From the house of unbelief to true religion is a single breath; From the world of doubt to certainty is a single breath; Enjoy this precious single breath, for the harvest of our whole lives is that same one breath. trans. by Juan Cole from Whinfield 24
Iraq Comes to Syria
Update Brig. Gen. Issa al-Kholi who headed a military hospital, was assassinated Saturday outside his Damascus home. He is the first high-ranking officer to be killed. Because he was a physician rather than a staff or field officer, he probably lacked good security and so was a soft target. Hitting physicians and nurses is a […]
Omar Khayyam (23)
Fish said to duck, frantic, Will the water ever return if the river jumps its course? Duck replied, When you and I are skewered and kebob, let it be a river or let it be mirage. Trans. Juan Cole Whinfield 23
The Dilemma over Syria
Syria’s military continued its brutal assault on neighborhoods of Homs, a center of civil disobedience against the regime, on Thursday, killing over 100 persons, including children. This deployment of military force against civilians who were protesting is a war crime, and part of a pattern that by now amounts to crimes against humanity. The first […]
Omar Khayyam (12)
Although we partiers may have good color and smell pleasant, with cheeks like rubies; and though we’re tall as a cypress– it’s just not clear, in this earthly cabaret, why I was prettied up. trans. Juan Cole from Whinfield 12
Tomgram: Peter Van Buren, In Washington, Fear the Silence, Not the Noise
The Obama administration has already charged more people — six — under the Espionage Act for alleged mishandling of classified information than all past presidencies combined. (Prior to Obama, there were only three such cases in American history.)
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World’s 1.6 Billion Poor Going Green
Renewable energy is often thought of as an initiative of advanced, sane countries such as Portugal and Germany. But there is another arena where green energy is making an impact– on the lives of the world’s poorest populations, in the global South. For them, it is not a luxury or prudent planning for the future […]
Omar Khayyam (8)
A lover all his life is frantic and intoxicated– crazy, distracted and disgraced. When we’re sober, everything annoys us; but when we’re drunk, whatever will be, will be trans. Juan Cole from Whinfield 8
Syria: Crimes Against Humanity in Homs
The Telegraph (UK) has put the word “genocide” in its headline as a description of what has been going on in Syria. On Wednesday morning, more persons were killed in Homs, as the Syrian military invaded strongly Sunni neighborhoods and drove toward the city center. Tanks and artillery barrages have been used against civilian crowds. […]
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