American Foreign Policy Project has released a joint statement by experts (including J. Cole and B. Rubin), containing recommendations for President Hussein’s future Iran policy: Open the door to direct, unconditional and comprehensive negotiations at the senior diplomatic level where personal contacts can be developed, intentions tested, and possibilities explored on both sides. Adopt policies [...]
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Moacir has already called out the media on their triumphalism. While I assert that Obama’s transformative election cannot be held hostage to the likes of Chris Matthews, I see his point. Tom Friedman has already written some jaw-droppingly dumb column about this being the end of the Civil War or something. Rebirth is a cornerstone [...]
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Rahm Emanuel: “In an interview with Ma’ariv, Emanuel’s father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son’s appointment would be good for Israel. “Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,” he was quoted as saying. “Why wouldn’t he be? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors [...]
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courtesy e!
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Last night, from Sarah Palin, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow (♥!) and Jon Stewart, I heard about “yet another radical professor from the neighborhood who spent a lot of time with Barack Obama going back several years”, “Rashid Khalidi”. It is a startling realization; one that has caused me to reassess my impression, and my feelings [...]
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Colin Powell finds WMD – Upload a Document to Scribd
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“I make no claims that I can comprehend the mind of a terrorist, but as a Muslim I think I have a handle on bin Laden’s twisted view of Islamic eschatology.” – Rany Jazayerli at 538.com. Why? Why is the fact of being a Muslim qualify any one for anything? Seriously. I would really like [...]
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Or Nobody! Ha! Anyways, before the great proletariat revolution consumes us all, I wanted to tip the hat towards Matt Taibbi’s breathless putdown of this Palinesque exurbia, The scariest thing about Sarah Palin isn’t how unqualified she is – it’s what her candidacy says about America: In her speech, Palin presented herself as a raging [...]
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“Obama, doesn’t understand” our grecian world.
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The golden age of political signage is upon us. [HT, wonkette.]
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I don’t really need to analyze and parse what Barack Obama said last night- countless others will do it for you. I will just tell you, in my opinion, that in its mundane parts it was easily the best political speech of this genre, i.e., politician wanting to get elected, narrates positions; in its best [...]
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Since I will be publicly auditioning for this job, I present this without comment.
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Over the weekend, in Hyde Park, I received a flyer from a gentleman of indeterminate age. He was dressed in a garb unfamiliar to me. In his hand, he carried a strange device that, I later learned, recorded his words and deeds for his followers. When he approached me, I was hesitant. And I tried [...]
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Thanks to Moacir, I watched the documentary Kabul Transit. Eschewing the usual talking heads approach – or even much of a linear narrative at all – it allows us to follow some people in Kabul for short periods of time. An entrepreneur, some government officials, some Canadian force members of NATO-ISAF, a yunani physician, some Kabul [...]
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Having not heard or read this point anywhere in the cacophony over the New Yorker cover, let me add it myself. The reactions to the cover have been in two camps: 1. It is satire. Grow a sense of humor. Or at least, recognize that this is a distillation of what red state people think [...]
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Looking over the list (love that Excel Bible), I can’t help but think that any of the books mentioned in this older Middle East Greatest Hits list would be a far better choice. Also, Juan Cole’s Napolean’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East just went paperback. [List via Angry Arab] ps. Only 30 copies of “Understanding [...]
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These days, America teeters on the verge of having its dumbest Supreme Court since the Dred Scott jacktards who hastened the Civil War; currently, its four fascist-leaning members hold views that range from “too-Catholic to be believed,” to “I will have my revenge on Black America for calling me Uncle Tom.” In fairness, one must [...]
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I just had dinner at a Nile-side restaurant with two Egyptian officials and a businessman, and one of them quoted one of his children as asking: “Could something like this ever happen in Egypt?” And the answer from everyone at the table was, of course, “no.” It couldn’t happen anywhere in this region. Could a [...]
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New Zealand soliders perform the traditional warrior dance or haka during a ceremony welcoming U.S., first lady Laura Bush, right, at the military compound in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 8, 2008. New Zealand military took over Bamiyan’s Provincial Reconstruction Team Base from U.S. Troops in 2003. On the left of Bush is Major Justin de [...]
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