THE "HONOR KILLING" OF MUSLIM WOMEN...remains a disgarceful and persisting reality in Pakistan. This horrific account is from The Daily Times, the English language, national newspaper of a nation dedicated to "the religion of peace."

CONSERVATISM IS IN TRANSITION...and moving toward "fusion" says Joseph Bottum the new editor of First Things. He appears, to the proprietor of this space, to make a rather persuasive case.

HOWARD DEAN CONTINUES TO AMAZE...whether on weekend television or otherwise as witness this spluttering piece from the American Spectator.

THE COMING OF THE PODS...is changing social practice, manners and, probably in time, will alter human personality itself. Some immediate consequences among the young of Chicago--and some long-range ones as envisioned by a socio-psychological Brit--are held up for scrutiny in this story from the Chicago Tribune.

THE POWER OF PRAYER...has been "confirmed" in a "scientific study" that was either methodologically deficient or simply fraudulent. The smart money is, according to these two reports from the Skeptical Inquirer, on the latter possibility.

IN GOD WE USED TO TRUST...may become the applicable motto to be inscribed on our money and courthouses. It will probably depend on what the Supreme Court decides in the Ten Commandments cases now under judicial consideration. This story from the Christian Science Monitor reviews the bizarre situation.

THE IMMIGRANT WAVE UNSETTLES NEW ZEALAND...just as it has done in France, Holland and Denmark. From this not-quite-plugged-in article in one of New Zealand's national newspapers one gathers that resentment and correlate guilt are rising, much as they do in less cast-away Western culture locales.

THE TRAGEDY OF SOVIET JEWRY...is the subject of an ambitious new work by Yuri Skelzine. This admiring--but probing--responsive essay has just appeared in the New York Review of Books.

A LEFTIST ISRAELI TRIES ON ANTI-SEMITISM FOR SIZE...and manages to discover--perhaps against his will--its deeper irrationality and inconsistency. This odd and effectively provocative essay was published by Global Politician yesterday.

DOES BETTER SERVICE BRING BIGGER TIPS? It has, of course, been researched--mostly in the U.S. And here the results are summarized in an Australian journal.

MUSICAL PASSION FROM THE I7TH CENTURY: That probably describes all of the work of Couperin--and surely fits this intense "concert" for two violins and harpsichord.