I must admit my first reaction to Joe Biden being chosen as Obama’s running mate was “meh.”
I’ve had running debates over Joe Biden with a friend for most of the primary season. She loves him, and, well, my feeling was as above. She never managed to convince me, mostly because her arguments were simply that “He’s so intelligent.” Compared to whom? Read More
In the current American presidential election, race has become a pivotal issue. Obama is the first African American man to have a legitimate chance of becoming president of the United States. Blacks and whites vacillate between a celebratory end of the racial divide, and the further entrenchment of racial hostilities.
The post racial world debate has gone mainstream, giving rise to conversations that are long overdue.
While we are continually refining the discourse surrounding race, what has become patently obvious is that the term people of colour stands for black. The United States has a historical legacy of black disenfranchisement that clearly needs to be addressed. Slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, and the rape and sterilization of black women have left a lasting legacy on the social psyche; however this should not erase other bodies of colour from our social conversations. Neither of the candidates, nor mainstream media has made an attempt to specifically address the needs of Muslims, Native Americans, Asians, or Latinos. The aforementioned are the bodies that have become erased. Colour cannot and should not be solely represented by blacks.
Though Muslims are not all of colour they constitute a group of people that have come under extreme social attack since 911. Read More
August 6th
For a little more than a week I’ve been out of town with the family. Myself, my lady, and the kid are not very far from Tbilisi, in Narekvavi village. It’s an hour of driving, less if there are no patrols in view and one gives oneself the liberty of exceeding the speed limit.
It’s summer, the seashore is calling. Tbilisi looks half-empty. It is a pleasure driving even in town, where one is usually stuck up in traffic jams half of the time. Yours truly has been to town to do some shopping, such as can’t be done locally. Next sortie is planned for Tuesday.
It is much cooler up there on the mountain slope in the summer cottage than down in Tbilisi. The garden is green, starlings and snails cover every flat and cool surface. Tortoises live in the vegetable patch (not looked after for a year and yet still proudly sporting a single, large cabbage), the night before a hedgehog has all but wondered into the house, and a hen from some of the neighboring houses pays daily visits to dig for wheat. There is a TV set, but the antenna is broken, so life is calm and quiet.
We take strolls to the village every evening. Like regular townsfolk we must seem, especially because the kid keeps gaping and exclaiming whenever we meet a pig or a cow.
The first news reach us in the local store where I venture to get myself some beer for the evening. ‘There is war in Samachablo (Georgian name for the region known as South Ossetia)’ they tell me. I wave off the hint of alarm in my thoughts with ‘oh, can’t be more than some borderline skirmish, not in August, not with the calm mood I’m in.’
August 7th
Life goes on normally but for news gathered at the local store. It is serious fighting, they say. Read More
This is a special edition of this column.
Here are two things you ought to know about the conflict flaring up between Russia and Georgia:
First of all, Russia does not want Nato on its doorstep, and Georgia was getting ready to join Nato. Second of all, Georgia does not want to deal with the conflict that inevitably arises when certain parties, such as the South Ossetians, decide to break away.
I can understand where both sides are coming from. As much as I deplore Russia’s meddling in its neighbours’ affairs, I have to say that said meddling makes sense to the Kremlin. And as much as deplore Saakashvili’s government (have we already forgotten Georgia’s political crises?), I have to say that I understand not wanting to deal with the inevitable lawlessness that rebel regions such as South Ossetia create within and around themselves.
What horrifies is me is not just the violence, as if it isn’t bad enough, but the fact that being ethnically half-Russian and half-Ukrainian, I grew knowing that the Georgians are our friends. I grew up in a household in love with Georgian culture. To my Russian mother, Georgia was “the most beautiful place in the world,” and she wasn’t alone in this by far.
The people baying for blood on both sides, have they honestly forgotten our common ties? If the forgetting is this easy, perhaps we really ought to be worried about the future of Russia and Ukraine. The unthinkable is already happening before us, and history has entered a gloomy and bewildering chapter. This is the sort of thing that happens when empires fail; it’s bloody and vile. It reeks of gunpowder and rot and the dried-up glue that used to hold together our old, red memorial wreaths.
Now, for all the understandable grief surrounding the loss of life, I have found something to be bitterly amused about: Read More
I wasn’t born in Bangalore. I don’t live there now. But ever since I was a child, it’s been the seat of my family.
I’ve smelled the jasmine and diesel in the air. I’ve seen the elections of civic-minded criminals, and heard the hurly-burly cry of Commercial Street for years. In short, I claim Bangalore as my own.
Eight explosions erupted across my city like weeping lesions yesterday.
According to all the news sources I can tap, the prime suspects in this matter are either the members of a banned student organization, the Students Islamic Movement of India, or the militant organization, Lashkar-e-Toiba. I don’t know enough about the nature or history of either group to even offer an opinion. And honestly, I can’t say that I care who eventually will claim the credit for all of this. Whoever it was, they’re no different than any other breed of savage.
Every time I go to Bangalore, I visit the Church of the Infant Jesus. It’s near the center of the city, a shy palace of stone and stained marble. Shall I tell you why it’s wonderful? Because, despite the name, it’s a shrine for every person of any faith. Read More
Ahron Bregman teaches in the War Studies Department at King’s College, London. He specializes in the Arab-Israeli conflict and is the author of several books, including Israel’s Wars: A History Since 1947.
Jonathan Mok: What do you think about the confirmation from Olmert’s office regarding peace negotiations between Israel and Syria? Do you believe that the peace talks only repeated themselves on the issues such as Golan Heights and other matters you discussed in your book Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America?
Ahron Bregman: Peace negotiations between Israel and Syria continue with the help of Turkey. But it is done at a bureaucratic level and I don’t expect these talks to produce the big breakthrough. A breakthrough could only happen when the top leaders meet and tackle the one, most important, sticking point which is the Syrian demand to have access to the Sea of Galilee and that the future border will run along the water line.
As the lake provides Israel with some 30-35 per cent of her fresh water needs, the Israelis insist on a strip of land, particularly along the north-east section of the Sea of Galilee to remain under their sovereignty which will effectively mean no Syrian access to the precious water. Of course there are other issues to be discussed between Syria and Israel, notably the latter demand that Syria cuts off her links with Iran; but the issue of the border and access to the water is still the most important one. For such a breakthrough both sides will need strong and determined leaders. At the moment, however, on the Israeli side, we have a Prime Minister who is up to his eyes with problems – mainly allegations of apparent corruption. He is thus in no position to take big decisions. Peace with Syria will have to wait.
Jonathan: Shaul Mofaz, the current Israeli Minister of Transportation, warned against the possible strike against Iran. He further warned that the attack would be inevitable. Do you agree that his views represent general positions senior IDF officials have taken, considering that Mofaz once served Minister of Defense?
Ahron: Mofaz’s statements should be regarded in the context of his political campaign to replace Olmert as leader of Kadima and perhaps as the Prime Minister of Israel. Having said that, it would be difficult for Israel to tolerate a nuclear Iran and it will probably try to exert pressure on the international community to curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions. As for an Israeli military strike on Iran – giving his domestic problems, it will be very difficult indeed for Prime Minister Olmert to take such a momentous decision.
Jonathan: If Israel decides to launch attacks, in your estimation, can the Jewish state stand the retaliation from Iran? While Iran has the larger landmass and population, it is believed that Israel has more nuclear weapons than Iran in terms of the number of missiles per population, no? Jimmy Carter claimed that Israel has 160 nuclear missiles. Even Olmert implicitly admitted the existence of the nuclear programme.
Ahron: Yes, Israel will be able to cope with a conventional retaliation. It will hurt, it will be painful and bloody, but the lesson of history is that conventional missile attack has only a limited effect on populations. As for Jimmy Carter’s statement about Israel being a nuclear power - this is quite an extraordinary statement coming from a former President of the United States and, no doubt, will do much to strengthen the belief that Israel is indeed a nuclear power.
Jonathan: I would like to turn to the Israeli politics. Do you believe that the politics and military have become twin-sisters? If so, why you think the military-political complex happened? Why does the public accept a military man, like Sharon or Rubin, to be their leaders?
Ahron:It has always been the case in Israel that former Generals turned politicians. The reason for that is quite simple: Israel’s most acute problems are security and Israelis tend to believe that only leaders with military background could properly deal with such problem. The unsuccessful 2006 war in Lebanon, where both the Prime Minister and his Defence Ministers lacked military experience seems to confirm the need to have the military man at the top. In due course, when Israel lives in peace with her neighbours, we might see more civilians at the helm.
Jonathan: Finally, living in London and teaching at a British university, do you see increasing anti-Semitism on campus, as Melanie Philips of Daily Mail argued in her book, Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within? Some organizations such as American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League accuse the Teachers’ Union of launching anti-Israeli actions by boycotting Israeli institutions. What is your opinion of cutting off ties with universities such as Haifa and Bar-Ilan?
Ahron: In fact, I detect the opposite trend whereby governments are moving closer to Israel – perhaps the best example being France, but other European governments as well. Look for instance at how European leaders wanted to rub shoulders with Israeli ministers during Israel’s 60th anniversary.
The reason for that seems to be the rise of the Right in Europe and the growing concern – even fear - of Islamic extremism which ironically leads to some strengthening of the Israeli position in the Middle East. Regarding boycotting Israeli academic institutions – it is wrong and it will cause damage to freedom of expression which is at the heart of the academia. The occupation is bad – even evil – but boycotting academic institutions is just not the right method of fighting it.
ATLANTA — As an American Muslim, I was horrified to read about the tragic death of Sandela Kanwal in Clayton County, Ga., allegedly at hands of her father in a supposed “honor killing.”
According to area police, Kanwal’s father killed her because she left her husband. According to the twisted logic of “honor killings,” Kanwal ruined the “honor” of the family by leaving her arranged marriage.
It would be easy to point a finger at all Muslims and rail against such barbaric traditions. But this I can tell you: I am a Muslim, born and raised in Tennessee, and I do not subscribe to this brand of honor.
As a co-founder of the American Islamic Fellowship, an Atlanta area organization of more than 200 Muslims, I can tell you that our organization does not subscribe to any interpretation of Islam that condones murder in the name of religion or honor. To me and our membership, this is an abhorrent expression of a universal phenomenon of misogynistic thinking that targets women as the guardians of a community’s honor.
It comes from the mouths of Christian saints, Italian philosophers, American revolutionaries, French existentialists, Baptist preachers, modern historians, European scientists, English poets, and Muslim imams, just to name a few: “It is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in every woman.”, “It is said in the state of adultery, the responsibility falls 90 per cent of the time on the woman.” Why? Read More
With Barack the nominee, the question is: what now? In Kentucky exit polls, only 1 in 3 Clinton supporters said they would vote for Obama in the general election. About 4 in 10 said they would vote for McCain, and nearly 1 in 4 said they wouldn’t vote at all.
Even accounting for the potential rawness of emotion at exit polls, this is clearly an obstacle. Add to this picture the widespread outrage among women at Obama’s and the news media’s misogyny and the fact that some voters in Florida and Michigan see Obama as the agent of their disenfranchisement, and you can see how Obama has serious challenges in many states boasting huge populations and a substantial number of electoral college votes.
Perhaps these statistics can begin to explain why in the 20 states where she won, Clinton trumps McCain 50% to 43% in daily Gallup polls over the last 2 weeks, while Obama trails at 45% to McCain’s 50%. And why across the board, in a Gallup survey of all 50 states that included 11,000 registered voters, Clinton performed better than Obama when set against McCain (she led 48% to 45%; Obama loses 45% to 46%).
Her wins in swing states like Nevada, Ohio, New Mexico, Florida, Pennsylvania and Arkansas support this, and in these swing states she beat McCain according to Gallup by an even greater margin, 49% to 43% (while Obama lost).
Obama needs Hillary supporters, he cannot win without us. So how is he going to achieve this? Read More
Gerry Ford first addressed the country as President after Dick Nixon left office by saying: “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”
Tuesday night had me thinking the same thing. Barack had finally driven a wooden stake through the Clinton campaign.
But is the national nightmare over or just heating up? After months of seeking to destroy the party for her personal gain, she is now trying to get herself on the undercard as Veep under the auspices of taking one for the team to unite the party.
The last thing Barack Obama needs is to have Hillary and Bill as the Vice President and Lounge Lizard in Waiting.
One never knows when a Bill eruption will hit. We tolerated that fraternity hijinks when he was president, as he was actually a pretty damn good politician. We don’t need that nonsense from the spouse of the person holding the job described as not being worth a warm bucket of spit. He’d be like the drunken ex-boyfriend crashing the wedding.
Assuming he can sidestep the elephant in the room to take on the elephant party, what can we expect in the way of spin between the two parties? Read More
When fashion becomes a crime worthy of the expulsion of winsome celebrity chef Rachael Ray from the billboards of Dunkin’ Donuts, it is clear that the laws of sensibility have been hurled through the moral window.
The advert, depicting Ray and her luminous gnashers against a be-blossomed backdrop, evokes the anticipated summer ambiance and a rapacious craving for the glazed fancies.
Unless, of course, you are a member of the Fox News posse, for whom this is no ordinary advert: it is the manifestation of terror, the teasing tentacle of subversion, and a candid infringement on the security and morals of American society.
The means by which the cheeky chef and her cup of coffee prompted such outrage is inscrutable to the eye of the average individual, yet by viewing the image through the murky vision of the scandal-mongers, all becomes less clear.
Certainly, it is a scarf. A black and white scarf – in paisley, no less.
But wait, as the vision clouds further it resembles a… a… keffiyeh? Read More
