Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
That was certainly the case in early Byzantium, as recorded by Procopius in his Secret History, 11: After that he (the Emperor Justinian) passed a law forbidding pederasty, not inquiring closely into those acts committed after the passing of the law but seeking out men who had succumbed to this malady some time in the …
Continue reading "Sexual Crimes Seem to Inspire Suspension of Due Process"
This, from Livy, 38, 24: the Romans were conquering Galatia in Asia Minor, which the Gauls (the Romans' frequent opponent) had occupied. This incident tells us that Celtic women were as strong willed then as now: The wife of the Gallic chieftain Ortiago was one of a number of prisoners. She was a very attractive …
Continue reading "That’s One Way to Deal with Sexual Assault"
Everything is different in China: Under the breakthrough, Pope Francis recognized the legitimacy of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government. Because they had not been selected by the Vatican, they had previously been excommunicated. For centuries, the monarchs of Europe exercised authority in the choice of bishops in their realm. The triumph of Ultramontanism …
Continue reading "Bringing Back “La Regale” in the Middle Kingdom"
Some of my readers are aware that I was involved in our long-term family business for about half of my working career, and still do work in that field. One thing I left behind, however, is industrial relations, or dealing with a trade union. Our company had one for many years in Chicago and again …
Continue reading "Amazon.com, the Company that Could Use a Trade Union"
In Randal Rouser's post on village atheism, after he lists the characteristics of village atheists, he makes the following observation: As I already noted, there are also many village Christians who exhibit similar traits. (But the way, it should not surprise us that when village Christians leave the church, they typically become village atheist.) To …
Positive Infinity 