Oh-oh. Danger, and from an unexpected source. Men, you may want to leave the room now, especially if you are the sensitive sort. Today’s NY Times has an article on the hazards of bike-riding–yes, you heard me, bike riding, specifically … Continue reading →
I am truly sick and tired of this business of calling terrorist cheerleaders “spiritual leaders.” In some ways it’s worse than the “militant” thing; at least terrorists are militant. But how are people such as Abu Bakar Bashir, a cleric … Continue reading →
[This is the second segment of my multi-part series on pacifism. The first, which dealt with Gandhi, can be found here. This second part discusses the Quaker approach. It also will be divided into two smaller sections, of which this … Continue reading →
In response to my post about Gandhi’s pacifism, a number of people (Ed Driscoll publicly, others in private e-mails) have called my attention to Richard Grenier’s essay on Gandhi that appeared in a 1983 issue of Commentary. Driscoll calls it … Continue reading →
You are a Social Moderate (55% permissive) and an… Economic Liberal (38% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. The test didn’t pick up … Continue reading →
In case you missed the story the first time round, Richard Landes of Second Draft has a post at Solomonia on the misidentification of Tuvia Grossman by the press. Grossman, an American Jew studying in Israel, was beaten by a … Continue reading →
Let’s see if I’ve got this straight: US District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has ordered the release of more Abu Ghraib photos to help the ACLU prove that prisoners have been abused, and it’s OK because the terrorists don’t … Continue reading →
After reading Martha Gellhorn’s remarkably prescient 1961 Atlantic Monthly article about the Palestinians, I wanted to read more of her work. I recently and serendipitously happened upon a copy of her Travels with Myself and Another (the “other” being short-term … Continue reading →
Rand Simberg has a wonderful fisking of unrependent CBS producer Mary Mapes’ self-serving new book. Mapes’ head is bloody, but unbowed. Simberg’s post is very very funny. Mapes herself, on the other hand, makes me very very sad, and very … Continue reading →
While researching this post on the phrase “speaking truth to power,” I discovered that it originated among Quakers, and I promised that I’d write something soon about Quaker pacifism. I had planned that this post would be that “something.” But … Continue reading →
Captain’s Quarters reports, (via this Washington Post article) that al Qaeda is now skipping the media middle man, and debuting its own internet video news site. I guess even al Jazeera isn’t good enough for al Qaeda–everyone seems to be … Continue reading →
When I first heard the stories of widespread rape, murder, and other carnage at the New Orleans Superdome and Convention Center after Katrina, I was horrified. Horrified, but skeptical. The last couple of years have taught me, as never before, … Continue reading →