Map of Brussels, 1657

Recent links of note:

Belgium eliminates federal taskforce to fight trafficking in cultural property
Victoria Stapely-Brown, The Art Newspaper
Add another voiceless victim to the rolls felled by Islamist terrorism—Belgium has decided to shut down “its federal police unit dedicated to fighting illegal trafficking of cultural property.” Following the recent attacks in Brussels the government is focusing its resources on other areas. Of course, the black-market antiquities trade is a major source of income for terrorist groups, something that seems to be lost on the Belgians.

Islam and the Radical West
Bret Stephens, The Wall Street Journal
Want to understand Islamic extremism? Start in the West. As Bret Stephens tells it, “If Islamism is [the extremsits’] ideological drug of choice, the political orthodoxies of the modern left are their gateway to it.” In a world where America and the West are to blame for all the ills of the modern world, it can be no surprise that the disturbed take the idea to its furthest conclusion. “Whether the Islam practiced by al Qaeda or ISIS is ‘radical’ or merely traditional isn’t the question. It’s whether the West can recognize that the moral nihilism of today’s Jihadi Johns is the logical outgrowth of the moral relativism that is the default religion of today’s West.” Well said.

Past the Teppering Point
Steven Malanga, City Journal
“Today, New Jersey collects more money per resident than just about every other state, but it still can’t balance its budget.” It’s about to get worse. David Tepper—New Jersey’s largest taxpayer—is leaving for Florida, a state with no income tax. It’s no surprise that Tepper would decamp for sunnier climes: polls show that nearly half of New Jersey’s residents would abscond from the state given the chance, with thirty percent naming high taxes as their primary reason. States have to contend with the fact that many view domiciling as a market; they’ll go where they get the best deal, and who can blame them?

From our pages:

Gallery chronicle
James Panero
On recent New York gallery shows.

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