<br />
<br />
<em>The only culture to which anyone can have a right is a culture of
respect for and protection of individual rights. Fortunately for those
who love and want to preserve American culture, the principle of
individual rights is the basic principle of that culture; respect for
that principle is an essential characteristic of a true American; and
foreigners who immigrate to America, for the most part, embody that
characteristic.</em><br />
<br />
Note the separation of culture and "respect for and protection of
individual rights." Freedom has been rare in history. It arose in only
a few places after a long cultural gestation. There is no reason to
think that a free country can survive a massive influx of people from
non-rights respecting culture. Biddle does claim that immigrants "for
the most part" accept individual rights. But if what if they don't? In
any event, there has been large third world immigration into the US and
Islamic immigration into Europe. There is enough data to make a
judgment, but nowhere do Brook, Biddle and Binswanger discuss this. The
evidence is incresingly coming in that immigrants don't. To take one
example, the Washington Post recently gloated that thanks to massive
immigration, <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/10/20/washington-post-op-ed-cheers-mass-immigration-will-destroy-nra-second-amendment/">the Second Amendment will go to the way of the Do Do</a>. **<br />
<br />
And Late-Stage Objectivism combines the neo-con belief that it's
always 1933 and that Jews are always in great threat of their freedom.
So Brook and Binswanger believe Israel should keep out Etheopians and Eritreans while the United States should allow almost unlimited entry. <br />
__________________<br />
* As Mark Hunter (ARI Watch) points out, Rand didn't write anything on immigration.<br />
<br />
** The standard open immigration argument is that citizenship should
be limited. But under the Constitution, as interpeted by the Supreeme
Court, if you are born in the US then you are a citizen. So the
immigrants' children, who are likely to share their parents values, will
be citizens and the end result will be the same.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-2753156816656045462016-03-20T08:20:00.004-07:002016-03-20T08:20:55.662-07:00A Theory of Late-Stage Objectivism<div class="content">
Europe is currently undergoing a tax payer funded Islamic
invasion. The effects are clear: the rape of women and children, crime,
terrorism, the general unpleasantness of life* caused by the presence
of large number of people whose loyalty is to Islamic religion.<br />
<br />
The entire Objectivist world has been largely silent on the cultural
transformation Europe is undergoing at the hands of Muhammad's children.
The only Objectivist I know who has discussed the abuse of women is
Yaron Brook. Brook blamed the attacks on native women in Sweden and
Germany not on Islam, but on the police. He specifically denied that
Islam is a misogynistic religion which encourages abusive behavior
toward women. He is not concerned about Europe becoming Islamic, but
Europe becoming fascist with the Muslims being thrown into concentration
camps.<br />
<br />
Why would Brook say such things, given the 1400 year track record of
Islam? Why would such a champion of "uncompromising individualism" not
blame the perpetrators and the culture from which they sprung, but
instead blame the police?<br />
<br />
A few years ago a Vlogger who called himself Fringe Elements (I
believe he now goes by the name "Ryan Faulk") presented a fascinating
theory: human beings have an innate desire to hate. So whom should
liberals hate the most? Of course it should be Muslims. Islam is the
most "racist, sexist and homophobic" religion the world has ever seen.
But the Left can't hate Muslims, because Muslims are a minority.
Instead, the Left hates the bigots.<br />
<br />
Yaron Brook, then, is basically following the Leftist narrative.
Muslims are a minority and to the extent that they behave poorly, it is
not their fault - it's the fault of (what's left of) Western
Civilization for failing to assimilate them, deter them from committing
crime, and giving them welfare. The people Brook hates are the bigots
and fascists who actually believe that Muslim misbehavior might have
something to do with Islam.<br />
Harry Binswanger is another Leftist. He supports open immigration of
Muslims into Europe (he exempts Israel, according to a former member of
his HBList). Opposition to mass immigration of Muslims is based on
racism. "I’m very afraid that the actual reason for limiting
immigration is xenophobia, which is simply a polite word for racial
bigotry."** And Binswanger can't bring himself to have a particular
dislike of Islam: "I don't believe that Islam is any more violent than
Christianity was when Christianity was at the same stage (i.e., pre-
Enlightenment)."<br />
<br />
I could quote similar comments from Amy Peikoff, Craig Biddle and
others, but I'll save the effort. The point is clear: Objectivists are
not fighting the Left, they are the Left.<br />
<br />
Late-stage Objectivism is a combination of Peikoff style analysis
(Kant is evil and leads to fascism) and the contemporary Leftist
oppressor/oppressed narrative. ***<br />
_______<br />
* Here is a recent description of Molenbeek, Belgium (where the
mastermind of the Paris attacks was able to live for 4 months without
detection):<br />
<br />
"Over nine years, as I witnessed the neighborhood become increasingly
intolerant. Alcohol became unavailable in most shops and supermarkets; I
heard stories of fanatics at the Comte des Flandres metro station who
pressured women to wear the veil; Islamic bookshops proliferated, and it
became impossible to buy a decent newspaper. With an unemployment rate
of 30 percent, the streets were eerily empty until late in the morning.
Nowhere was there a bar or café where white, black and brown people
would mingle. Instead, I witnessed petty crime, aggression, and
frustrated youths who spat at our girlfriends and called them 'filthy
whores.' If you made a remark, you were inevitably scolded and called a
racist. There used to be Jewish shops on Chaussée de Gand, but these
were terrorized by gangs of young kids and most closed their doors
around 2008. Openly gay people were routinely intimidated, and also
packed up their bags."<br />
<br />
**Admittedly this wasn't in the context of Islamic immigration, but
nowhere does Binswanger exempt opposition to Islamic immigration from
his discussion.<br />
*** Compare Rand: "The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures.
They are still practically nomads. Their culture is primitive . . .
[they are] savages." [Ayn Rand Answers, page 96.]<br />
</div>
Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-71258654255203558392016-03-12T14:07:00.000-08:002016-03-14T07:16:42.203-07:00Ten Steps to End Jihad in the West, IIIn step number 8, Biddle says as follows, "Answer objections to the effect that 'This approach will fuel more jihad!' with observations as to why that makes no sense.<b> </b>Claims to the effect that 'killing jihadists will cause more jihad'
are absurd; and, when such objections arise, we should point out why
this is so"<br />
<br />
Well, framed this way it is absurd. However, as Biddle must know, this is not the argument. The argument starts with the fact that there are several million Muslims in the United States and over 40 million Muslims in Europe. A small number are inclined toward Jihad and there are millions of fence sitters and millions who are opposed. Assume that the West takes military action against Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Jihadists will continue to engage in Jihad and the fence sitters will become radicalized.<br />
<br />
Look at the situation in France. In France, Muslims riot every year on New Years eve. Last year in Paris <a href="http://pamelageller.com/2015/01/muslims-torch-940-cars-across-france-on-new-years-eve.html/">they burned over 900 cars</a>. The Algerian Muslims riot <a href="http://pamelageller.com/2015/01/muslims-torch-940-cars-across-france-on-new-years-eve.html/">if Algeria qualifies for the World Cup (or doesn't qualify for the World Cup)</a>.<br />
<br />
And contrary to what Biddle seems to think, it doesn't take any kind of guidance from Saudi Arabia to riot and kill. Consider the Los Angeles riots in 1992. According to Wikipedia, 55 were killed and 2.00 injured.<br />
<br />
One issue that I think is worth mentioning is "Sudden Jihadi Syndrome." Many of the Muslims who commit acts of terrorism were, shortly before their attacks, rather nominal Muslims. For example, the Chattanooga shooter was a user of alcohol and drugs until his shortly before his murder of five Americans. (Sudden Jihadi syndrome <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394119/Its-time-confront-taboo-First-cousin-marriages-Muslim-communities-putting-hundreds-children-risk.html">might have a biological basis</a>.) So the prospect of large scale "conversion" of Muslims to Jihadism is quite likely.*<br />
______<br />
*Biddle in fact goes out of his way to avoid mentioning immigration. "Muslims who attack Westerners because we killed jihadists who
murdered our countrymen were already with the enemy and are now just
making it known" This makes it sound as if the "Muslims" are people who secretly entered into the West. In fact, they were people who were allowed to come here legally or are (in the case of French terrorists) often second or even third generation residents of France.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-22638506269827470822016-03-12T09:31:00.000-08:002016-03-14T07:07:14.160-07:00Ten Steps to End Jihad in the West, ICraig Biddle has a <a href="https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2015/11/ten-steps-to-end-jihad-against-the-west/">lengthy article with this title in The Objective Standard.</a> I'll make a few comments.<br />
<br />
"The relationship between Islam and our current military enemy is
essentially of the same kind as the relationship between Nazism and Nazi
Germany or Shinto and Imperialist Japan in World War II. Nazism is an
ideology, a body of ideas; Nazi Germany was a state ruled by a regime
that was motivated by its leaders’ and supporters’ acceptance of those
ideas. Shinto is a religion; Imperialist Japan was a state ruled by a
regime that was motivated by its leaders’ and supporters’ acceptance of
that religion. Likewise, Islam is a religion; various states, regimes,
and groups today are motivated by their leaders’ and supporters’ and
members’ acceptance of that religion."<br />
<br />
All analogies break down sooner or later, and this one breaks down quickly. While I don't know much about Shintoism, Nazism was an aberration in
German history and wasn't ingrained in the minds of Germans. Also,
Japan and Germany were industrialized countries. Once the war was over,
the people there just wanted to get on with their lives. More importantly, the allegiance of the Muslim is not to Saudi Arabia,
Iran, or any of the 49 countries that have a majority Islamic
population. The allegiance of the Muslim is to the Ummah, the spiritual
Islamic nation. Saudi Arabia and Iran could be bombed, its rulers converted to Quakerism
or what have you and that would not change the Muslims' obligation to
engage in Jihad.<br />
<br />
<br />
Certainly Biddle can't explain (or doesn't even try to explain) why acts of terrorism in the West would cease if a better or more aggressive foreign policy were implemented. Consider the San Bernadino, California terrorists. They were of Pakistani descent. The guy had a
decent job and the couple a six-month old baby. For whatever the flaws of the
West, it gives Muslims a better chance for a happy life but for Muslims
this just creates on big chip on their shoulder.<br />
<br />
A couple of years ago, a Jihadist in France got into his car and ran a dozen people over. Does Biddle think this person would not have engaged in this attack if the United States had a better foreign policy? It certainly doesn't take funding from an Islamic nation to run people over. Nor will Biddle tell us how his ten steps will end <a href="http://www.vdare.com/posts/germany-regensburg-considers-women-only-sections-on-buses-because-rapefugees">the rape Jihad in Europe</a>, an issue on which he has been completely silent.<br />
<br />
Of course, Biddle takes this position because he refuses to discuss the relationship between Islamic immigration into the West and terrorism. In fact, Biddle <a href="https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2014/07/rights-respecting-immigration-policy-muslims/">appears to support "open immigration" of Muslims into the West</a> and (I assume) Israel.*<br />
<br />
One argument which I've heard open immigration Objectivists make is that destroying Saudi Arabia or Iran would demoralize Muslims and discourage them from engaging in Jihad. Biddle appears to take this position as well:<br />
<br />
"[I]n the wake of a campaign of total destruction of Islamic regimes and
jihadist groups that have attacked us in the name of an allegedly
all-powerful 'Allah,' even the dimmest mullahs and jihadists who escaped
destruction would have to wonder whether Allah is as great and powerful
as they had assumed. They might even begin to doubt his existence. 'If
Allah is not willing or able to save us or our regimes from the
retaliatory wrath of the West,' they might wonder, 'then maybe he’s not
all he’s cracked up to be . . .' The more intelligent survivors might
make substantially deeper and broader connections: 'Maybe, instead of
serving Allah, we should serve <i>ourselves</i>. Maybe we should do
what those triumphant, wealthy, happy Westerners do, and go by reason
rather than faith; be productive rather than destructive; pursue life
and happiness rather than death and martyrdom; establish
rights-respecting republics rather than rights-violating theocracies . .
.'<br />
<br />
Islam has been around for 1,400 years and Biddle gives no examples from Islamic history where its defeats have prompted a rethinking of the Muslim's allegiance to his faith. Consider the failure of Islam. Yes, it has had its periods of
success (the Arabs early on and also the Turks), but relatively soon the
religion was on the retreat militarily, culturally and scientifically.
Even the more populous Arab states couldn't prevent the creation of
Israel in 1948. If any thing, this made the Muslims more bitter. <a href="http://www.solopassion.com/node/10204">Grant Jones observes</a> that radical Islam emerged out the defeat of Islam in the early 20th century:<br />
<br />
"Islam has suffered many devastating military set-backs from the sacking
of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 to the slaughter of the Mahdi’s forces
at Omdurman in 1898. From the ashes of numerous defeats, Islamic
conquest, in its many forms, rebounded once the victors became tired,
soft or converted. Biddle seems unaware that it is for this very reason
that the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928. Hassan al-Banna’s
purpose was to revitalize Islamic resolve after the overwhelming defeat
of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The Caliphate was dissolved
and large sections of the Moslem world were under foreign domination.
This disaster did not 'deflate their motivations to kill.' Instead, the
Islamists became ever more vicious, as their alliance with Nazi Germany
makes clear."<br />
_____<br />
*Under open immigration, Europe would gradually become Islamic. As the Muslim population increases support for military action would decrease. Eventually Europe would become majority Muslim, with its armies and nuclear weapons under Islamic control. Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-21189514746345567892016-03-05T06:29:00.001-08:002016-03-05T06:30:34.658-08:00Objectivist Roundup - March<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Scott Ryan, author of </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Objectivism-Corruption-Rationality-Critique-Epistemology/dp/0595267335/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457050448&sr=1-1"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Objectivism
and the Corruption of Rationality</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>has passed away. See </span><a href="http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2016/03/scott-ryan-rip.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Ed Feser’s
tribute here</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.checkyourpremises.org/"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Check Your
Premises</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> (the blog of the pro-ARI Ayn Rand Society) has published </span><a href="http://www.checkyourpremises.org/2016/01/31/a-new-find-for-the-archives-harry-binswangers-1977-response-to-robert-nozick/"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Harry
Binswanger’s 1977 response to Robert Nozick</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> concerning his “On the
Randian Argument.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The Huffington Post wonders </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/francis-levy/is-donald-trump-a-utilita_b_9348284.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">if Donald
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The snoozefest known as </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Objectivism-Rands-Philosophy-Living-Loving-ebook/dp/B01B76F9MY/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457051855&sr=1-7&refinements=p_28%3Aayn"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
Objective Standard</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> has published a </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Objectivism-Rands-Philosophy-Living-Loving-ebook/dp/B01B76F9MY/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457051855&sr=1-7&refinements=p_28%3Aayn"><span style="line-height: 115%;">collection
of writings about Ayn Rand</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span></div>
Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-34051627931928365082016-02-22T16:19:00.001-08:002016-03-05T06:29:40.462-08:00Objectivist Roundup - February<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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There are forty-nine countries where Muslims are in the
majority <a href="https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2015/11/ten-steps-to-end-jihad-against-the-west/">and
Craig Biddle can’t wait to nuke ‘em all.</a></div>
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Former Ayn Rand associates <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Allan+Blumenthal+MD&search-alias=books&field-author=Allan+Blumenthal+MD&sort=relevancerank">Allan
Blumenthal</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Joan-Mitchell-Blumenthal/e/B00IZSWA02/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1449333167&sr=1-1">Joan
Mitchell Blumenthal</a> self-published some books in 2013.</div>
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You’re 50 years young Objectivism – <a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/objectivist-summer-conference-2016/custom-22-0fd557a15a8e404aa64f7873102c8951.aspx">and
it’s time for a reboot</a>.</div>
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The Gotthelf and Salmieri <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1405186844/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i2_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=17XZ00Q2MKSY9K5YDKG7&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop">Companion
to Ayn Rand</a> is out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R11LLMOWBYXZ48?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl">have a
preliminary review</a>.</div>
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The increasingly ARI-dominated Ayn Rand Society has a new
blog, <a href="http://www.checkyourpremises.org/">Check Your Premises</a> (not
to be confused with the anti-Diana Hsieh web site).</div>
Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-24814150385260258712016-01-18T07:26:00.001-08:002016-01-18T07:26:36.293-08:00Companion to Ayn Rand - Preliminary ReviewAyn Rand was a novelist and philosopher who has never gotten her due.
Perhaps it is because of her unfashionable ideas (laissez-faire
capitalism and rational selfishness) or perhaps it is because of her
polemical style. Nonetheless, her ideas are often unique and well worth
studying. So it’s good to see a study of her work in the prestigious
Blackwell Companions series. I haven’t read the entire book, but have a
few preliminary comments.<br /><br />1. The book is edited by Greg Salmieri
and the late Allan Gotthelf. Both Salmieri and Gotthelf are/were
associated with the Ayn Rand Institution as are most of the
contributors. Of course there’s nothing wrong with that: scholars
associated with the ARI often do fine work, but you would have to be
blind not to see that almost unqualified praise for Rand (and her heir
Leonard Peikoff) seems to be mandatory. From what I can tell, that’s
pretty much par for the course here. I don’t think this seriously
detracts from the work because what it offers are moderately in-depth
overviews of Rand’s views on various topics.<br /><br />2. This book does
mark a new path in ARI scholarship because the essays often make mention
of Nathaniel Branden as a source on Objectivism and also interacts with
non-ARI Objectivists (such as David Kelley and Stephen Hicks),
sympathizers with Objectivsm (such as Roderick Long) critics of
Objectivism (such as Scott Ryan) and even the once forbidden Journal of
Ayn Rand Studies (which I have written a couple of minor pieces for).
In years past, anyone not in the line of Apostolic Succession would
pretty much have been ignored.<br /><br />3. The introductory essay by Greg
Salmieri ("An Introduction to the Study of Ayn Rand") is quite good.
He discusses Rand, her works, and her influence in the academy. For
some reason he didn't mention the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, which has
been publishing since 1999. However, he does comment on several of the
various works published posthumously under the editorship of various
ARI writers. It had long been suspected (and shown by Jennifer Burns in
2009) that these works have been heavily edited for ideological
purposes (to make Rand more consistent and omit embarrassing material).
This was further confirmed by Robert Campbell a few years ago in his
analysis of the changes that Robert Mayhew made in editing Rand’s
question and answers (Ayn Rand Answers). Salmieri acknowledges that
much editing has taken place and that there are editorial decisions that
“I wish had been made differently [but] these books serve their purpose
well . . . .” I find this shocking. A half dozen of Rand’s books have
been so heavily edited as to be worthless for scholars and almost
worthless for the casual admirer and Salmieri can’t get worked up over
this? These books should be removed from publication immediately and
replaced with accurate versions. Rand worked hard to protect the
integrity of her material and the ARI should do the same.<br /><br />4.
Anyone who has followed the ongoing controversy over Rand’s life and the
biographies of her will be interested in what Salmieri and Shoshana
Milgram (who is writing an authorized biography of Ayn Rand) say. In
1986, Barbara Branden wrote the first full-length biography of Rand (The
Passion of Ayn Rand). Shortly after the publication of Passion,
Leonard Peikoff denounced the book as an “arbitrary assertion” (without
having read it) and in 2005 James Valliant (who had access to Rand’s
diaries thanks to Leonard Peikoff) claimed that everything in Passion
was arbitrary (even, I imagine, that Rand was born in Russia) but also
“dishonest” and that Branden made stuff up out of whole cloth. (I
critiqued Valliant’s moronic book in 2008, which you can find on the
web.) Well, in 2009 Jennifer Burns and Anne Heller published
biographies of Rand which more or less followed Branden’s take on Rand.
And what’s more, they often used Branden’s book as a source. These
books were not viewed with favor by the ARI establishment. Now,
Salmieri and Milgram don’t appear to have a high regard for these three
biographies either, but gone are the days when everything Barbara
Branden said should be dismissed out of hand. Milgram, unfortunately
quotes Burns out of context when she reports Burns as saying that
Branden’s biography is “marred by serious inaccuracies.” (page 87 in
the Wylie edition). Burns, however, goes on to say “too often Branden
takes Rand’s stories about herself at face value, reporting as fact
information contradicted by the historical record.” Milgram does make
some good points about the three biographies and I think they all have
their strengths and weaknesses. She is correct that Passion (and the
memoirs of Nathaniel Branden) should be used with caution, in particular
when reporting something for which they are the only source (private
communications, for example). I would be curious what Milgram thinks
about those who have said things equally critical of Rand and who never
broke with her or, if they did, their breaks did not involve dishonesty.
I assume Milgram has interviewed such people or consulted the
interviews that others have done of them.<br /><br />5. I’ve read only a few
of the essays beginning to end, but they were informative albeit not
particularly critical. The essays all appear to be polished and
Salmieri and Gotthelf are to be commended for what must have been a
lengthy editing process.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-46414104328193102015-08-15T07:26:00.002-07:002015-08-15T07:26:42.601-07:00Objectivist Roundup<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ayn Rand
biographer Anne Heller will shortly be publishing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054445619X/ref=s9_simh_bw_p14_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=1ZV5PC7HS1K6BN29QJ9G&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2094163762&pf_rd_i=241582011">a
small biography of Hanna Arendt</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. Ayn Rand’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451475550/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438432444&sr=1-1&keywords=ayn+rand+ideal">novel
Ideal</a> was recently published.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here
is <a href="http://www.annecheller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/IDEAL-review1.pdf">Heller’s
review</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. Harry Binswanger recently published <a href="http://www.hbletter.com/my-story/">his “conversion” story</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. Objectivist philosopher Greg Salmieri was <a href="http://humstatic.uchicago.edu/philosophy/elucidations/Salmieri_AynRandsMoralPhilosophy.mp3">interviewed
about Rand’s ethical theory</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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5. Peter Schwartz published <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Selfishness-Self-Sacrifice-Unjust-Destructive/dp/1137280166/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438432829&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=schwartz+in+defense+of+selfifhness">In
Defense of Selfishness</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ex-Objectivist
philosopher Bryan Register critiques it on his new blog <a href="https://bregister.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/peter-schwartzs-elementary-mistakes-1-the-word-selfish/">here</a>
and <a href="https://bregister.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/peter-schwartzs-elementary-mistakes-2-egoism-and-altruism/">here</a>
and <a href="https://bregister.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/peter-schwartzs-elementary-mistakes-3-more-about-selfish/">here</a>.</div>
Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-4274522488729526582015-07-18T06:41:00.001-07:002015-07-18T06:41:02.019-07:00Greg Salmieri InterviewedObjectivist philosopher Greg Salmieri <a href="http://humstatic.uchicago.edu/philosophy/elucidations/Salmieri_AynRandsMoralPhilosophy.mp3">is interviewed about Ayn Rand's ethics</a>. An enjoyable and nuanced discussion.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-62904090684718112532015-06-21T06:33:00.001-07:002015-06-21T06:33:50.125-07:00My Amazon Review of Peter Schwartz's In Defense of Altruism<span class="a-size-base review-text">Peter Schwartz has penned a book
that fills a need in Objectivist literature. According to Ayn Rand,
selfishness is a virtue and it's opposite – altruism – destroys morality
and civilization. While there has always been a good deal of
discussion around these points, no one has written a full length defense
of Rand's ideas.<br /><br />Generally speaking, I enjoyed this book.
Schwartz makes many excellent points and, along the way, makes a good
Objectivist case that altruism has negative consequences for many areas,
not just ethics. I do have a few criticisms.<br /><br />1. Schwartz's
best examples to prove his point are focused on what might be called
"pathological altruism." Yes, we'd all agree that there is something
wrong with someone who would give up all his body parts until he has
none left, or gives away all his money to charity rather than leave any
for his children; however, these are rather extreme examples. People
generally live their lives with a proper amount of concern for
themselves and others. I think Schwartz opposes selfishness and
altruism in ways that don't correspond to our day to day decisions. It
is certainly possible to have concern with oneself and also engage in
"other directed" behavior.<br /><br />2. Related to the above, Schwartz
tries to make his case by caricaturing altruism. I don't know any
"altruists" who would seriously maintain that it is morally desirable
(if not obligatory) to give one's money to a drug addict.<br /><br />3.
Schwartz's understanding of history is better than the typical
Objectivist's (for example, Leonard Peikoff's books are filled with all
sorts of howlers, most notably his misunderstanding of Gödel's
Incompleteness Theorem) but his discussion of religion, the Middle Ages,
and the Renaissance could be a bit more nuanced.<br /><br />4. Some of Schwartz's digressions, such as government regulation of medicine, are a little far afield from the main topic.<br /><br />5.
Altruism, as defined by the man who coined the term (Comte) does in
fact mean something close to what Rand meant by it. Selfishness,
however, means primarily concern for oneself to the expense of others.
Schwartz is free to use terms as he wants, but he seems to think that if
only the world used these words the way he does, the morality of
selfishness would become clear. I think this places a little too much
faith in the ability to discern morality from the proper use of terms.<br /><br />These flaws notwithstanding, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/In-Defense-Selfishness-Self-Sacrifice-Destructive/dp/1137280166/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8">I recommend this book.</a></span>Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-10470101060545065752015-04-16T17:06:00.002-07:002015-04-16T17:08:44.392-07:00Onkar Ghate - Chief Content Officer of the Ayn Rand InstituteOnkar Ghate, Ph.D. bills himself as the "Chief Content Officer" of the ARI.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0CMPGBpLSiM/VTBO_mgmIyI/AAAAAAAAAEs/-LqJOc9bc2E/s1600/Ghate_OnkarHiResRGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0CMPGBpLSiM/VTBO_mgmIyI/AAAAAAAAAEs/-LqJOc9bc2E/s1600/Ghate_OnkarHiResRGB.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
Dr. Ghate is no dummy. Here are his self-described "specialties":<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>
Objectivism
</li>
<li>
Ayn Rand's novels & ideas
</li>
<li>
Religion & Morality
</li>
<li>
Philosophy
</li>
<li>
Laissez-faire capitalism
</li>
<li>
Education & Multiculturalism
</li>
<li>
Government & Business
</li>
<li>
Culture & Society
</li>
<li>
Foreign Policy
</li>
<li>
Science & Industrialization </li>
</ul>
Hoss, that's 16 specialties for a guy who is 48 years old. <br />
<br />
Well, you can't fault Dr. Ghate for a lack of self-esteem. He's Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises and Arnold Toynbee all in one.<br />
<br />Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-18305731118246887542015-04-14T17:23:00.001-07:002015-04-14T17:23:05.145-07:00Craig Biddle: Islam, the West, Faith or Whatever<a href="https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2015-spring/islamic-jihad-and-western-faith/">This is an article </a>by The Objective Standard editor Craig Biddle.<br />
<br />
Am I the only one who suspects that TOS uses some moderately advanced AI software to churn out endlessly mind numbing robotic essays like this?<br />
<br />
Faith, reason, Christianity, Islam.<br />
<br />
Islam, Christianity, reason, faith.<br />
<br />
Etc. How many combinations and permutations can Biddle come up with? Is the guy bored?<br />
<br />
TOS was never a great magazine, but since Biddle was booted out of Objectivism by Leonard Peikoff he's been left with his own writing and the B- writing of Ari Armstrong.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-62374447224026782242015-04-14T16:57:00.002-07:002015-04-14T16:57:35.725-07:00Percy Sledge, RIP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y8raabzZNqw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y8raabzZNqw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-88748490183891974872015-02-07T06:04:00.000-08:002015-02-07T06:09:28.228-08:00My Review of Ayn Rand Nation in JarsMy review of <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/255012779/Ayn-Rand-Nation">Ayn Rand Nation </a>is now available on the web. <br />
<br />
<br />Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-7603223585943253562015-01-10T07:13:00.000-08:002015-01-10T07:14:27.171-08:00Nathaniel Branden Interviewed In 1989<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/A2LJY6LrHGQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Michael Kelly recently found this on YouTube.<br />
<br /><br />
<br />Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-65534225052804304612014-12-04T18:39:00.002-08:002014-12-04T18:55:05.625-08:00Nathaniel Branden, RIP<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/03/nathaniel-branden-rip">Nathaniel Branden passed away yesterday.</a><br />
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I never met him. He sent me an email a few years ago thanking me for my critique of The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics.<br />
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Here is Chris Sciabarra's <a href="http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/notablog/">excellent tribute</a>. Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-2813475037481111122014-11-14T17:11:00.004-08:002014-11-14T17:18:58.642-08:00Charles Murray on Ayn RandCharles Murray <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2014/10/16/ayn-rand-captured-the-magic-of-american-life/">writes on Ayn Rand</a>.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But there’s no getting around it: taken as a whole, there is a dismaying
discrepancy between the Ayn Rand of real life and Ayn Rand as she
presented herself to the world. The discrepancy is important because
Rand herself made such a big deal about living a life that was the
embodiment of her philosophy. “My personal life is a postscript to my
novels,” she wrote in the afterword to “Atlas Shrugged.” “It consists of
the sentence: ‘<i>And I mean it.</i>’ I have always lived by the
philosophy I present in my books—and it has worked for me, as it works
for my characters.” As both books [the Heller and Burns biographies] document, that statement was
self-delusion on a grand scale.</blockquote>
Incidentally, this is the 20th anniversary of <i>The Bell Curve</i>.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-58723558890245326092014-10-26T09:40:00.000-07:002014-10-26T09:40:04.439-07:00Harry Binwsanger on Ayn RandHarry Binswanger has always come across as a little cultish in his praise of Ayn Rand. Here is <a href="http://objectivismaynrand.com/2014/09/09/defense-ayn-rand/">something from 2009</a>.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I think there’s something that nobody here is getting: It’s not that Ayn
Rand had three or four ideas, and the question is whether or not a given
person understands them correctly. <strong>Ayn Rand wrote extensively, systematically on hundreds of topics in philosophy, and many in related fields.</strong> She developed, over a period decades, a <strong>rich, deep, multi-tiered philosophical structure</strong>.</blockquote>
If by "hundreds" we take to be a minimum of 300 and systematically we take to be around 10 pages, then we are talking about 3000 pages of writings. I don't think Rand wrote that much pure philosophy at all.<br />
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The one area of philosophy which Rand treated in a systematic way was her theory of concepts. Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27279074.post-44405223336421111992014-10-26T06:52:00.004-07:002014-10-26T06:52:54.224-07:00Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life<a href="http://www.toqonline.com/blog/a-sense-of-life-ayn-rand/">Interesting article from a racial realist site</a>.Neil Parillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074901258306769278noreply@blogger.com0