The Poor Man is supposed to be on semi-vacation working on his thesis (like me), but he is at his funniest and snarkiest posting loads of material. I can excerpt it, so I am linking to all his recent posts. First, he makes fun of Republican whining over alleged prejudice and takes on the thin… Continue reading The Poor Man at his best
Category: International Affairs
Salam Pax
Salam Pax was already a famous blogger. Then we heard that he’s becoming a columnist, writing biweekly for the Guardian starting this wednesday. And now Peter Maass tells us that Salam was his interpreter for a couple of weeks in Baghdad.
Baghdad: Liberated for the Iraqis, but ?? for Us
ABC News Chin, of the 3rd battalion, 4th Marines regiment, says he was just following orders in the minutes before the statue was pulled to the ground in a joint effort by jubilant Iraqis and U.S. troops. “I was just trying my best to get the chain around his neck and put the flag on… Continue reading Baghdad: Liberated for the Iraqis, but ?? for Us
World Tour
This blog has received visits from 44 countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Belgium, Israel, Singapore, Mexico, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Czech Republic, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Norway, Thailand, Portugal, Taiwan, Pakistan, Finland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Latvia, Estonia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Romania, Turkey, Philippines, Poland,… Continue reading World Tour
Iraq War Worries
Robert Wright has a good article in Slate about dubious and valid fears about the Iraq war and its consequences. Dubious fear No. 1: The war will be long and messy. Valid fear No. 1: The postwar occupation will be very long and increasingly messy. Dubious fear No. 2: The war will unleash a wave… Continue reading Iraq War Worries
Support Democracy in Iraq
I am not in favor of war against Iraq. But I do want democracy there. So for Salam: BTW, go read Salam’s rant about war and democracy in Iraq.
Guns, Warlords and Afghanistan
Said Tayeb Jawad, chief of staff for President Hamid Karzai, had an op-ed in the NY Times calling for a de-militarization of the armed groups in Afghanistan. Just over a year ago at the conference in Bonn on organizing a post-Taliban government, the factions of Afghanistan pledged “to withdraw all military units from Kabul.” A… Continue reading Guns, Warlords and Afghanistan
Boycott Against the French
Some silly things are happening in our country. Changing the name of French fries and French toast is one of them. What the heck is “freedom fries”? Do I get “civil liberties sauce” with it as well? The action by the North Carolina restaurant was understandable. It was a brilliant marketing gimmick resulting in free… Continue reading Boycott Against the French
Torture Again
Via Eve Tushnet, I read a very disturbing passage about the torture by right-wing squads in Latin America on Late Night Thoughts. You’ll have to follow the link to read that passage, but here is her conclusion: The human gene pool sometimes throws out monsters. There are psychiatric terms for them, but their common denominator… Continue reading Torture Again
Torture
A debate has been raging in the blogworld recently about using torture on Al-Qaeda members. Here are some of the posts on the topic: No Conclusions: Volokh Conspiracy For: Oliver Willis, The Agitator Against: CalPundit, Unqualified Offerings, Light of Reason, Path of the Paddle, Head Heeb. I would especially like to quote from Head Heeb… Continue reading Torture