#id

I was 21 in 1968, so I'm as much a child of the '60s as is possible to be. In those years the subject of religion had really almost disappeared; the idea that religion was going to be a major force in the life of our societies, in the West anyway, would have seemed absurd in 1968. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#almost #anyway #child #disappeared #force

I'm no friend of Tony Blair's and I consider the Middle East policies of the United States and the UK fatal. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#consider #east #fatal #friend #i

I've never seen anywhere in the world as beautiful as Kashmir. It has something to do with the fact that the valley is very small and the mountains are very big, so you have this miniature countryside surrounded by the Himalayas, and it's just spectacular. And it's true, the people are very beautiful too. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#beautiful #big #countryside #fact #i

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and morality are not givens but imperfect human constructs, is the point from which fiction begins. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#air #begins #constructs #fiction #givens

The accidents of my life have given me the ability to make stories in which different parts of the world are brought together, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes in conflict, and sometimes both - usually both. The difficulty in these stories is that if you write about everywhere you can end up writing about nowhere. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#about #accidents #both #brought #conflict

The only way to find out why someone decides to engage in armed combat is to look at their individual personality. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#combat #decides #engage #find #individual

The response of anybody interested in liberty is that we all have a say and the ability to have an argument is exactly what liberty is, even though it may never be resolved. In any authoritarian society the possessor of power dictates, and if you try and step outside he will come after you. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#after #any #anybody #argument #authoritarian

There is a widespread difficulty in the Muslim world, which has to do with how the people are taught about examining their own history. A whole range of stuff has been placed off limits. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#been #difficulty #examining #history #how

But with each passing year and each new study, the evidence for the genetic contribution to individual and group differences becomes more firmly established than ever. ↗

— J. Philippe Rushton

#contribution #differences #each #established #ever

Formation of a new race takes place when, over several generations, individuals in one group reproduce more frequently among themselves than they do with individuals in other groups. ↗

— J. Philippe Rushton

#formation #frequently #generations #group #groups