William R. Polk writes: Cassandra and Yogi Berra are an unlikely pair, but I hear both of their voices today. Cassandra, like some of us, was cursed to be always disbelieved as she correctly predicted the future while baseballer Yogi Berra will be remembered for his penetrating insight into the flow of history, “This is […]
Archives for March 2008
The Arab Conscience and the 5th Anniversary of the Iraq War
The below is part of an anti-war “opera” sung by the most famous of the Arab videoclip stars (Nancy Ajram and Cheb Khalid are featured here). The whole is very long. The Zoom videoclip satellite channel is playing it repeatedly this week, apparently to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. It begins with […]
Egyptian Politics
For my class, reports on Mubarak’s Egypt: Journeyman pictures clip on the Muslim Brotherhood and Kefaya in Egypt, 2005 Journeyman Pictures clip on Islamic Jihad and other oppositional groups in Egypt. Aljazeera: Inside Story, Hosni Mubarak, Nov. 2007 Part 1: Part 2:
5 Years, 5 Lies: Cole in Salon
My fortnightly column for Salon.com is now up, commemorating the 5th anniversary of Bush’s invasion of Iraq: “Five years of Iraq lies:” How President Bush and his advisors have spent each year of the war peddling mendacious tales about a mission accomplished. I posit that each year of the war has been characterized by a […]
Obama, Race and the Dynamism of America
I listened to Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race issues as a resident of the Detroit area. Barack Obama was talking about something very personal to him, about being rooted in family and community. He recognizes that race had shaped both and had wounded both. He refuses to give up on the communities in which […]
Obama: "A More Perfect Union"
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama“A More Perfect Union”Constitution CenterPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania First the video, then the text of the speech, below: “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these […]
52 Killed in Karbala Bombing; Bombing in Karrada Wounds 8; Cheney and McCain in Baghdad
A massive bomb in the Shiite holy city of Karbala killed 52 persons and wounded 75 on Monday according to AFP. Shiites’ feelings are raw over the attack, threatening further civil war violence. (Courtesy Jafariyanews.com). Sawt al-Iraq/ AFP report in Arabic that the explosion occurred only 100 meters from the shrine of Imam Husayn, among […]
Missile Strikes Kill 20 In Pakistan; Parliament Convenes amid Tensions with Musharraf; 110 Arrested in Connection with Bombing of FBI Agents
The Pakistani parliament convened on Monday for the first time since the February 18 elections, with the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muslim League-N and their allies having a two-thirds majority in the lower house. They have indicated that they will seek to reinstate the Supreme Court and dozens of judges dismissed by dictator Pervez […]
Cole and Clemons on the Middle East: Bloggingheads
See my discussion at bloggingheads.tv of contemporary Middle East issues with Steve Clemons of the Washington Note blog.
© 2025 All Rights Reserved