Commentary on free speech, France, picking great basketball players, monopoly capitalism, and absurb public sector rules.

Picking for you.

New York Review of Books -- Bringing Censors to the Book Fair
When I arrived at the London Book Fair on Monday, I saw a huge sign outside showing a cute Chinese boy holding an open book with the words underneath him: “China: Market Focus.”

France’s troubled waters. Thanks to David of Victoria.

Financial Times -- Sarkozy’s failure reflects France’s identity crisis
Nicolas Sarkozy is battling for his political survival, having become the first incumbent French president to trail in second place after the first round of voting.

Spectator – The Crescent of Fear
Rod Liddle goes to Grigny, a suburb south of Paris, and witnesses at first hand the consequences of Muslim reluctance to integrate with French society.

Like elephants.

Economist -- The elephant on the court
IN A famous detective story by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Purloined Letter”, a minister steals a letter containing compromising information from a woman and uses it to blackmail her.

Quote that’s interesting.

“In contrast, NBA teams cannot hold the rights to anyone beyond the 15 players on their active roster. That makes them more like elephant mothers, who give birth to very few babies and have to gestate them for almost two years.”

Why idea monopolies make capitalism work.

New York Times – The Creative Monopoly
As a young man, Peter Thiel competed to get into Stanford. Then he competed to get into Stanford Law School.

Quote worth noting.

“Instead of being slightly better than everybody else in a crowded and established field, it’s often more valuable to create a new market and totally dominate it.”

Yertle the turtle absurdle.

Globe and Mail -- Dr. Seuss’s ‘Yertle the Turtle’ deemed too political for B.C. classroom
A Prince Rupert elementary teacher has been told a quote from Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle is a political statement that should not be displayed or worn on clothing in her classroom.

Quote worth banning.

“I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we too should have rights.”