When I was writing about the 1979 Iranian revolution I asked the following question: The Shah’s secret police–SAVAK, usually referred to with an adjective such as “dreaded” or “hated” before the acronym–was active in Iran to stifle those who would … Continue reading →
Reginald Bohannon is a Republican. That in and of itself is not remarkable. But what is unusual–although certainly not unheard of–is that he is a black Republican, raised in a culture in which 90-95% of the ethnic group to which … Continue reading →
The cover of last Sunday’s NY Times caught my eye with the following teaser: He was the Taliban’s spin doctor. So what’s he doing at Yale? Okay, I’ll bite. What’s he doing there, indeed? Well, according to the article, by … Continue reading →
Having studied the stories of so many political “changers” (most recently, Kanan Makiya), it strikes me how similar the paths to such change often seem to be. Oh, the details vary, of course–different countries of birth, different turning points. But … Continue reading →
I had read some of Kanan Makiya’s writings before. But I’d never realized that he was another “changer.” This interview with Makiya, appearing in a recent Democratiya, makes that clear. For anyone interested in “changers,” it’s a fascinating read. Born … Continue reading →
Via Dymphna at Gates of Vienna, I came across this article by one Jonathan Freedland, a writer for the Guardian. Jonathan Freedland is what Norm Geras might call a “principled leftist”–at least, Freedland sounds like one. In the essay, he … Continue reading →
Every now and then I see comments here made by people who assume that my post-9/11 change was quick, and was prompted by fear at the event itself. The comments tend to be on the order of “You cowardly idiot, … Continue reading →
As part of my “literary leftists” series, I’ve been doing research for a possible future post on Richard Wright, the black novelist and poet (and member of the Communist Party from the late 1920s through part of the 1940s), whose … Continue reading →
[Part I: Reading Lolita in Tehran] [Part II: Hemingway and Dos Passos and the Spanish Civil War] We all know H.G. Wells. That is, we all think we know him. He’s the author of science fiction novels that seem to … Continue reading →
[The first part of this series on literary leftists can be found here.] The Spanish Civil War was famous for many things, including attracting the participation of some of the most well-known literary lights of the day. The October 31 … Continue reading →
It isn’t often that a dream comes true, especially at the ripe old age of 77. But that’s what’s happening right now for Ramsey Clark: he’s going to be on Saddam’s defense team. Here’s Clark himself, stating why he wants … Continue reading →
Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran has scored a surprising amount of popular success, currently ranked around #300 at Amazon, and amassing close to 300 comments there as well. For a fairly literary and even somewhat didactic work subtitled “A … Continue reading →