On Your Knees

Amidst all the chatter that constitutes this new phase of American involvement in Iraq very little is heard about the fate of the primarily nameless and faceless Iraqis who want to live in a secular, democratic country (which may be further reason why this is a noble and prudent proposal). Two articles today tried to [...]

“Wannabe Jew”

Katherine Harris is getting trounced in her bid to become the next senator from Florida. In the process of getting trounced she has also demonstrated to the world, on many occasions, just how bat-shit insane she really is. The first serious inkling was a few months back when she told a religious audience that, [...]

Jaw-Dropping Incompetence Department, Part II

“Deteriorating security in Iraq and bureaucratic wrangling between the State Department and the Pentagon have undermined the US government’s effort to train provincial governments, according to a report to Congress released yesterday by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.”
- -Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, as reported in The Boston Globe.

Jaw-Dropping Incompetence Department

“The American military did not even take the elementary step of recording the serial numbers of nearly half a million weapons provided to Iraqis, making it impossible to track or identify any that might be in the wrong hands.”
-Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, as reported in the New York Times.

A New Phase

“I’m not disparaging new ideas; I’m welcoming new ideas. [But] no one I know has come up with a silver bullet.” The words are from Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, and they strike my ears as a characteristic understatement from an administration that has for so long dismissed constructive criticism in favor of hubris [...]

Et Tu, Goldstein?

The delirious orgy of filching from me continues unabated. Now it has even claimed my partner in thought crime. Yes, it was this humble correspondent who planned to post on the matter of the Sudanese billionaire and his award for democratically deferential and ethically upright African premiers, but EG has officially jacked my thunder with [...]

Intellectual Bitchslap

Terry Eagleton, the eminent literary critic, takes to the pages of the London Review of Books (which has been nothing if not delightfully controversial as of late) to resoundingly bitchslap the equally eminent Darwinist, Richard Dawkins, and in the process thoroughly annihilate the premise of his new book, The God Delusion. It is one of [...]

Term Limits

African style.

Kamm. Steadfast.

In light of this, this, this, and this, you should read Oliver Kamm’s tireless defense of his position on Iraq. Although I can’t say that I agree with everything Kamm writes, or even most of what Kamm writes, he does make a compelling case here that deserves to be heard over the deafening roar [...]

Bloodied Are The Peacemakers

I’ve been remiss in getting this up:
Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is on trial for his life on a preposterous charge of spying for Israel. His great act of espionage: advocating peace and Muslim reconciliation with Christians, Jews and Israel. In November of 2003, he was arrested when he attempted to travel to Israel [...]