Recent press revelations have confirmed my initial suggestion that members of the Tsarnaev family were secular ex-Soviets rather than observant Muslims Only a few years ago did the late Tamerlan start exhibiting signs of fanaticism (he was thrown out of his mosque in Boston last January when he stood up to denounce the preacher there […]
Glenn Greenwald on the Price of Government Secrecy (Moyers interview)
Bill Moyers interviews Glenn Greenwald on the high cost of government secrecy. The blurb for the show: “The violent Boston rampage triggered a local and federal response that, according to journalist Glenn Greenwald, adds a new dimension to troubling questions about government secrecy, overreach, and what we sacrifice in the name of national security. Greenwald […]
Serbia and Kosovo: A European Success Story? (Trix)
Frances Trix writes in a guest column for Informed Comment On 19 April 2013 the prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, Hashim Thaci and Ivica Dacic, signed an agreement in the tenth round of negotiations, sponsored by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Baroness Catherine Ashton. The negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia had begun earlier in […]
Bush and the American Right Wing: Top Ten Ways they are Like the Children of an Alcoholic
It is a well-known syndrome in alcoholic and/or abusive families that the child runs to the abusive parent, and makes excuses for him or her. In fact there are a whole set of syndromes afflicting the poor adults who lived through that horror as children. The fawning interviews attending the opening of the George W. […]
Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssef, under threat of Jail (Jon Stewart Interview)
Jon Stewart interviews Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef on being threatened with jail for being funny about the president, and various Egyptian government conspiracy theories. And insulting the state of Pakistan. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Bassem Youssef www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Indecision Political Humor The Daily Show […]
Jesus and Muhammad and the Question of the State
I’ve always liked Andrew Sullivan even when I disagree with him. I’m going to disagree with him, or more specifically Alexis de Tocqueville and one of his readers who quotes him: “Muhammad brought down from heaven and put into the Koran not religious doctrines only, but political maxims, criminal and civil laws, and scientific theories. […]
Israeli Gen. Charges Syria Chem Weapons Use: Is Israel Allying with Sunnis to overthrow Alawites, cut off Iran?
The official stance of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel toward the Syrian civil war has been one of announced “neutrality.” Netanyahu’s position contrasts with that of his political ally, Avigdor Lieberman, an East Bloc Neoconservative who has been arguing for supporting the rebels. There are some signs, however, that Israel may be rethinking its […]
America’s Murder Inc. Abroad: Engelhardt on Scahill’s Latest
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com: Chalmers Johnson’s book Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire was published in March 2000 — and just about no one noticed. Until then, blowback had been an obscure term of CIA tradecraft, which Johnson defined as “the unintended consequences of policies that were kept secret from the American people.” In […]
Terrorism and the other Religions
Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States. As for political violence, people of Christian heritage in the twentieth century polished off tens of millions of people […]
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