November 27, 2007
USSR 2.0: The Enthusiasm Builds Among the Fashionistas
Just as Kesher Talk predicted a few weeks ago, the cultural rebirth of the USSR is proceeding at a smart clip. Why, the New York Times says so, with an article today about hip fashion trends reflecting the symbols and images of the glorious republic of workers and peasants. Titled, "The USSR is Back (at Least on Clothing Racks)," the article says,
one of the most popular fashion designers this fall is Denis Simachev, who is selling overcoats fastened with hammer-and-sickle buttons, gold jewelry minted to look like Soviet kopecks and shirts festooned with the Soviet coat of arms, complete with embroidered ears of wheat.“People in their 30s see these kinds of symbols as reminders of happy memories, like going to pioneer camp where they lived together, ate breakfast together and played sports,” said Mr. Simachev, 33, who wears his hair in a Samurai-style ponytail. He insists he is no Communist — for one thing, his overcoats sell for about $2,100 and his T-shirts for about $600. His boutique is sandwiched between Hermès and Burberry stores on a pedestrian lane, Stoleshnikov, that is one of the capital’s most expensive shopping streets.
I see -- because he's not a "Communist," then that makes everything OK, a hip, ironic meta-commentary on happy memories. I'm sure you can find folks elsewhere who think the same thing about swastikas and Confederate battle flags. Meaning comes from emotional responses, not historical facts.
Continue reading "USSR 2.0: The Enthusiasm Builds Among the Fashionistas"
Van | 11/27/07 at 07:05 AM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
November 23, 2007
The Sorrow, The Pity, and the Sopranos
I had a festive Thanksgiving, sitting alone in my dimly lit apartment watching "The Sorrow and the Pity." What fun! The four-hour exploration of resistance and collaboration in France in World War II. What struck me, in the first minutes of the documentary, was the appearance of a German officer interviewed in 1969. One discussion of the film said this about him:
The closest the film comes to a standard villain is in the person of a properly plump German businessman, who takes time out at a family wedding (in front of the bride and groom) to state that the resisting Frenchmen were not considered partisans (irregular soldiers, to be accorded military rights) because they went about their 'crimes of assassination' without wearing armbands so they could be identified on sight. He puffs a cigar and still proudly wears small insignia badges of his army service, badges issued by the Nazis.
What shocked me about this talking head: He's a dead ringer for Tony Soprano. The right age, the right balding head, the right weight, the right waving around of a cigar, the same calm confidence in his violent acts. The similarity is chilling. Watch it and see.
Van | 11/23/07 at 08:36 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
August 04, 2007
Military speech at Yearly Kos
[ Another update at the end. ]
Watching the PJ Media video of the soldier at Yearly Kos, I don't get the same impression as some of the pro-war bloggers.
Uncle Jimbo and This Ain't Hell are debating these issues, and the comments are worth reading. Also the comments here.
[ UPDATE: More debate in the comments here and here. I am struck how much vets disagree with each other on what the regs allow. There seems to be some leeway for interpretation. Possibly the soldiers checked the regs and thought he would be okay. ]
[ UPDATE: Also here. ]
My impressions - as a civilian - of this incident:
Continue reading "Military speech at Yearly Kos"
Judith | 08/04/07 at 02:54 PM | 9 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
May 12, 2007
Good Neighbors on Siniora
Good Neighbors is a group effort by some Arab, Israeli, and other Middle Eastern bloggers, formed in the wake of the Lebanon War last summer. It is an attempt to continue the fragile online dialogue begun by Middle Eastern bloggers last spring,which continued during the war, although altered in tone. (The iconic example was one blogger sitting on his roof in Beirut, describing bombs falling in his neighborhood in a comment on an Israeli's blog.)
One of the Lebanese bloggers at Good Neighbors offers a gloss on a NYTimes op-ed by Lebanese PM Siniora; he begins:
Unfortunately, our Prime Minister comes off looking extremely stupid. Siniora’s Op-Ed is ludicrous when read from an international or Israel perspective, but makes sense when read in the Lebanese/Saudi context.
and proceeds to explain the subtext beneath each paragraph. Check it out.
Judith | 05/12/07 at 09:21 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
April 12, 2007
Muslim Leftists Love America, Western Leftists Hate America
As I've stressed repeatedly, one of the reasons for my post-9/11 political shift from left to right, and that of many others in the same camp, has been the Western left's attachment to anti-Americanism, even when it lands them on the same side as dictators, Islamists, and terrorists. Blinded by the sort of hatred of their own country and civilization produced by years of indoctrination in what I like to call the postcolonialist, self-loathing school of multiculturalism, today's leftists are incapable of recognizing the true threats to their own existence. Instead, they cling to familiar demons and push reactionary policies.
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Cinnamon | 04/12/07 at 01:07 PM | 6 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
April 01, 2007
Psychology Today Prints Asher Abrams' Letter
Late last year, I was interviewed for a Psychology Today article on political ideology and transformation titled "The Ideological Animal," which appeared in the January/February issue.
While I felt that the article treated my story of post-9/11 left-to-right political transformation fairly, I disagreed strongly with the author, Jay Dixit's, take on what inspires such political shifts. In short, Dixit implied that they are motivated purely by "irrational fears," including a fear of death, and he cited several highly suspect and blogosphere-debunked studies to make his point. I blogged about my concerns here, as well as linking to the many other bloggers (and one Pajamas Media "Sanity Squad" podcast) that covered the subject here.
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Cinnamon | 04/01/07 at 11:12 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
Relatively Political: Left/Right Debate That's All in the Family
One of the biggest challenges for those of us who live in the left-leaning San Francisco Bay Area and whose political views are right-of-center is navigating the oftentimes treacherous waters of politics and personal relationships. And this difficult situation exists across the nation wherever left and right meet. Let's just say there's a reason for the old axiom about avoiding the topics of religion and politics.
Nowhere does this clashing of political cultures become more difficult than within the family. But Maury Litwack, a conservative strategist on Capitol Hill and Executive Director for the Conservative Coalition for Israel, and his father David Litwack, a top fundraiser for the National Jewish Democratic Council, have come up with a novel way to approach their political differences.
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Cinnamon | 04/01/07 at 02:35 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 26, 2007
The Latest from Robert Novak
Robert Novak's latest column, A President All Alone, discusses Bush's distance - even isolation - from congressional Republicans, and their chagrin at ongoing revelations of Bush administration incompetence.
"We always have claimed that we were the party of better management," one House leader told me. "How can we claim that anymore?"
But the final paragraphs in the article is what really grabbed my attention.
Continue reading "The Latest from Robert Novak"
Alcibiades | 03/26/07 at 11:16 AM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 19, 2007
Zombie Captures San Francisco "Antiwar" Protesters in all their Glory
As expected, the streets of San Francisco were home to the usual bizarre assortment of "antiwar" protesters this past weekend. What that actually translated into were communists, pro-terrorists, Jew-haters, 9/11 conspiracists, acid-casualties from the 60s, brainwashed college students, a sea of bloody (literally) Palestinian flags, Che tattoos, lots of skin, and a few genuine, if confused, pacifists. And the America-hating "textbook" soon to be used in San Francisco public school classrooms, "Addicted to War," also made an appearance. As has been the pattern for the past few years, a group of brave counter-protesters showed up too.
The inimitable zombie parodies the lunacy of the local left with the usual revealing photos and clever commentary. Click here to venture down the rabbit hole...
Cross-posted at CinnamonStillwell.blogspot.com.
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Cinnamon | 03/19/07 at 11:07 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 17, 2007
Political labels redux
Per the lability of political labels: Are we liberal hawks? Centrist hawks? Neocons? Civ-cons? Whatever, we are a supersaturated solution within the body politic, ready to crystallize around a label of convenience (as they are all) which enables us to focus our clout.
But "neocon" is probably not it, as this email from a reader to Jonah Goldberg illustrates:
Subject "Neocon" Now Has No Meaning Part 3,717,206You're often noted that "neoconservative" has a very hazy definition. Indeed to some people it's become what Orwell said of Fascism just another word for "bad'.
The reductio ad absurdum of this came in my women's studies class (don't judge!) where the professor put up this definition: "Neo-Conservative: racist and misogynist stereotypes but in new forms" She then asked if anyone could give any examples of "Neo-Conservative". A girl's hand shot up and gave the example of kids in the playground using the word "gay" to mean "stupid".
This anecdote confirms my experience of how this term is received. Which is not to say it can't be rescued. In the meantime I call myself a neocon whenever I want to shock people.
Judith | 03/17/07 at 07:56 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 15, 2007
Serious Questions for Henry Waxman's Show Trial
By Rick Ballard, reposted with permission:
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman will continue his show trials masquerading as Congressional hearings tomorrow with a focus on the purported outing of CIA celebrity agent Valerie Plame by the White House and Office of the Vice-President. Apparently Waxman has limited access to simple facts. If Waxman had even a minimal desire to determine the truth, Joe Wilson would have been called to sit beside his wife and testify to their joint decision to go into electoral politics.
The primary responsibility for the protection of agents’ identities rests with the agents themselves. That is a fact hammered into all CIA employees from the moment they are hired. Valerie Plame Wilson initiated her own ‘outing’ by participating in her husband’s successful effort to become an advisor to the Kerry campaign. The precise moment in which she abandoned any pretense of being ‘undercover’ is difficult to determine, but it is safe to presume it occurred prior to May 2, 2003.
On that day, during a meeting of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, the Wilsons succeeded in inserting Joe Wilson into the electoral political process. They also made contact with New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof.
From Vanity Fair:
“In early May, Wilson and Plame attended a conference sponsored by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, at which Wilson spoke about Iraq; one of the other panelists was the New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof. Over breakfast the next morning with Kristof and his wife, Wilson told about his trip to Niger and said Kristof could write about it, but not name him.”
Continue reading "Serious Questions for Henry Waxman's Show Trial"
Alcibiades | 03/15/07 at 01:44 AM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 12, 2007
My Non-Review of 300
From Occasional Kesher Talk Contributor, Ben (from NY):
I haven’t seen the movie.
Some would say this one fact eliminates me from reasonable discussion of it, but on the other hand, no-one alive today has seen the actual Battle of Thermopylae, and plenty of people still discuss it. On the third hand, I’ve seen the trailer. And who’s going to tell me that I can’t form an opinion based on the trailer? That’s why they make trailers- to enable us to form an opinion of a movie; hopefully, “I want to see this one.” My contacts in the movie industry tell me the trailer is a carefully edited, formulated device designed to elicit a very specific opinion, but on the… fifth?... hand, does this mean the rest of the movie isn’t?
What I’ve learned is this: I really don’t need to see 300. Yes, it’s based on an actual historical event, but I know how that one turned out. I know the ending. The good guys lose, but their sacrifice enables other good guys to win. I know somewhat more historical detail than the average American although perhaps less than the average professor of Greek history. I would have wanted to see the Battle of Thermopylae painstakingly researched and recreated, but my preferences are apparently unusual ones. As it is, I know that I will not learn any new facts from 300 because it’s evident from the trailer that the filmmakers were not interested in accurately showing historical detail. The Spartans most definitely did not fight wearing helmets, capes, and Speedos. They wore serious armor. Did they forget the stuff?
I was reminded of a scene from the equally historically inept film Troy. Ancient Greece was renowned for its military engineering prowess, but during “Troy”, while watching hordes of Greek warriors rush towards the city walls, obviously planning to smash down towering stone fortifications with their spears, I was almost certain I heard one of them ad lib: “Oh crap, we forgot the Siege Towers!”.
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Alcibiades | 03/12/07 at 08:28 PM | 9 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 11, 2007
More on the Secular Islam Summit from Phyllis Chesler
Phyllis Chesler continues her three-part article series on the Secular Islam Summit. Here's Part II:
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Cinnamon | 03/11/07 at 01:25 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
March 10, 2007
Conversation, Hillary Style
It's just so her. As in "conversational."
Here's a direct video, but there's some useful data at the above site.
So, um, could David Geffen's people possibly be behind it? They obviously have the resources.
Alcibiades | 03/10/07 at 06:51 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 27, 2007
Lawrence of Arabia Was a Zionist
Watching Peter O'Toole at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, one couldn't help but hearken back to that David Lean film classic, Lawrence of Arabia. O'Toole's T.E. Lawrence was the archetype British Arabist, but, according to historian Sir Martin Gilbert, Lawrence was in reality a staunch Zionist.
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Cinnamon | 02/27/07 at 01:14 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 26, 2007
Aussies, Brits and Frenchmen Who Love America!
Amidst all the media doom and gloom and the vitriolic commentary coming from the America-hating left, it's easy to forget that our nation is still a beacon of light to much of the world. With that in mind, a few . . . more »Cinnamon | 02/26/07 at 04:48 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 20, 2007
Israel: the greatest short-term threat to world peace
Who recently said that Israel is the greatest short-term threat to world peace? Nope. Not Ahmadinejad. Not Abbas. Not the depressed Hassan Nasrallah. Not Jimmy Carter. [Though he probably thought it] It was said to a bunch of Hollywood liberals . . . more »Alcibiades | 02/20/07 at 06:16 PM | 16 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 08, 2007
Russert the Hypocrite
In a previous post, I produced Russert's testimony showing that privately he spoke to an FBI agent about his call with Libby, the same call that later on, publicly, he fought against "being forced to reveal" because, as a member . . . more »Alcibiades | 02/08/07 at 11:28 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 07, 2007
Grilling Russert to a Fine Turn
For those of you who are not Plamiacs - all Plame, all the time! now that the Libby trial is going on - there was a delicious moment in the court today. Tim Russert walked into court today, a commanding . . . more »Alcibiades | 02/07/07 at 07:27 PM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 04, 2007
Donald Sensing Poses A Question About Global Warming
What if global warming is a good thing? He asks this with reference to this data list compiled by J.R. Dunn that appeared in the American Thinker, Resisting Global Warming Panic. Despite the insistence of Al Gore and friends, this . . . more »Alcibiades | 02/04/07 at 09:09 AM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
February 02, 2007
Obama
Dick Morris brilliantly sums up Obama: “Obama is like a stem cell. He can become any part of the body he wants to be!” Or that the media wants him to be! In reality, he's an unleavened liberal. But the . . . more »Alcibiades | 02/02/07 at 11:50 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 29, 2007
Wall Street Journal's John Fund Raises Questions About Sandy Berger
Fresh on the heels of my recent post on the subject, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal is raising questions about the Sandy Berger affair: Paper Chase: Did investigators turn a blind eye to the seriousness of the Sandy . . . more »Cinnamon | 01/29/07 at 01:18 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 27, 2007
John Kerry Among Friends At Davos
John Kerry announced this week he was not going to run for President this election cycle, leaving him free to "speak truth to power" by proclaiming that America is an international pariah among an audience of the like minded. . . . more »Alcibiades | 01/27/07 at 12:33 PM | 6 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 26, 2007
Sandy Berger: The "Watergate" No One Wants To Talks About
Former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein, who, along with colleague Bob Woodward, exposed the Watergate affair, has been grumbling that the Bush administration has done "far greater damage" than President Nixon. But perhaps the intrepid reporters of "All the President's . . . more »Cinnamon | 01/26/07 at 04:29 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 25, 2007
Israel: A Stiff Necked Country
Israel: A Stiff Necked Country That's not my opinion, by the way; rather, its my translation of Jimmy's belief that Israel was "intransigent." I guess he believed he had the God's eye view, that he shared God's perspective and God's . . . more »Alcibiades | 01/25/07 at 06:42 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 17, 2007
Blogosphere Roundup on Psychology Today's "Ideological Animal" Article
I posted an item last week regarding Psychology Today's "The Ideological Animal," an article in the current issue that purports to explain those of us who made the post-9/11 political shift from left to right (or somewhere in between). Many . . . more »Cinnamon | 01/17/07 at 07:22 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
The Saudis Finally Got the Damned Memo
Bush must feel relieved. Remember when the Democrat talking points told us that in the fall, just before the 2004 elections, Bush was going to whisper in Saudi ears to increase oil production and the price of a barrel of . . . more »Alcibiades | 01/17/07 at 03:13 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 14, 2007
Do Demographics Determine Destiny?
Here's a demographic perspective on what is fueling the current surge in Muslim fundamentalism. It's worth considering because the model it uses accounts for a great deal, including Europe's current antipathy to fighting. And probably also accounts for why America . . . more »Alcibiades | 01/14/07 at 06:12 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 12, 2007
Faux Klingons are Running the War!
Congressional Eloquence at its peak: . . . more »Alcibiades | 01/12/07 at 04:27 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
The Art of Counterprotesting
Friend of KesherTalk, Pamela Hall, helped lead a counterprotest against the anti-war protest in Manhattan's Time's Square last night. And for her trouble, we're pleased to note, she got quoted in the AP, where she made eminent sense: A band . . . more »Alcibiades | 01/12/07 at 01:10 PM | 3 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
January 04, 2007
Psychology Today on Cinnamon Stillwell and The "9/11 Effect"
Several months ago, I took part in an interview with the magazine Psychology Today for an article on political transformation, particularly in the post-9/11 landscape. My inclusion was based on an SFGate.com article I'd written on the subject, "The Making . . . more »Cinnamon | 01/04/07 at 03:25 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 30, 2006
Are the Pathans Descended from the Tribe of Ephraim?
A new study suggests a genetic link exists between the Pathans and the Jews, a connection rumored for many years. According to Aafreedi's study, which was published as an e-book, about 650 out of the 1,500 members of the Afridi . . . more »Alcibiades | 12/30/06 at 11:46 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 28, 2006
Iraq War Veteran To San Francisco: We Must Win This Fight!
Last year, I wrote a column for SFGate titled, "San Francisco Declares Itself A Military Free-Zone." It was about the city's propensity for anti-military activity and how taken to its logical conclusion, San Francisco might well become a military free-zone . . . more »Cinnamon | 12/28/06 at 11:54 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 26, 2006
The Christmas Kerfuffle Revisited
Although I'm a day late, this seemed a good time to revisit an SFGate column I wrote last year providing a Jewish perspective to the kerfuffle over Christmas. It remains sadly relevant and I must say, all the politicizing of . . . more »Cinnamon | 12/26/06 at 04:39 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 25, 2006
Fantastic Discussion in the Comments
Following from the recent conference in Israel on Israel and media, there is a fantastic conversation going on in the comments on a post by Liza, particularly between Richard Landes and Don Radlauer on the problem of Israel and Israel's . . . more »Alcibiades | 12/25/06 at 09:12 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 22, 2006
Spit and Baby Killers: Echoes of Vietnam
We often hear false comparisons between the war in Iraq and the Vietnam war, but one link that holds true is the anti-military attitude exhibited by the left. U.S. soldiers today are treated as either victims or butchers--whichever one happens . . . more »Cinnamon | 12/22/06 at 02:24 AM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 10, 2006
Study Group 1966: LBJ Must Talk to the Klan
Washington, December 15, 1966: Responding to the wave of violence that has engulfed the South in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, a blue-ribbon Civil Rights Study Group has made sweeping recommendations to President Johnson on how to control . . . more »Van | 12/10/06 at 07:28 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 06, 2006
More Examples of Mob Rule on College Campuses
No sooner had my last SFGate column, "Mob Rule on College Campuses" come out, when bullying behavior reared its ugly head on America's college campuses yet again. Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, one of the strongest anti-illegal immigration voices in politics, . . . more »Cinnamon | 12/06/06 at 02:44 PM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 04, 2006
Lafayette "War Memorial" Dishonors the Dead
Looks like Bay Area Moonbats are up to their old tricks again, erecting false "war memorials" in an attempt to use U.S. casualties in Iraq to undermine the war. As always, they do so under the guise of paying respect . . . more »Cinnamon | 12/04/06 at 10:37 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
December 03, 2006
The Shoddy Game of Political Telephone
In his new book, Bush's War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age Professor Jim A. Kuypers precisely articulates my experience of what has gone on in the months and years following 9/11 with regard to the . . . more »Alcibiades | 12/03/06 at 03:12 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
November 21, 2006
Art imitates life
I don't have a TV, but a friend alerts me to an episode of CSI which seems to have been inspired by the Lebanon Fauxtography scandal. Twin sisters are murdered a few hours apart. Both adopted by different families, . . . more »Judith | 11/21/06 at 07:46 AM | 6 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
November 13, 2006
Alia Ansari Murder Leads to "Wear a Hijab/Turban Day"
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the city of Fremont (dubbed by some "Little Kabul") is known for its thriving Afghan-American community. Unfortunately, the community has been marred by violence in recent months. In August, Fremont resident Omeed Aziz . . . more »Cinnamon | 11/13/06 at 02:13 PM | 9 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
October 23, 2006
The False Comparison Between Islam and Christianity
The e-mail I receive from left-of-center readers in response to my SFGate columns is always revealing. Whether of the frothing-at-the-mouth variety (see Hatemail page) or the earnest and thoughtful, these missives are nothing if not enlightening. The response to my . . . more »Cinnamon | 10/23/06 at 01:09 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
October 22, 2006
Bush: Just a Scary Fundamentalist
Or so asserts Gerhard Schrodiger, whom the Germans, thank the scary Lord! replaced with Angela Merkel last spring. The former Chancellor, an agnostic, seems to consider President Bush to be a Christian fundamentalist, and as such less likely to make . . . more »Alcibiades | 10/22/06 at 11:41 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
October 19, 2006
Fauxtography Rules!
[With UPDATES at the bottom] Apparently it does in France where news suppression and journalism as propaganda has just won a victory. In appalling news from unfree France, on the first of the Al Dura trials currently ongoing in France, . . . more »Alcibiades | 10/19/06 at 11:50 AM | 6 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
October 17, 2006
It's Hunting Season For Democrats
UPDATE: According to Red State this outing is payback for not voting against Alito at the confirmation hearings, before which time Mike Rogers threatened to out a closeted United States Senator at a politically opportune time tif he voted for . . . more »Alcibiades | 10/17/06 at 11:49 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
October 10, 2006
Asking Tough Questions...
Alcibides' recent post on Bill Maher and Chris Matthews aroused certain emotions in me. One of them, naturally, was disgust and contempt for the self-martyrdom inherent in Matthews' obvious adoration of himself, but another was a basic sense of things . . . more »Benjamin | 10/10/06 at 05:38 AM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
October 09, 2006
Die Hard With A Vengeance - Battlestar Galactica Version
There was some amount of perturbation among Battlestar Galactica fans of the pro-Iraq persuasion when it looked like the new season might possibly turn out to be no more than a negative commentary on the Iraq war, Hollywood style. This, . . . more »Alcibiades | 10/09/06 at 04:25 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
September 17, 2006
Woe, Woe to He Who Mocketh the Shlong of the Prophet
The Guardian newspaper has an intense article about what can happen if you joke about the wrong wee-wee in Saudi Arabia. Somebody from the wrong group said the wrong thing at the wrong time, in front of the wrong ears . . . more »Van | 09/17/06 at 07:03 PM | 4 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
September 05, 2006
Doomsday for Dummies
When you see a YouTube video you like, it's worth scrolling through the related list, because you might find an entertaining evisceration of moral equivalence, prompted by Hitchen's famous bird-flipping of Bill Maher's audience: . . . more »Judith | 09/05/06 at 09:52 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
September 04, 2006
Blacks and Jews, Blacks and Jews, That's What Makes the World Go 'Round
A new book, "Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations in the American Century," by Cheryl Lyn Greenberg, a professor of history at Trinity College in Hartford, CT., is getting strong reviews (truth in blogging: Greenberg is a Princeton classmate of mine). . . . more »Van | 09/04/06 at 01:07 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
August 23, 2006
Kesher Talk and Benjamin Kirstein go way back
I am very pleased to invite Benjamin Kerstein to post here. (He is not to be confused with another Ben who has posting privileges but has been a bit intimidated by the blogging process, and whose emails I have occasionally . . . more »Judith | 08/23/06 at 12:46 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
August 09, 2006
Stalinist Indeed!
Down below, Van headed a post, Nutroots Go Stalinist in CT. Stalinist, indeed. It turns out that Lamont's father is: Corliss Lamont was a brilliant, very wealthy by inheritance, communist fellow-traveler through the ‘30’s and ‘40’s and ‘50’s, who continued . . . more »Alcibiades | 08/09/06 at 07:46 PM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
July 26, 2006
Doves Molting Into Hawks
The last several years, since Arafat launched the second intifada, has shaken the illusions from the eyes of many a former dove in Israel. Zeev Avrahami, freelance journalist who writes for Haaretz, and once spent 45 days in a . . . more »Alcibiades | 07/26/06 at 11:36 AM | 5 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
July 18, 2006
Israel is the correction of a mistake
Email correspondent Ben responds to my previous post. Israel is not a mistake, but the correction of a mistake. Richard Cohen's telling and deliberate omission- the Jews of the Middle East, from Morocco to Iran- points us towards the single . . . more »Judith | 07/18/06 at 02:53 PM | 1 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
Holocaust revisionism at the WaPo
[ UPDATE: Ben has a unique take on Cohen's argument. ] Great, now we have Richard Cohen in the WaPo questioning Israel's legitimacy, using the threadbare revisionist history of 30 years of Islamist-funded university Middle East Studies Departments. How many . . . more »Judith | 07/18/06 at 01:58 AM | 26 Comments | 15 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
July 11, 2006
Novak About To Spill All On the Plame Game
Drudge has the red siren flashing: Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has informed my attorneys that, after two and one-half years, his investigation of the CIA leak case concerning matters directly relating to me has been concluded. That frees me to . . . more »Alcibiades | 07/11/06 at 05:35 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
So If Zidane was Objecting to Being Called the Son of a Terrorist Whore...
as the London Times claims...and regarding that comment as a great insult, then that is a bit of all right, uh, not that it excuses, etc, etc. Well as long as Zidane was objecting to the terrorist part as well . . . more »Alcibiades | 07/11/06 at 11:07 AM | 6 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
July 09, 2006
Hold Her Responsible? But...She Identifies With Palestinians
Some of you may have already heard about Deb Frisch by now, the nutty leftist psycho-logist who was an adjunct professor at University of Arizona, who got so enraged by a discussion on Jeff Goldstein's Protein Wisdom that she began . . . more »Alcibiades | 07/09/06 at 08:47 AM | 6 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
June 07, 2006
Echoes of another war
David Gerlernter writes on the hypocrisy of the baby boomer generation toward the greatest generation, and suggests remediating this by teaching some history. For example:Before Pearl Harbor but long after the character of Hitlerism was clear--after the Nuremberg laws, the . . . more »Judith | 06/07/06 at 12:55 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
June 04, 2006
Some Good News for Israel and Other Things
It turns out that the confluence of events in recent months - from Europe to Gaza - is beginning to impact public opinion about the Palestinian situation in Europe. Palestinian support 'crashes' in Europe New public opinion surveys conducted among . . . more »Alcibiades | 06/04/06 at 03:20 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
June 02, 2006
Compare and Contrast: The Times' Take on Two Attacks
Today's New York Times Metro section has two stories on two attacks in the city. One gets prominent display as a racial hate crime in Howard Beach, Queens. Nicholaus Minucci is on trial for the June 29, 2005 baseball-bat attack . . . more »Van | 06/02/06 at 01:05 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
May 19, 2006
Ciao Italia
Nearly Romano Prodi's first task on getting elected Prime Minister of Italy is to bring home its 2,700 troops from Iraq. To do so, though, he has to survive a vote of no confidence. Making his first policy address as . . . more »Alcibiades | 05/19/06 at 10:03 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
The Mirror Self: A Foolish Journalistic Projection
Two stories today lay clear the perils of journalistic hubris in telling only one side of the story, both of them centered around Iraq. In the first, Ken Silverstein writes a post called: “Fairy Tales” The (lack of) intelligence underpinning . . . more »Alcibiades | 05/19/06 at 08:32 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
May 10, 2006
Historical Irony in Action
Isaiah 2:4: He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war . . . more »Judith | 05/10/06 at 03:06 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
May 07, 2006
United 93: the fault line widens
All entries on United 93 here. I wrote that this movie will further expose a fault line in the citizenry: People who believe we need to counter this threat aggressively, with war if necessary, are using the film to . . . more »Judith | 05/07/06 at 06:14 PM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
May 03, 2006
All Rise: The Mexican National Anthem, Various English Versions
With all the furor over the Spanish version of "The Star Spangled Banner," Mark in Mexico provides useful background on the lyrics of the Mexican National Anthem in the context of Mexican military history (as native Texans, Judith and I . . . more »Van | 05/03/06 at 09:07 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives