Interesting Things Elsewhere

Copernicus re-buried: an interesting but misleading story

Phil Lawler | catholicculture.org
An interesting AP story is making the rounds this week, reporting that the Catholic Church has finally given due honors to Copernicus. Unfortunately the story is chock-full of statements that are severely misleading if not downright wrong. Start with the opening sentence… read more

Britannia still rules the waves

Rian Malan | The Daily Telegraph
Natal was founded in the early 1840s by Sir Benjamin d’Urban on a stretch of elephant-infested bush. Some would say d’Urban stole the land from the Zulu kingdom, but the occupiers of record in 1843 were Boer Voortrekkers, who reloaded their ox wagons and headed back into the wild interior rather than submit to Queen Victoria. English-speaking Natalians heaved a sigh of relief and proceeded to turn their territory into a shrine to straight bats, and stiff upper lips. read more

Sarkozy’s arch rival Dominique de Villepin sets up rival party

conservativehome
Dominique de Villepin, the eloquent opponent of the Iraq war and leader of the anti-Sarkozist centre-right in France, has set up a new political movement to bring the French right back to its sense. De Villepin used the launch to attack France’s involvement in the Afghan debacle, and Sarkozy’s decision to bring France back into the NATO military structure. ConservativeHome’s International section writes about the new movement with a sceptical eye. read more

Amadeo Guillet

Obituary | The Daily Telegraph
Daybreak on January 21, 1941: 250 horsemen erupted through the morning mist at Keru, cut through the 4/11th Sikhs, flanked the armoured cars of Skinner’s Horse and then galloped straight towards British brigade headquarters and the 25-pound artillery. At a distance of 25 yards they fired, cutting swathes through the galloping horses but also causing mayhem as the shells exploded amid the Sikhs and Skinner’s Horse. After a few more seconds the horsemen disappeared into the network of wadis that criss-crossed the Sudan-Eritrean lowlands. read more

Are Czechs the least religious of all?

Dana Hamplová | guardian.co.uk
This claim is usually based on the sociological surveys and census data which show that only a small proportion of Czechs goes regularly to church and that most of the Czech Republic’s population does not report even a formal affiliation to any church. But the idea that Czechs are almost completely indifferent to any religion is not accurate. read more