A GRIM EVALUATION OF REALITY...in the wake of the London bombings is given here by John O'Sullivan of the National Review who says that the Brits are going to have to stop kidding themselves about their Islamic population.

THE PROPER LIMITS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM...are examined and redefined in a recent book by a University of Chicago scholar who gets a favorable review from Christopher Caldwell of the Weekly Standard. This should generate some strong argument if anyone, other than Divinity School academics pay attention.

PUT THE BLAME ON PLAME...or, at least, on her husband and his sponsors. So says Mark Steyn in this strongly written column from yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times.

THE LADY FROM DAVENPORT HAS HER SAY...and, we think, she says it well if rather too simply for the more "sophisticated." Nor does she disappoint those who seek brevity as an accompaniment of wit.

THE RAPID RISE OF COMPUTER CRIME...is documented in this story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A charming touch is that the expert quoted here from the Federal Trade Commission is Mr. Orson Swindle!

"DON'T BE STUPID...instead take one of our pills," may be the message that some pharmaceutical outfits may be directing at us within a few years. Is this mere fancy, preliminary hype or a high-probability prediction of things to come. Read on in this story from the U.K. Guardian.

EVOLUTION AT WORK...in the coming of the tuskless elephant. This brief story from China demonstrates natural selection at work...as facilitated by the poachers who kill the big-tusked males.

THE ISRAELOPHOBE IS A PLAGIARIST...says Alan Dershowitz in a bitter commentary on the man who runs the Middle East Studies program at Columbia University...and who used to do the same at the University of Chicago. It is part of the larger crisis that has developed over what they teach and whom they insult in those classes on Morningside Heights.

RICHARD FEYNMAN IS APPRECIATED...by Anthony Daniels who is a good friend of Theodore Dalrymple...and, in fact, IS Theodore Dalrymple.

THE VERY RICH ARE DIFFERENT FROM US....or, at least, very rich men are according to a recent study on the correlations between sexual activity and wealth. Before the BBC tells it all, here's a preview from The Australian.

IS THE FAT DUCK REALLY THE BEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD? So says Restaurant magazine (and the 600 chefs they polled) about the place that perfected bacon and egg ice cream!! We kid you not.

BUT ONE FAMOUS GERMAN CHEF DISSENTS...and, after visiting the Fat Duck, offered this account and these dissenting judgments. Of course, the Germans never were particularly keen on a dinner that didn't feature Goose, spaetzle or Grundmachterassenfleisch.

PIANO (FOUR HANDS) AND CHORUS...is one of the combinations in this unusual concert from Lugano. Brahms is the source of that one. Also to be heard are other striking compositions by Brahms, Brahms and Brahms.